1
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Ting LH, Gick B, Kesar TM, Xu J. Ethnokinesiology: towards a neuromechanical understanding of cultural differences in movement. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230485. [PMID: 39155720 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Each individual's movements are sculpted by constant interactions between sensorimotor and sociocultural factors. A theoretical framework grounded in motor control mechanisms articulating how sociocultural and biological signals converge to shape movement is currently missing. Here, we propose a framework for the emerging field of ethnokinesiology aiming to provide a conceptual space and vocabulary to help bring together researchers at this intersection. We offer a first-level schema for generating and testing hypotheses about cultural differences in movement to bridge gaps between the rich observations of cross-cultural movement variations and neurophysiological and biomechanical accounts of movement. We explicitly dissociate two interacting feedback loops that determine culturally relevant movement: one governing sensorimotor tasks regulated by neural signals internal to the body, the other governing ecological tasks generated through actions in the environment producing ecological consequences. A key idea is the emergence of individual-specific and culturally influenced motor concepts in the nervous system, low-dimensional functional mappings between sensorimotor and ecological task spaces. Motor accents arise from perceived differences in motor concept topologies across cultural contexts. We apply the framework to three examples: speech, gait and grasp. Finally, we discuss how ethnokinesiological studies may inform personalized motor skill training and rehabilitation, and challenges moving forward.This article is part of the theme issue 'Minds in movement: embodied cognition in the age of artificial intelligence'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena H Ting
- Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Bryan Gick
- Department of Linguistics, The University British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Haskins Laboratories, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Trisha M Kesar
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Jing Xu
- Department of Kinesiology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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2
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Bickel B, Giraud AL, Zuberbühler K, van Schaik CP. Language follows a distinct mode of extra-genomic evolution. Phys Life Rev 2024; 50:211-225. [PMID: 39153248 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/19/2024]
Abstract
As one of the most specific, yet most diverse of human behaviors, language is shaped by both genomic and extra-genomic evolution. Sharing methods and models between these modes of evolution has significantly advanced our understanding of language and inspired generalized theories of its evolution. Progress is hampered, however, by the fact that the extra-genomic evolution of languages, i.e. linguistic evolution, maps only partially to other forms of evolution. Contrasting it with the biological evolution of eukaryotes and the cultural evolution of technology as the best understood models, we show that linguistic evolution is special by yielding a stationary dynamic rather than stable solutions, and that this dynamic allows the use of language change for social differentiation while maintaining its global adaptiveness. Linguistic evolution furthermore differs from technological evolution by requiring vertical transmission, allowing the reconstruction of phylogenies; and it differs from eukaryotic biological evolution by foregoing a genotype vs phenotype distinction, allowing deliberate and biased change. Recognising these differences will improve our empirical tools and open new avenues for analyzing how linguistic, cultural, and biological evolution interacted with each other when language emerged in the hominin lineage. Importantly, our framework will help to cope with unprecedented scientific and ethical challenges that presently arise from how rapid cultural evolution impacts language, most urgently from interventional clinical tools for language disorders, potential epigenetic effects of technology on language, artificial intelligence and linguistic communicators, and global losses of linguistic diversity and identity. Beyond language, the distinctions made here allow identifying variation in other forms of biological and cultural evolution, developing new perspectives for empirical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balthasar Bickel
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Anne-Lise Giraud
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Institut de l'Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Université Paris Cité, France
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Switzerland; Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland; School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
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3
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Fedorenko E, Piantadosi ST, Gibson EAF. Language is primarily a tool for communication rather than thought. Nature 2024; 630:575-586. [PMID: 38898296 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07522-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Language is a defining characteristic of our species, but the function, or functions, that it serves has been debated for centuries. Here we bring recent evidence from neuroscience and allied disciplines to argue that in modern humans, language is a tool for communication, contrary to a prominent view that we use language for thinking. We begin by introducing the brain network that supports linguistic ability in humans. We then review evidence for a double dissociation between language and thought, and discuss several properties of language that suggest that it is optimized for communication. We conclude that although the emergence of language has unquestionably transformed human culture, language does not appear to be a prerequisite for complex thought, including symbolic thought. Instead, language is a powerful tool for the transmission of cultural knowledge; it plausibly co-evolved with our thinking and reasoning capacities, and only reflects, rather than gives rise to, the signature sophistication of human cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelina Fedorenko
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Speech and Hearing in Bioscience and Technology Program at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
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4
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Chen S, Gil D, Gaponov S, Reifegerste J, Yuditha T, Tatarinova T, Progovac L, Benítez-Burraco A. Linguistic correlates of societal variation: A quantitative analysis. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300838. [PMID: 38626198 PMCID: PMC11020942 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Traditionally, many researchers have supported a uniformitarian view whereby all languages are of roughly equal complexity, facilitated by internal trade-offs between complexity at different levels, such as morphology and syntax. The extent to which the speakers' societies influence the trade-offs has not been well studied. In this paper, we focus on morphology and syntax, and report significant correlations between specific linguistic and societal features, in particular those relating to exoteric (open) vs. esoteric (close-knit) society types, characterizable in terms of population size, mobility, communication across distances, etc. We conduct an exhaustive quantitative analysis drawing upon WALS, D-Place, Ethnologue and Glottolog, finding some support for our hypothesis that languages spoken by exoteric societies tend towards more complex syntaxes, while languages spoken by esoteric societies tend towards more complex morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihan Chen
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - David Gil
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sergey Gaponov
- Department of Biology and Computational Biology, University of LaVerne, LaVerne, CA, United States of America
| | - Jana Reifegerste
- Department of Neurology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Tessa Yuditha
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics & Theory of Literature, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Tatiana Tatarinova
- Department of Biology and Computational Biology, University of LaVerne, LaVerne, CA, United States of America
| | - Ljiljana Progovac
- Linguistics Program, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States of America
| | - Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics & Theory of Literature, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
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5
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Benítez-Burraco A, Moran S. Editorial: The adaptive value of languages: non-linguistic causes of language diversity, volume II. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1387290. [PMID: 38510301 PMCID: PMC10951400 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1387290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature, Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Steven Moran
- Department of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
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6
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Xu X, Gong X, Zhang L, Zhang H, Sun Y. PRX1-positive mesenchymal stem cells drive molar morphogenesis. Int J Oral Sci 2024; 16:15. [PMID: 38369512 PMCID: PMC10874978 DOI: 10.1038/s41368-024-00277-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Mammalian teeth, developing inseparable from epithelial-mesenchymal interaction, come in many shapes and the key factors governing tooth morphology deserve to be answered. By merging single-cell RNA sequencing analysis with lineage tracing models, we have unearthed a captivating correlation between the contrasting morphology of mouse molars and the specific presence of PRX1+ cells within M1. These PRX1+ cells assume a profound responsibility in shaping tooth morphology through a remarkable divergence in dental mesenchymal cell proliferation. Deeper into the mechanisms, we have discovered that Wnt5a, bestowed by mesenchymal PRX1+ cells, stimulates mesenchymal cell proliferation while orchestrating molar morphogenesis through WNT signaling pathway. The loss of Wnt5a exhibits a defect phenotype similar to that of siPrx1. Exogenous addition of WNT5A can successfully reverse the inhibited cell proliferation and consequent deviant appearance exhibited in Prx1-deficient tooth germs. These findings bestow compelling evidence of PRX1-positive mesenchymal cells to be potential target in regulating tooth morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqiao Xu
- Department of Implantology, Stomatological Hospital and Dental School of Tongji University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Tooth Restoration and Regeneration, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuyan Gong
- Department of Implantology, Stomatological Hospital and Dental School of Tongji University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Tooth Restoration and Regeneration, Shanghai, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Department of Implantology, Stomatological Hospital and Dental School of Tongji University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Tooth Restoration and Regeneration, Shanghai, China
| | - Han Zhang
- Department of Implantology, Stomatological Hospital and Dental School of Tongji University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Tooth Restoration and Regeneration, Shanghai, China
| | - Yao Sun
- Department of Implantology, Stomatological Hospital and Dental School of Tongji University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Tooth Restoration and Regeneration, Shanghai, China.
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7
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Gannon C, Hill RA, Lameira AR. Open plains are not a level playing field for hominid consonant-like versus vowel-like calls. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21138. [PMID: 38129443 PMCID: PMC10739746 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48165-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Africa's paleo-climate change represents an "ecological black-box" along the evolutionary timeline of spoken language; a vocal hominid went in and, millions of years later, out came a verbal human. It is unknown whether or how a shift from forested, dense habitats towards drier, open ones affected hominid vocal communication, potentially setting stage for speech evolution. To recreate how arboreal proto-vowels and proto-consonants would have interacted with a new ecology at ground level, we assessed how a series of orangutan voiceless consonant-like and voiced vowel-like calls travelled across the savannah. Vowel-like calls performed poorly in comparison to their counterparts. Only consonant-like calls afforded effective perceptibility beyond 100 m distance without requiring repetition, as is characteristic of loud calling behaviour in nonhuman primates, typically composed by vowel-like calls. Results show that proto-consonants in human ancestors may have enhanced reliability of distance vocal communication across a canopy-to-ground ecotone. The ecological settings and soundscapes experienced by human ancestors may have had a more profound impact on the emergence and shape of spoken language than previously recognized.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Russell A Hill
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, UK
- Primate and Predator Project, Soutpansberg Mountains, Thohoyandou, South Africa
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa
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8
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Stoessel A, David R, Bornitz M, Ossmann S, Neudert M. Auditory thresholds compatible with optimal speech reception likely evolved before the human-chimpanzee split. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20732. [PMID: 38007561 PMCID: PMC10676368 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47778-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The anatomy of the auditory region of fossil hominins may shed light on the emergence of human spoken language. Humans differ from other great apes in several features of the external, middle and inner ear (e.g., short external ear canal, small tympanic membrane, large oval window). However, the functional implications of these differences remain poorly understood as comparative audiometric data from great apes are scarce and conflicting. Here, we measure the sound transfer function of the external and middle ears of humans, chimpanzees and bonobos, using laser-Doppler vibrometry and finite element analysis. This sound transfer function affects auditory thresholds, which relate to speech reception thresholds in humans. Unexpectedly we find that external and middle ears of chimpanzees and bonobos transfer sound better than human ones in the frequency range of spoken language. Our results suggest that auditory thresholds of the last common ancestor of Homo and Pan were already compatible with speech reception as observed in humans. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the morphological evolution observed in the bony auditory region of fossil hominins was driven by the emergence of spoken language. Instead, the peculiar human configuration may be a by-product of morpho-functional constraints linked to brain expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Stoessel
- Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Erbertstr. 1, 07743, Jena, Germany.
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Romain David
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
| | - Matthias Bornitz
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Steffen Ossmann
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marcus Neudert
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
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9
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Benítez-Burraco A. Toward an evolutionary account of the changes in the human pitch vocal system. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1249727. [PMID: 37928592 PMCID: PMC10621747 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1249727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
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10
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Moran S, Easterday S, Grossman E. Current research in phonological typology. LINGUISTIC TYPOLOGY 2023; 27:223-243. [PMID: 37426707 PMCID: PMC10326734 DOI: 10.1515/lingty-2022-0069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Steven Moran
- Department of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
- Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Shelece Easterday
- Department of Linguistics, University of Hawai᾽i Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
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11
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Wu B, Zhang H, Zhang M. Phylogenetic insight into the origin of tones. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230606. [PMID: 37403498 PMCID: PMC10320342 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The origin of tone, also known as tonogenesis, has long been a topic of great interest in language evolution and human cognition studies. Several linguistic studies of tonal languages have proposed various hypotheses that tonal origin may be related to different changes of phonological structures. However, such hypotheses have not been quantitatively tested in an evolutionary framework. Here, we conducted phylogenetic comparative analyses to assess the likelihood of different hypotheses of tonogenetic mechanisms across 106 Sino-Tibetan languages, of which approximately 70% are tonal. Our results showed that the presence of tones has a strong phylogenetic pattern and that Proto-Sino-Tibetan languages were most likely non-tonal. Our findings identified that tonal origin was strongly associated with the evolution of specific phonological structures, such as the loss of syllable-final consonants and voice quality on vowels. Furthermore, we found that tonal origin probably did not influence the diversification rates of Sino-Tibetan languages. These findings enabled us to better understand that tone arose as a compensatory mechanism for the structural organization and evolution of languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baihui Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Hanzhi Zhang
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Menghan Zhang
- Institute of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China
- Research Institute of Intelligent Complex Systems, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China
- Human Phenome Institute and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
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12
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Dediu D. Ultraviolet light affects the color vocabulary: evidence from 834 languages. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1143283. [PMID: 37333596 PMCID: PMC10273402 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1143283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been suggested that people living in regions with a high incidence of ultraviolet light, particularly in the B band (UV-B), suffer a phototoxic effect during their lifetime. This effect, known as lens brunescence, negatively impacts the perception of visible light in the "blue" part of the spectrum, which, in turn, reduces the probability that the lexicon of languages spoken in such regions contains a word specifically denoting "blue." This hypothesis has been recently tested using a database of 142 unique populations/languages using advanced statistical methods, finding strong support. Here, this database is extended to 834 unique populations/languages in many more language families (155 vs. 32) and with a much better geographical spread, ensuring a much better representativity of the present-day linguistic diversity. Applying similar statistical methods, supplemented with novel piecewise and latent variable Structural Equation Models and phylogenetic methods made possible by the much denser sampling of large language families, found strong support for the original hypothesis, namely that there is a negative linear effect of UV-B incidence on the probability that a language has a specific word for "blue." Such extensions are essential steps in the scientific process and, in this particular case, help increase our confidence in the proposal that the environment (here, UV-B incidence) affects language (here, the color lexicon) through its individual-level physiological effects (lifetime exposure and lens brunescence) amplified by the repeated use and transmission of language across generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Dediu
- Department of Catalan Philology and General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat de Barcelona Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS), Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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13
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Everett C, Darquenne C, Niles R, Seifert M, Tumminello PR, Slade JH. Aerosols, airflow, and more: examining the interaction of speech and the physical environment. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1184054. [PMID: 37255523 PMCID: PMC10225543 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1184054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
We describe ongoing efforts to better understand the interaction of spoken languages and their physical environments. We begin by briefly surveying research suggesting that languages evolve in ways that are influenced by the physical characteristics of their environments, however the primary focus is on the converse issue: how speech affects the physical environment. We discuss the speech-based production of airflow and aerosol particles that are buoyant in ambient air, based on some of the results in the literature. Most critically, we demonstrate a novel method used to capture aerosol, airflow, and acoustic data simultaneously. This method captures airflow data via a pneumotachograph and aerosol data via an electrical particle impactor. The data are collected underneath a laminar flow hood while participants breathe pure air, thereby eliminating background aerosol particles and isolating those produced during speech. Given the capabilities of the electrical particle impactor, which has not previously been used to analyze speech-based aerosols, the method allows for the detection of aerosol particles at temporal and physical resolutions exceeding those evident in the literature, even enabling the isolation of the role of individual sound types in the production of aerosols. The aerosols detected via this method range in size from 70 nanometers to 10 micrometers in diameter. Such aerosol particles are capable of hosting airborne pathogens. We discuss how this approach could ultimately yield data that are relevant to airborne disease transmission and offer preliminary results that illustrate such relevance. The method described can help uncover the actual articulatory gestures that generate aerosol emissions, as exemplified here through a discussion focused on plosive aspiration and vocal cord vibration. The results we describe illustrate in new ways the unseen and unheard ways in which spoken languages interact with their physical environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb Everett
- Departments of Anthropology and Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
| | - Chantal Darquenne
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Renee Niles
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Marva Seifert
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Paul R. Tumminello
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Jonathan H. Slade
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
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14
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Bode C, Ghaltakhchyan N, Silva ER, Turvey T, Blakey G, White R, Mielke J, Zajac D, Jacox L. Impacts of Development, Dentofacial Disharmony, and Its Surgical Correction on Speech: A Narrative Review for Dental Professionals. APPLIED SCIENCES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 13:5496. [PMID: 37323873 PMCID: PMC10270670 DOI: 10.3390/app13095496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Speech is a communication method found only in humans that relies on precisely articulated sounds to encode and express thoughts. Anatomical differences in the maxilla, mandible, tooth position, and vocal tract affect tongue placement and broadly influence the patterns of airflow and resonance during speech production. Alterations in these structures can create perceptual distortions in speech known as speech sound disorders (SSDs). As craniofacial development occurs, the vocal tract, jaws, and teeth change in parallel with stages of speech development, from babbling to adult phonation. Alterations from a normal Class 1 dental and skeletal relationship can impact speech. Dentofacial disharmony (DFD) patients have jaw disproportions, with a high prevalence of SSDs, where the severity of malocclusion correlates with the degree of speech distortion. DFD patients often seek orthodontic and orthognathic surgical treatment, but there is limited familiarity among dental providers on the impacts of malocclusion and its correction on speech. We sought to review the interplay between craniofacial and speech development and the impacts of orthodontic and surgical treatment on speech. Shared knowledge can facilitate collaborations between dental specialists and speech pathologists for the proper diagnosis, referral, and treatment of DFD patients with speech pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Bode
- Orthodontics and Oral Surgery Group, Division of
Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North
Carolina, 201 Brauer Hall, CB#7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
| | - Nare Ghaltakhchyan
- Orthodontics and Oral Surgery Group, Division of
Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North
Carolina, 201 Brauer Hall, CB#7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams
School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, 270 Brauer Hall, CB#270, Chapel
Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
| | - Erika Rezende Silva
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program, School of
Medicine, University of North Carolina, 1116 Bioinformatics Building, Chapel Hill,
NC 25799-7450, USA
- Oral and Craniofacial Biomedicine Program, Adams School of
Dentistry, University of North Carolina, 365 S Columbia St., Chapel Hill, NC
25799-7450, USA
| | - Timothy Turvey
- Orthodontics and Oral Surgery Group, Division of
Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North
Carolina, 201 Brauer Hall, CB#7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
| | - George Blakey
- Orthodontics and Oral Surgery Group, Division of
Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North
Carolina, 201 Brauer Hall, CB#7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
| | - Raymond White
- Orthodontics and Oral Surgery Group, Division of
Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North
Carolina, 201 Brauer Hall, CB#7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
| | - Jeff Mielke
- English Department, North Carolina State University,
Tompkins Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - David Zajac
- Speech Pathology Group, Division of Craniofacial and
Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, 201 Brauer
Hall, CB#7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
| | - Laura Jacox
- Orthodontics and Oral Surgery Group, Division of
Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North
Carolina, 201 Brauer Hall, CB#7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams
School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, 270 Brauer Hall, CB#270, Chapel
Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA
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15
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Lameira AR, Moran S. Life of p: A consonant older than speech. Bioessays 2023; 45:e2200246. [PMID: 36811380 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Which sounds composed the first spoken languages? Archetypal sounds are not phylogenetically or archeologically recoverable, but comparative linguistics and primatology provide an alternative approach. Labial articulations are the most common speech sound, being virtually universal across the world's languages. Of all labials, the plosive 'p' sound, as in 'Pablo Picasso', transcribed /p/, is the most predominant voiceless sound globally and one of the first sounds to emerge in human infant canonical babbling. Global omnipresence and ontogenetic precocity imply that /p/-like sounds could predate the first major linguistic diversification event(s) in humans. Indeed, great ape vocal data support this view, namely, the only cultural sound shared across all great ape genera is articulatorily homologous to a rolling or trilled /p/, the 'raspberry'. /p/-like labial sounds represent an 'articulatory attractor' among living hominids and are likely among the oldest phonological features to have ever emerged in linguistic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Steven Moran
- Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
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16
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Articulatory effects on perceptions of men's status and attractiveness. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2647. [PMID: 36788286 PMCID: PMC9929068 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29173-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on heterosexual mating has demonstrated that acoustic parameters (e.g., pitch) of men's voices influence their attractiveness to women and appearance of status and formidability to other men. However, little is known about how men's tendency to clearly articulate their speech influences these important social perceptions. In the current study, we used a repeated-measures design to investigate how men's articulatory clarity or conformity influenced women's (N = 45) evaluations of men's attractiveness for both short- and long-term relationships, and men's (N = 46) evaluations of physical formidability and prestige. Results largely supported our hypotheses: men who enunciated phonemes more distinctly were more attractive to women for long-term relationships than short-term relationships and were perceived by other men to have higher prestige than physical dominance. These findings suggest that aspects of articulatory behavior that influence perceptions of prestige and long-term mating attractiveness may indicate an early social history characterized by high socioeconomic status, likely owing to crystallization of articulatory patterns during the critical period of language development. These articulatory patterns may also be honest signals of condition or disposition owing to the nature of complex, multicomponent traits, which deserve further empirical attention.
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17
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Oliver S, Keyser MMB, Jhingree S, Bocklage C, Lathrop H, Giduz N, Moss K, Blakey G, White R, Turvey T, Mielke J, Zajac D, Jacox LA. Impacts of anterior-posterior jaw disproportions on speech of dentofacial disharmony patients. Eur J Orthod 2023; 45:1-10. [PMID: 36308520 PMCID: PMC9912703 DOI: 10.1093/ejo/cjac057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Articulation problems impact communication, development, and quality of life, and are diagnosed in 73-87% of patients with Class II Dentofacial Disharmony (DFD). We evaluated whether differences exist in stop (/t/ or/k/), fricative (/s/ or/ʃ/), and affricate (/tʃ/) consonant sounds of Class II DFD subjects, and whether extent of malocclusion correlates with severity of speech distortion. We hypothesized that Class II patients display milder distortions than Class III and anterior open bite (AOB), as Class II patients can posture into a Class I occlusion. MATERIALS/METHODS Audio and orthodontic records were collected from DFD patients (N = 53-Class II, 102-Class III, 72-Controls) who were pursuing orthodontics and orthognathic surgery. A speech pathologist perceptually scored speech. Acoustic differences in recordings were measured using Spectral Moment Analysis. RESULTS When Class II subjects were compared to controls, significant differences were found for the centroid frequency (M1) of the /s/ sound and the spectral spread (M2) of /t/, /tʃ/, and /s/ sounds, with pairwise significance for controls relative to Class II AOB and all Class II subjects. Class II AOB subjects had higher M1 and M2 values than patients with Class II closed bites and Class I controls for most sounds. When comparing across anterior-posterior (AP) groups, differences exist between controls, Class II and III DFD subjects for M1 of /t/, /tʃ/, and/ʃ/ and M2 for /t/, /tʃ/, /s/, and /ʃ/ sounds. Using linear regression, correlations between Class II and III severity and spectral measures were found for /t/ and /tʃ/ sounds. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS Class II and III patients have a higher prevalence of qualitative distortions and spectral changes in consonants compared to controls, but Class II spectral shifts are smaller and affect fewer sounds than in Class III and AOB cohorts. Linear correlations between AP discrepancy and spectral change suggest causation and that treatment may improve articulation problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Oliver
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Mary Morgan Bitler Keyser
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Samantha Jhingree
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Clare Bocklage
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hillary Lathrop
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Natalie Giduz
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kevin Moss
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - George Blakey
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Oral Surgery Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Raymond White
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Oral Surgery Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Timothy Turvey
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Oral Surgery Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jeff Mielke
- North Carolina State University, English Department, Tompkins Hall, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - David Zajac
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Speech Pathology Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Laura Anne Jacox
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics Group, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- UNC Adams School of Dentistry, 385 S Columbia St, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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18
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Lassmann Ł, Nowak Z, Orthlieb JD, Żółtowska A. Complicated Relationships between Anterior and Condylar Guidance and Their Clinical Implications-Comparison by Cone Beam Computed Tomography and Electronic Axiography-An Observational Cohort Cross-Sectional Study. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13020335. [PMID: 36836692 PMCID: PMC9959043 DOI: 10.3390/life13020335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
A complex prosthodontic treatment is believed to be more successful when the condylar path is replicated using the articulator. However, there is an ongoing major disagreement between the researchers as the exact relationship between the posterior and anterior determinants has not been clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the protrusive movement of the mandible does correlate with the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) anatomy or with incised features. Subjects (15 males and 15 females) were qualified for this study based on an initial interview including the following criteria: age 21-23 (+/-1), no history of trauma, orthodontic treatment, or temporomandibular disorders (TMD). For each patient, the angle of the condylar path, incisal guidance angle (IGA), interincisal angle, as well as overbite and overjet were measured on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). This was followed by the examination with the Modjaw® electronic axiograph recording and calculating the functional sagittal condylar guidance angle (SCGA) for the right and left TMJ during the protrusion. The results show that the mean functional axiographic measurement of SCGA in protrusion significantly correlates with the TMJ anatomy presented on CBCT. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between the values of SCGA in the functional and anatomical measurements in all its variants. It turned out that, statistically, the AB measurement was the most accurate. Finally, results showed that incisal relationships of permanent teeth such as overbite, overjet, incisal guidance angle and interincisal angle do not correlate with TMJ anatomy, and therefore, regarding an analyzed study group, do not affect the TMJ formation in young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Łukasz Lassmann
- Dental Sense Medicover, ul. Myśliwska 33a, 80-283 Gdańsk, Poland
- Correspondence:
| | - Zuzanna Nowak
- Department of Temporomandibular Disorders, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Traugutta sq. 2, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Jean-Daniel Orthlieb
- Faculty of Odontology, Aix-Marseille University, 58 Boulevard Charles Livon, 13007 Marseille, France
| | - Agata Żółtowska
- Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
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19
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Dhawan SS, Yedavalli V, Massoud TF. Atavistic and vestigial anatomical structures in the head, neck, and spine: an overview. Anat Sci Int 2023:10.1007/s12565-022-00701-7. [PMID: 36680662 DOI: 10.1007/s12565-022-00701-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Organisms may retain nonfunctional anatomical features as a consequence of evolutionary natural selection. Resultant atavistic and vestigial anatomical structures have long been a source of perplexity. Atavism is when an ancestral trait reappears after loss through an evolutionary change in previous generations, whereas vestigial structures are remnants that are largely or entirely functionless relative to their original roles. While physicians are cognizant of their existence, atavistic and vestigial structures are rarely emphasized in anatomical curricula and can, therefore, be puzzling when discovered incidentally. In addition, the literature is replete with examples of the terms atavistic and vestigial being used interchangeably without careful distinction between them. We provide an overview of important atavistic and vestigial structures in the head, neck, and spine that can serve as a reference for anatomists and clinical neuroscientists. We review the literature on atavistic and vestigial anatomical structures of the head, neck, and spine that may be encountered in clinical practice. We define atavistic and vestigial structures and employ these definitions consistently when classifying anatomical structures. Pertinent anatomical structures are numerous and include human tails, plica semilunaris, the vomeronasal organ, levator claviculae, and external ear muscles, to name a few. Atavistic and vestigial structures are found throughout the head, neck, and spine. Some, such as human tails and branchial cysts may be clinically symptomatic. Literature reports indicate that their prevalence varies across populations. Knowledge of atavistic and vestigial anatomical structures can inform diagnoses, prevent misrecognition of variation for pathology, and guide clinical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siddhant Suri Dhawan
- Department of Bioengineering, Schools of Engineering and Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, USA
| | - Vivek Yedavalli
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Tarik F Massoud
- Division of Neuroimaging and Neurointervention, and Stanford Initiative for Multimodality Neuro-Imaging in Translational Anatomy Research (SIMITAR), Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA. .,Center for Academic Medicine, Radiology MC: 5659; 453 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
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20
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Wood ALC, Kirby KR, Ember CR, Silbert S, Passmore S, Daikoku H, McBride J, Paulay F, Flory MJ, Szinger J, D’Arcangelo G, Bradley KK, Guarino M, Atayeva M, Rifkin J, Baron V, El Hajli M, Szinger M, Savage PE. The Global Jukebox: A public database of performing arts and culture. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275469. [PMID: 36322519 PMCID: PMC9629617 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Standardized cross-cultural databases of the arts are critical to a balanced scientific understanding of the performing arts, and their role in other domains of human society. This paper introduces the Global Jukebox as a resource for comparative and cross-cultural study of the performing arts and culture. The Global Jukebox adds an extensive and detailed global database of the performing arts that enlarges our understanding of human cultural diversity. Initially prototyped by Alan Lomax in the 1980s, its core is the Cantometrics dataset, encompassing standardized codings on 37 aspects of musical style for 5,776 traditional songs from 1,026 societies. The Cantometrics dataset has been cleaned and checked for reliability and accuracy, and includes a full coding guide with audio training examples (https://theglobaljukebox.org/?songsofearth). Also being released are seven additional datasets coding and describing instrumentation, conversation, popular music, vowel and consonant placement, breath management, social factors, and societies. For the first time, all digitized Global Jukebox data are being made available in open-access, downloadable format (https://github.com/theglobaljukebox), linked with streaming audio recordings (theglobaljukebox.org) to the maximum extent allowed while respecting copyright and the wishes of culture-bearers. The data are cross-indexed with the Database of Peoples, Languages, and Cultures (D-PLACE) to allow researchers to test hypotheses about worldwide coevolution of aesthetic patterns and traditions. As an example, we analyze the global relationship between song style and societal complexity, showing that they are robustly related, in contrast to previous critiques claiming that these proposed relationships were an artifact of autocorrelation (though causal mechanisms remain unresolved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna L. C. Wood
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
- Centro Studi Alan Lomax, Palermo, Italy
- * E-mail: (ALCW); (PES)
| | - Kathryn R. Kirby
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Carol R. Ember
- Human Relations Area Files at Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Stella Silbert
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Sam Passmore
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan
- Evolution of Cultural Diversity Initiative, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Hideo Daikoku
- Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan
| | - John McBride
- Center for Soft & Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Forrestine Paulay
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
- Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Michael J. Flory
- Research Design and Analysis Service, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, United States of America
| | - John Szinger
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | | | - Karen Kohn Bradley
- Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Marco Guarino
- American Studies Program, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, United States of America
| | - Maisa Atayeva
- Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Jesse Rifkin
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Violet Baron
- University of Indiana, Folklore & Ethnomusicology, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Miriam El Hajli
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Martin Szinger
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Patrick E. Savage
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan
- * E-mail: (ALCW); (PES)
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21
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The heritability of vocal tract structures estimated from structural MRI in a large cohort of Dutch twins. Hum Genet 2022; 141:1905-1923. [PMID: 35831475 DOI: 10.1007/s00439-022-02469-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
While language is expressed in multiple modalities, including sign, writing, or whistles, speech is arguably the most common. The human vocal tract is capable of producing the bewildering diversity of the 7000 or so currently spoken languages, but relatively little is known about its genetic bases, especially in what concerns normal variation. Here, we capitalize on five cohorts totaling 632 Dutch twins with structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Two raters placed clearly defined (semi)landmarks on each MRI scan, from which we derived 146 measures capturing the dimensions and shape of various vocal tract structures, but also aspects of the head and face. We used Genetic Covariance Structure Modeling to estimate the additive genetic, common environmental or non-additive genetic, and unique environmental components, while controlling for various confounds and for any systematic differences between the two raters. We found high heritability, h2, for aspects of the skull and face, the mandible, the anteroposterior (horizontal) dimension of the vocal tract, and the position of the hyoid bone. These findings extend the existing literature, and open new perspectives for understanding the complex interplay between genetics, environment, and culture that shape our vocal tracts, and which may help explain cross-linguistic differences in phonetics and phonology.
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22
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Abstract
The past decades have seen substantial growth in digital data on the world’s languages. At the same time, the demand for cross-linguistic datasets has been increasing, as witnessed by numerous studies devoted to diverse questions on human prehistory, cultural evolution, and human cognition. Unfortunately, most published datasets lack standardization which makes their comparison difficult. Here, we present a new approach to increase the comparability of cross-linguistic lexical data. We have designed workflows for the computer-assisted lifting of datasets to Cross-Linguistic Data Formats, a collection of standards that make these datasets more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). We test the Lexibank workflow on 100 lexical datasets from which we derive an aggregated database of wordlists in unified phonetic transcriptions covering more than 2000 language varieties. We illustrate the benefits of our approach by showing how phonological and lexical features can be automatically inferred, complementing and expanding existing cross-linguistic datasets. Measurement(s) | expressions | Technology Type(s) | data aggregation | Factor Type(s) | none | Sample Characteristic - Organism | human language | Sample Characteristic - Location | global scale |
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23
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Lathrop-Marshall H, Keyser MMB, Jhingree S, Giduz N, Bocklage C, Couldwell S, Edwards H, Glesener T, Moss K, Frazier-Bowers S, Phillips C, Turvey T, Blakey G, White R, Mielke J, Zajac D, Jacox LA. Orthognathic speech pathology: impacts of Class III malocclusion on speech. Eur J Orthod 2022; 44:340-351. [PMID: 34562076 PMCID: PMC9127721 DOI: 10.1093/ejo/cjab067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Patients with dentofacial disharmonies (DFDs) seek orthodontic care and orthognathic surgery to address issues with mastication, esthetics, and speech. Speech distortions are seen 18 times more frequently in Class III DFD patients than the general population, with unclear causality. We hypothesize there are significant differences in spectral properties of stop (/t/ or /k/), fricative (/s/ or /ʃ/), and affricate (/tʃ/) consonants and that severity of Class III disharmony correlates with the degree of speech abnormality. METHODS To understand how jaw disharmonies influence speech, orthodontic records and audio recordings were collected from Class III surgical candidates and reference subjects (n = 102 Class III, 62 controls). A speech pathologist evaluated subjects and recordings were quantitatively analysed by Spectral Moment Analysis for frequency distortions. RESULTS A majority of Class III subjects exhibit speech distortions. A significant increase in the centroid frequency (M1) and spectral spread (M2) was seen in several consonants of Class III subjects compared to controls. Using regression analysis, correlations between Class III skeletal severity (assessed by cephalometric measures) and spectral distortion were found for /t/ and /k/ phones. CONCLUSIONS Class III DFD patients have a higher prevalence of articulation errors and significant spectral distortions in consonants relative to controls. This is the first demonstration that severity of malocclusion is quantitatively correlated with the degree of speech distortion for consonants, suggesting causation. These findings offer insight into the complex relationship between craniofacial structures and speech distortions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillary Lathrop-Marshall
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Mary Morgan B Keyser
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Samantha Jhingree
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Natalie Giduz
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Clare Bocklage
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Sandrine Couldwell
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Oral Surgery, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Haley Edwards
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Tim Glesener
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Kevin Moss
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Sylvia Frazier-Bowers
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Ceib Phillips
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Timothy Turvey
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Oral Surgery, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - George Blakey
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Oral Surgery, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Ray White
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Oral Surgery, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Jeff Mielke
- Department of English, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA
| | - David Zajac
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Craniofacial Center, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Laura A Jacox
- Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
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24
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Hyafil A, Baumard N. Evoked and transmitted culture models: Using bayesian methods to infer the evolution of cultural traits in history. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0264509. [PMID: 35389995 PMCID: PMC8989295 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A central question in behavioral and social sciences is understanding to what extent cultural traits are inherited from previous generations, transmitted from adjacent populations or produced in response to changes in socioeconomic and ecological conditions. As quantitative diachronic databases recording the evolution of cultural artifacts over many generations are becoming more common, there is a need for appropriate data-driven methods to approach this question. Here we present a new Bayesian method to infer the dynamics of cultural traits in a diachronic dataset. Our method called Evoked-Transmitted Cultural model (ETC) relies on fitting a latent-state model where a cultural trait is a latent variable which guides the production of the cultural artifacts observed in the database. The dynamics of this cultural trait may depend on the value of the cultural traits present in previous generations and in adjacent populations (transmitted culture) and/or on ecological factors (evoked culture). We show how ETC models can be fitted to quantitative diachronic or synchronic datasets, using the Expectation-Maximization algorithm, enabling estimating the relative contribution of vertical transmission, horizontal transmission and evoked component in shaping cultural traits. The method also allows to reconstruct the dynamics of cultural traits in different regions. We tested the performance of the method on synthetic data for two variants of the method (for binary or continuous traits). We found that both variants allow reliable estimates of parameters guiding cultural evolution, and that they outperform purely phylogenetic tools that ignore horizontal transmission and ecological factors. Overall, our method opens new possibilities to reconstruct how culture is shaped from quantitative data, with possible application in cultural history, cultural anthropology, archaeology, historical linguistics and behavioral ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicolas Baumard
- Institut d’Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
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25
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Yoshinaga T, Nozaki K, Kondo O, Iida A. Estimation of sibilant groove formation and sound generation from early hominin jawbones. JASA EXPRESS LETTERS 2022; 2:045203. [PMID: 36154226 DOI: 10.1121/10.0010209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The speech production capability of sibilant fricatives of early hominin was assessed by interpolating the modern human vocal tract to an Australopithecine specimen based on the jawbone landmarks, and then simulating the airflow and sound generation. The landmark interpolation demonstrates the possibility to form the sibilant groove in the anterior part of the oral tract, and results of the aeroacoustic simulation indicate that the early hominins had the potential to produce the fricative broadband noise with a constant supply of airflow to the oral cavity, although the ancestor's tongue deformation ability is still uncertain, and the results are highly speculative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsukasa Yoshinaga
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1 Hibarigaoka, Tempaku, Toyohashi 441-8580, Japan
| | - Kazunori Nozaki
- Division of Medical Information, Osaka University Dental Hospital, 1-8 Yamadaoka, Suita 565-0871, Japan
| | - Osamu Kondo
- Department of Biological Sciences. Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku. Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan , , ,
| | - Akiyoshi Iida
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1 Hibarigaoka, Tempaku, Toyohashi 441-8580, Japan
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26
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Wilson NRC, Veatch OJ, Johnson SM. On the Relationship between Diabetes and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Evolution and Epigenetics. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10030668. [PMID: 35327470 PMCID: PMC8945691 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10030668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This review offers an overview of the relationship between diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), obesity, and heart disease. It then addresses evidence that the traditional understanding of this relationship is incomplete or misleading. In the process, there is a brief discussion of the evolutionary rationale for the development and retention of OSA in light of blood sugar dysregulation, as an adaptive mechanism in response to environmental stressors, followed by a brief overview of the general concepts of epigenetics. Finally, this paper presents the results of a literature search on the epigenetic marks and changes in gene expression found in OSA and diabetes. (While some of these marks will also correlate with obesity and heart disease, that is beyond the scope of this project). We conclude with an exploration of alternative explanations for the etiology of these interlinking diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. R. C. Wilson
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA;
| | - Olivia J. Veatch
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA;
| | - Steven M. Johnson
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA;
- Correspondence:
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27
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Koole SL. The Homeostatic Ego: Self-Enhancement as a Biological Adaptation. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2021.2007701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sander L. Koole
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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28
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Navarro-Torres CA, Beatty-Martínez AL, Kroll JF, Green DW. Research on bilingualism as discovery science. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 222:105014. [PMID: 34530360 PMCID: PMC8978084 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.105014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
An important aim of research on bilingualism is to understand how the brain adapts to the demands of using more than one language.In this paper, we argue that pursuing such an aim entails valuing our research as a discovery process that acts on variety.Prescriptions about sample size and methodology, rightly aimed at establishing a sound basis for generalization, should be understood as being in the service of science as a discovery process. We propose and illustrate by drawing from previous and contemporary examples within brain and cognitive sciences, that this necessitates exploring the neural bases of bilingual phenotypes:the adaptive variety induced through the interplay of biology and culture. We identify the conceptual and methodological prerequisites for such exploration and briefly allude to the publication practices that afford it as a community practice and to the risk of allowing methodological prescriptions, rather than discovery, to dominate the research endeavor.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Judith F Kroll
- School of Education, University of California, Irvine, United States
| | - David W Green
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
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29
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Environment and culture shape both the colour lexicon and the genetics of colour perception. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19095. [PMID: 34580373 PMCID: PMC8476573 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98550-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Many languages express 'blue' and 'green' under an umbrella term 'grue'. To explain this variation, it has been suggested that changes in eye physiology, due to UV-light incidence, can lead to abnormalities in blue-green color perception which causes the color lexicon to adapt. Here, we apply advanced statistics on a set of 142 populations to model how different factors shape the presence of a specific term for blue. In addition, we examined if the ontogenetic effect of UV-light on color perception generates a negative selection pressure against inherited abnormal red-green perception. We found the presence of a specific term for blue was influenced by UV incidence as well as several additional factors, including cultural complexity. Moreover, there was evidence that UV incidence was negatively related to abnormal red-green color perception. These results demonstrate that variation in languages can only be understood in the context of their cultural, biological, and physical environments.
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30
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Chopoorian A, Pichkar Y, Creanza N. The Role of the Learner in the Cultural Evolution of Vocalizations. Front Psychol 2021; 12:667455. [PMID: 34484031 PMCID: PMC8415155 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.667455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As a uniquely human behavior, language is crucial to our understanding of ourselves and of the world around us. Despite centuries of research into how languages have historically developed and how people learn them, fully understanding the origin and evolution of language remains an ongoing challenge. In parallel, researchers have studied the divergence of birdsong in vocal-learning songbirds to uncover broader patterns of cultural evolution. One approach to studying cultural change over time, adapted from biology, focuses on the transmission of socially learned traits, including language, in a population. By studying how learning and the distribution of cultural traits interact at the population level, we can better understand the processes that underlie cultural evolution. Here, we take a two-fold approach to understanding the cultural evolution of vocalizations, with a focus on the role of the learner in cultural transmission. First, we explore previous research on the evolution of social learning, focusing on recent progress regarding the origin and ongoing cultural evolution of both language and birdsong. We then use a spatially explicit population model to investigate the coevolution of culture and learning preferences, with the assumption that selection acts directly on cultural phenotypes and indirectly on learning preferences. Our results suggest that the spatial distribution of learned behaviors can cause unexpected evolutionary patterns of learning. We find that, intuitively, selection for rare cultural phenotypes can indirectly favor a novelty-biased learning strategy. In contrast, selection for common cultural phenotypes leads to cultural homogeneity; we find that there is no selective pressure on learning strategy without cultural variation. Thus, counterintuitively, selection for common cultural traits does not consistently favor conformity bias, and novelty bias can stably persist in this cultural context. We propose that the evolutionary dynamics of learning preferences and cultural biases can depend on the existing variation of learned behaviors, and that this interaction could be important to understanding the origin and evolution of cultural systems such as language and birdsong. Selection acting on learned behaviors may indirectly impose counterintuitive selective pressures on learning strategies, and understanding the cultural landscape is crucial to understanding how patterns of learning might change over time.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Nicole Creanza
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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31
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Ranacher P, Neureiter N, van Gijn R, Sonnenhauser B, Escher A, Weibel R, Muysken P, Bickel B. Contact-tracing in cultural evolution: a Bayesian mixture model to detect geographic areas of language contact. J R Soc Interface 2021; 18:20201031. [PMID: 34376092 PMCID: PMC8355670 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2020.1031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
When speakers of different languages interact, they are likely to influence each other: contact leaves traces in the linguistic record, which in turn can reveal geographical areas of past human interaction and migration. However, other factors may contribute to similarities between languages. Inheritance from a shared ancestral language and universal preference for a linguistic property may both overshadow contact signals. How can we find geographical contact areas in language data, while accounting for the confounding effects of inheritance and universal preference? We present sBayes, an algorithm for Bayesian clustering in the presence of confounding effects. The algorithm learns which similarities are better explained by confounders, and which are due to contact effects. Contact areas are free to take any shape or size, but an explicit geographical prior ensures their spatial coherence. We test sBayes on simulated data and apply it in two case studies to reveal language contact in South America and the Balkans. Our results are supported by findings from previous studies. While we focus on detecting language contact, the method can also be used to uncover other traces of shared history in cultural evolution, and more generally, to reveal latent spatial clusters in the presence of confounders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Ranacher
- University Research Priority Program (URPP) Language and Space, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Nico Neureiter
- University Research Priority Program (URPP) Language and Space, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rik van Gijn
- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Barbara Sonnenhauser
- Department of Slavonic Languages and Literatures, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Anastasia Escher
- Department of Slavonic Languages and Literatures, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robert Weibel
- University Research Priority Program (URPP) Language and Space, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Pieter Muysken
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Balthasar Bickel
- University Research Priority Program (URPP) Language and Space, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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32
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Dediu D. Tone and genes: New cross-linguistic data and methods support the weak negative effect of the "derived" allele of ASPM on tone, but not of Microcephalin. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0253546. [PMID: 34191836 PMCID: PMC8244921 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
While it is generally accepted that language and speech have genetic foundations, and that the widespread inter-individual variation observed in many of their aspects is partly driven by variation in genes, it is much less clear if differences between languages may also be partly rooted in our genes. One such proposal is that the population frequencies of the so-called "derived" alleles of two genes involved in brain growth and development, ASPM and Microcephalin, are related to the probability of speaking a tone language or not. The original study introducing this proposal used a cross-linguistic statistical approach, showing that these associations are "special" when compared with many other possible relationships between genetic variants and linguistic features. Recent experimental evidence supports strongly a negative effect of the "derived" allele of ASPM on tone perception and/or processing within individuals, but failed to find any effect for Microcephalin. Motivated by these experimental findings, I conduct here a cross-linguistic statistical test, using a larger and updated dataset of 175 samples from 129 unique (meta)populations, and a battery of methods including mixed-effects regression (Bayesian and maximum-likelihood), mediation and path analysis, decision trees and random forests, using permutations and restricted sampling to control for the confounding effects of genealogy (language families) and contact (macroareas). Overall, the results support a negative weak effect of ASPM-D against the presence of tone above and beyond the strong confounding influences of genealogy and contact, but they suggest that the original association between tone and MCPH1 might have been a false positive, explained by differences between populations and languages within and outside Africa. Thus, these cross-linguistic population-scale statistical results are fully consonant with the inter-individual-level experimental results, and suggest that the observed linguistic diversity may be, at least in some cases, partly driven by genetic diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Dediu
- Laboratoire Dynamique Du Language (DDL) UMR5596, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
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33
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Josserand M, Allassonnière-Tang M, Pellegrino F, Dediu D. Interindividual Variation Refuses to Go Away: A Bayesian Computer Model of Language Change in Communicative Networks. Front Psychol 2021; 12:626118. [PMID: 34234707 PMCID: PMC8257003 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.626118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Treating the speech communities as homogeneous entities is not an accurate representation of reality, as it misses some of the complexities of linguistic interactions. Inter-individual variation and multiple types of biases are ubiquitous in speech communities, regardless of their size. This variation is often neglected due to the assumption that “majority rules,” and that the emerging language of the community will override any such biases by forcing the individuals to overcome their own biases, or risk having their use of language being treated as “idiosyncratic” or outright “pathological.” In this paper, we use computer simulations of Bayesian linguistic agents embedded in communicative networks to investigate how biased individuals, representing a minority of the population, interact with the unbiased majority, how a shared language emerges, and the dynamics of these biases across time. We tested different network sizes (from very small to very large) and types (random, scale-free, and small-world), along with different strengths and types of bias (modeled through the Bayesian prior distribution of the agents and the mechanism used for generating utterances: either sampling from the posterior distribution [“sampler”] or picking the value with the maximum probability [“MAP”]). The results show that, while the biased agents, even when being in the minority, do adapt their language by going against their a priori preferences, they are far from being swamped by the majority, and instead the emergent shared language of the whole community is influenced by their bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Josserand
- Laboratoire Dynamique Du Langage UMR 5596, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | | | - François Pellegrino
- Laboratoire Dynamique Du Langage UMR 5596, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Dan Dediu
- Laboratoire Dynamique Du Langage UMR 5596, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
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34
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Waring TM, Wood ZT. Long-term gene-culture coevolution and the human evolutionary transition. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210538. [PMID: 34074122 PMCID: PMC8170228 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been suggested that the human species may be undergoing an evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI). But there is disagreement about how to apply the ETI framework to our species, and whether culture is implicated as either cause or consequence. Long-term gene-culture coevolution (GCC) is also poorly understood. Some have argued that culture steers human evolution, while others proposed that genes hold culture on a leash. We review the literature and evidence on long-term GCC in humans and find a set of common themes. First, culture appears to hold greater adaptive potential than genetic inheritance and is probably driving human evolution. The evolutionary impact of culture occurs mainly through culturally organized groups, which have come to dominate human affairs in recent millennia. Second, the role of culture appears to be growing, increasingly bypassing genetic evolution and weakening genetic adaptive potential. Taken together, these findings suggest that human long-term GCC is characterized by an evolutionary transition in inheritance (from genes to culture) which entails a transition in individuality (from genetic individual to cultural group). Thus, research on GCC should focus on the possibility of an ongoing transition in the human inheritance system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M. Waring
- School of Economics, Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA
| | - Zachary T. Wood
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA
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35
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Dediu D, Moisik SR, Baetsen WA, Bosman AM, Waters-Rist AL. The vocal tract as a time machine: inferences about past speech and language from the anatomy of the speech organs. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200192. [PMID: 33745306 PMCID: PMC8059537 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
While speech and language do not fossilize, they still leave traces that can be extracted and interpreted. Here, we suggest that the shape of the hard structures of the vocal tract may also allow inferences about the speech of long-gone humans. These build on recent experimental and modelling studies, showing that there is extensive variation between individuals in the precise shape of the vocal tract, and that this variation affects speech and language. In particular, we show that detailed anatomical information concerning two components of the vocal tract (the lower jaw and the hard palate) can be extracted and digitized from the osteological remains of three historical populations from The Netherlands, and can be used to conduct three-dimensional biomechanical simulations of vowel production. We could recover the signatures of inter-individual variation between these vowels, in acoustics and articulation. While 'proof-of-concept', this study suggests that older and less well-preserved remains could be used to draw inferences about historic and prehistoric languages. Moreover, it forces us to clarify the meaning and use of the uniformitarian principle in linguistics, and to consider the wider context of language use, including the anatomy, physiology and cognition of the speakers. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reconstructing prehistoric languages'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Dediu
- Laboratoire Dynamique De Langage (DDL) UMR 5596, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Scott R. Moisik
- Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - W. A. Baetsen
- RAAP Archeologisch Adviesbureau b.v., Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Abel Marinus Bosman
- DFG Center for Advanced Studies ‘Words, Bones, Genes, Tools: Tracking Linguistic, Cultural, and Biological Trajectories of the Human Past’, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- IDDS Groep b.v., Noordwijk, The Netherlands
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36
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Abstract
Evidence is reviewed for widespread phonological and phonetic tendencies in contemporary languages. The evidence is based largely on the frequency of sound types in word lists and in phoneme inventories across the world's languages. The data reviewed point to likely tendencies in the languages of the Upper Palaeolithic. These tendencies include the reliance on specific nasal and voiceless stop consonants, the relative dispreference for posterior voiced consonants and the use of peripheral vowels. More tenuous hypotheses related to prehistoric languages are also reviewed. These include the propositions that such languages lacked labiodental consonants and relied more heavily on vowels, when contrasted to many contemporary languages. Such hypotheses suggest speech has adapted to subtle pressures that may in some cases vary across populations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reconstructing prehistoric languages'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb Everett
- Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
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37
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Moran S, Lester NA, Grossman E. Inferring recent evolutionary changes in speech sounds. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200198. [PMID: 33745318 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate evolutionarily recent changes in the distributions of speech sounds in the world's languages. In particular, we explore the impact of language contact in the past two millennia on today's distributions. Based on three extensive databases of phonological inventories, we analyse the discrepancies between the distribution of speech sounds of ancient and reconstructed languages, on the one hand, and those in present-day languages, on the other. Furthermore, we analyse the degree to which the diffusion of speech sounds via language contact played a role in these discrepancies. We find evidence for substantive differences between ancient and present-day distributions, as well as for the important role of language contact in shaping these distributions over time. Moreover, our findings suggest that the distributions of speech sounds across geographic macro-areas were homogenized to an observable extent in recent millennia. Our findings suggest that what we call the Implicit Uniformitarian Hypothesis, at least with respect to the composition of phonological inventories, cannot be held uncritically. Linguists who would like to draw inferences about human language based on present-day cross-linguistic distributions must consider their theories in light of even short-term language evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reconstructing prehistoric languages'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Moran
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, G B35, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Nicholas A Lester
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Thurgauerstrasse 30/32, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Eitan Grossman
- Department of Linguistics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91905 Jerusalem, Israel
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38
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Tilot AK, Khramtsova EA, Liang D, Grasby KL, Jahanshad N, Painter J, Colodro-Conde L, Bralten J, Hibar DP, Lind PA, Liu S, Brotman SM, Thompson PM, Medland SE, Macciardi F, Stranger BE, Davis LK, Fisher SE, Stein JL. The Evolutionary History of Common Genetic Variants Influencing Human Cortical Surface Area. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:1873-1887. [PMID: 33290510 PMCID: PMC7945014 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Structural brain changes along the lineage leading to modern Homo sapiens contributed to our distinctive cognitive and social abilities. However, the evolutionarily relevant molecular variants impacting key aspects of neuroanatomy are largely unknown. Here, we integrate evolutionary annotations of the genome at diverse timescales with common variant associations from large-scale neuroimaging genetic screens. We find that alleles with evidence of recent positive polygenic selection over the past 2000-3000 years are associated with increased surface area (SA) of the entire cortex, as well as specific regions, including those involved in spoken language and visual processing. Therefore, polygenic selective pressures impact the structure of specific cortical areas even over relatively recent timescales. Moreover, common sequence variation within human gained enhancers active in the prenatal cortex is associated with postnatal global SA. We show that such variation modulates the function of a regulatory element of the developmentally relevant transcription factor HEY2 in human neural progenitor cells and is associated with structural changes in the inferior frontal cortex. These results indicate that non-coding genomic regions active during prenatal cortical development are involved in the evolution of human brain structure and identify novel regulatory elements and genes impacting modern human brain structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda K Tilot
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, 6500 AH, Netherlands
- Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, USA
| | - Ekaterina A Khramtsova
- Department of Medicine, Section of Genetic Medicine & Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Computational Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Spring House, PA 19477, USA
| | - Dan Liang
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- UNC Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Katrina L Grasby
- Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Neda Jahanshad
- Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, USA
| | - Jodie Painter
- Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Lucía Colodro-Conde
- Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Janita Bralten
- Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 XZ Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | | | - Penelope A Lind
- Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Siyao Liu
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- UNC Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Sarah M Brotman
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- UNC Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Paul M Thompson
- Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, USA
| | - Sarah E Medland
- Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Fabio Macciardi
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Barbara E Stranger
- Department of Medicine, Section of Genetic Medicine & Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Genetic Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Lea K Davis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Genetics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, 6500 AH, Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, Netherlands
| | - Jason L Stein
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- UNC Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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39
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Speech adapts to differences in dentition within and across populations. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1066. [PMID: 33441808 PMCID: PMC7806889 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80190-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
We test the hypothesis that a specific anatomical feature, the dental malocclusion associated with reduced dental wear, causes languages to adapt by relying more heavily on labiodental consonants. In contrast to previous work on this topic, we adopt a usage-based approach that directly examines the relative frequency of such labiodental sounds within phonetically transcribed word lists and texts from thousands of languages. Labiodentals are shown to be very infrequent in the languages of hunter gatherers, who tend to have edge-to-edge bites as opposed to the overbite and overjet observed in populations that consume softer diets and rely heavily on eating utensils. This strong tendency is evident after controlling for Galton’s problem via multiple methods including frequentist and Bayesian linear mixed modeling. Additionally, we discuss data from Amazonian hunter gatherers with edge-to-edge bites. The languages of these populations are shown not to use labiodentals frequently, or to have only recently begun doing so. Finally, we analyze the speech of English speakers with varying bite types, demonstrating how the sounds used by individuals reflect the same phenomenon. The diverse findings converge on the same conclusion: speech adapts to anatomical differences within and across populations.
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40
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Gick B, Mayer C, Chiu C, Widing E, Roewer-Després F, Fels S, Stavness I. Quantal biomechanical effects in speech postures of the lips. J Neurophysiol 2020; 124:833-843. [PMID: 32727259 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00676.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The unique biomechanical and functional constraints on human speech make it a promising area for research investigating modular control of movement. The present article illustrates how a modular control approach to speech can provide insights relevant to understanding both motor control and observed variation across languages. We specifically explore the robust typological finding that languages produce different degrees of labial constriction using distinct muscle groupings and concomitantly distinct lip postures. Research has suggested that these lip postures exploit biomechanical regions of nonlinearity between neural activation and movement, also known as quantal regions, to allow movement goals to be realized despite variable activation signals. We present two sets of computer simulations showing that these labial postures can be generated under the assumption of modular control and that the corresponding modules are biomechanically robust: first to variation in the activation levels of participating muscles, and second to interference from surrounding muscles. These results provide support for the hypothesis that biomechanical robustness is an important factor in selecting the muscle groupings used for speech movements and provide insight into the neurological control of speech movements and how biomechanical and functional constraints govern the emergence of speech motor modules. We anticipate that future experimental work guided by biomechanical simulation results will provide new insights into the neural organization of speech movements.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article provides additional evidence that speech motor control is organized in a modular fashion and that biomechanics constrain the kinds of motor modules that may emerge. It also suggests that speech can be a fruitful domain for the study of modularity and that a better understanding of speech motor modules will be useful for speech research. Finally, it suggests that biomechanical modeling can serve as a useful complement to experimental work when studying modularity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Gick
- Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Connor Mayer
- Department of Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Chenhao Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Erik Widing
- Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | | | - Sidney Fels
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Ian Stavness
- Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Kahn S, Ehrlich P, Feldman M, Sapolsky R, Wong S. The Jaw Epidemic: Recognition, Origins, Cures, and Prevention. Bioscience 2020; 70:759-771. [PMID: 32973408 PMCID: PMC7498344 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaa073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Contemporary humans are living very different lives from those of their ancestors, and some of the changes have had serious consequences for health. Multiple chronic "diseases of civilization," such as cardiovascular problems, cancers, ADHD, and dementias are prevalent, increasing morbidity rates. Stress, including the disruption of traditional sleep patterns by modern lifestyles, plays a prominent role in the etiology of these diseases, including obstructive sleep apnea. Surprisingly, jaw shrinkage since the agricultural revolution, leading to an epidemic of crooked teeth, a lack of adequate space for the last molars (wisdom teeth), and constricted airways, is a major cause of sleep-related stress. Despite claims that the cause of this jaw epidemic is somehow genetic, the speed with which human jaws have changed, especially in the last few centuries, is much too fast to be evolutionary. Correlation in time and space strongly suggests the symptoms are phenotypic responses to a vast natural experiment-rapid and dramatic modifications of human physical and cultural environments. The agricultural and industrial revolutions have produced smaller jaws and less-toned muscles of the face and oropharynx, which contribute to the serious health problems mentioned above. The mechanism of change, research and clinical trials suggest, lies in orofacial posture, the way people now hold their jaws when not voluntarily moving them in speaking or eating and especially when sleeping. The critical resting oral posture has been disrupted in societies no longer hunting and gathering. Virtually all aspects of how modern people function and rest are radically different from those of our ancestors. We also briefly discuss treatment of jaw symptoms and possible clinical cures for individuals, as well as changes in society that might lead to better care and, ultimately, prevention.
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Pouw W, Harrison SJ, Esteve-Gibert N, Dixon JA. Energy flows in gesture-speech physics: The respiratory-vocal system and its coupling with hand gestures. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 148:1231. [PMID: 33003900 DOI: 10.1121/10.0001730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Expressive moments in communicative hand gestures often align with emphatic stress in speech. It has recently been found that acoustic markers of emphatic stress arise naturally during steady-state phonation when upper-limb movements impart physical impulses on the body, most likely affecting acoustics via respiratory activity. In this confirmatory study, participants (N = 29) repeatedly uttered consonant-vowel (/pa/) mono-syllables while moving in particular phase relations with speech, or not moving the upper limbs. This study shows that respiration-related activity is affected by (especially high-impulse) gesturing when vocalizations occur near peaks in physical impulse. This study further shows that gesture-induced moments of bodily impulses increase the amplitude envelope of speech, while not similarly affecting the Fundamental Frequency (F0). Finally, tight relations between respiration-related activity and vocalization were observed, even in the absence of movement, but even more so when upper-limb movement is present. The current findings expand a developing line of research showing that speech is modulated by functional biomechanical linkages between hand gestures and the respiratory system. This identification of gesture-speech biomechanics promises to provide an alternative phylogenetic, ontogenetic, and mechanistic explanatory route of why communicative upper limb movements co-occur with speech in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wim Pouw
- Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action at the University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA
| | - Steven J Harrison
- Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action at the University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA
| | - Núria Esteve-Gibert
- Psychology and Education Sciences at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Rambla del Poblenou, 158, 08018, Barcelona, Spain
| | - James A Dixon
- Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action at the University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA
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Filippi P. Emotional Voice Intonation: A Communication Code at the Origins of Speech Processing and Word-Meaning Associations? JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10919-020-00337-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The aim of the present work is to investigate the facilitating effect of vocal emotional intonation on the evolution of the following processes involved in language: (a) identifying and producing phonemes, (b) processing compositional rules underlying vocal utterances, and (c) associating vocal utterances with meanings. To this end, firstly, I examine research on the presence of these abilities in animals, and the biologically ancient nature of emotional vocalizations. Secondly, I review research attesting to the facilitating effect of emotional voice intonation on these abilities in humans. Thirdly, building on these studies in animals and humans, and through taking an evolutionary perspective, I provide insights for future empirical work on the facilitating effect of emotional intonation on these three processes in animals and preverbal humans. In this work, I highlight the importance of a comparative approach to investigate language evolution empirically. This review supports Darwin’s hypothesis, according to which the ability to express emotions through voice modulation was a key step in the evolution of spoken language.
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Garcia M, Manser M. Bound for Specific Sounds: Vocal Predisposition in Animal Communication. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:690-693. [PMID: 32595086 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mechanical constraints imposed by anatomical adaptations are a ubiquitous feature of animal sound production. They can give rise to 'vocal predispositions' (i.e., acoustic structures strictly determined by vocal anatomy). Such predispositions are crucial to the investigation of the cognitive and evolutionary processes underlying acoustic communication in vertebrates, including human speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Garcia
- Animal Behaviour, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8051, Zurich, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Marta Manser
- Animal Behaviour, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8051, Zurich, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
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Tang K, DeMille MMC, Frijters JC, Gruen JR. DCDC2 READ1 regulatory element: how temporal processing differences may shape language. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192712. [PMID: 32486976 PMCID: PMC7341942 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Classic linguistic theory ascribes language change and diversity to population migrations, conquests, and geographical isolation, with the assumption that human populations have equivalent language processing abilities. We hypothesize that spectral and temporal characteristics make some consonant manners vulnerable to differences in temporal precision associated with specific population allele frequencies. To test this hypothesis, we modelled association between RU1-1 alleles of DCDC2 and manner of articulation in 51 populations spanning five continents, and adjusting for geographical proximity, and genetic and linguistic relatedness. RU1-1 alleles, acting through increased expression of DCDC2, appear to increase auditory processing precision that enhances stop-consonant discrimination, favouring retention in some populations and loss by others. These findings enhance classical linguistic theories by adding a genetic dimension, which until recently, has not been considered to be a significant catalyst for language change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Tang
- Department of Linguistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-5454, USA
| | - Mellissa M C DeMille
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Jan C Frijters
- Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1
| | - Jeffrey R Gruen
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.,Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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Pouw W, Paxton A, Harrison SJ, Dixon JA. Acoustic information about upper limb movement in voicing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:11364-11367. [PMID: 32393618 PMCID: PMC7260986 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004163117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We show that the human voice has complex acoustic qualities that are directly coupled to peripheral musculoskeletal tensioning of the body, such as subtle wrist movements. In this study, human vocalizers produced a steady-state vocalization while rhythmically moving the wrist or the arm at different tempos. Although listeners could only hear and not see the vocalizer, they were able to completely synchronize their own rhythmic wrist or arm movement with the movement of the vocalizer which they perceived in the voice acoustics. This study corroborates recent evidence suggesting that the human voice is constrained by bodily tensioning affecting the respiratory-vocal system. The current results show that the human voice contains a bodily imprint that is directly informative for the interpersonal perception of another's dynamic physical states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wim Pouw
- Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269;
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen 6525 HR, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Institute Nijmegen, Nijmegen 6525 XD, The Netherlands
| | - Alexandra Paxton
- Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269
| | - Steven J Harrison
- Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269
| | - James A Dixon
- Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269
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Gokhman D, Nissim-Rafinia M, Agranat-Tamir L, Housman G, García-Pérez R, Lizano E, Cheronet O, Mallick S, Nieves-Colón MA, Li H, Alpaslan-Roodenberg S, Novak M, Gu H, Osinski JM, Ferrando-Bernal M, Gelabert P, Lipende I, Mjungu D, Kondova I, Bontrop R, Kullmer O, Weber G, Shahar T, Dvir-Ginzberg M, Faerman M, Quillen EE, Meissner A, Lahav Y, Kandel L, Liebergall M, Prada ME, Vidal JM, Gronostajski RM, Stone AC, Yakir B, Lalueza-Fox C, Pinhasi R, Reich D, Marques-Bonet T, Meshorer E, Carmel L. Differential DNA methylation of vocal and facial anatomy genes in modern humans. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1189. [PMID: 32132541 PMCID: PMC7055320 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15020-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in potential regulatory elements are thought to be key drivers of phenotypic divergence. However, identifying changes to regulatory elements that underlie human-specific traits has proven very challenging. Here, we use 63 reconstructed and experimentally measured DNA methylation maps of ancient and present-day humans, as well as of six chimpanzees, to detect differentially methylated regions that likely emerged in modern humans after the split from Neanderthals and Denisovans. We show that genes associated with face and vocal tract anatomy went through particularly extensive methylation changes. Specifically, we identify widespread hypermethylation in a network of face- and voice-associated genes (SOX9, ACAN, COL2A1, NFIX and XYLT1). We propose that these repression patterns appeared after the split from Neanderthals and Denisovans, and that they might have played a key role in shaping the modern human face and vocal tract.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Gokhman
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Malka Nissim-Rafinia
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Lily Agranat-Tamir
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Statistics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Genevieve Housman
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | | | - Esther Lizano
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Olivia Cheronet
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Swapan Mallick
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Maria A Nieves-Colón
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Heng Li
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | | | - Mario Novak
- Institute for Anthropological Research, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
- Earth Institute and School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | | | - Jason M Osinski
- Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | | | - Pere Gelabert
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iddi Lipende
- Gombe Stream Research Center, Jane Goodall Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Deus Mjungu
- Gombe Stream Research Center, Jane Goodall Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Ivanela Kondova
- Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Rijswijk, Netherlands
| | - Ronald Bontrop
- Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Rijswijk, Netherlands
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Department of Palaeoanthropology and Messel Research, Senckenberg Center of Human Evolution and Paleoecology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Gerhard Weber
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Tal Shahar
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Mona Dvir-Ginzberg
- Laboratory of Cartilage Biology, Institute of Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91120, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marina Faerman
- Laboratory of Bioanthropology and Ancient DNA, Institute of Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dental Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91120, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ellen E Quillen
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, 85287, USA
| | - Alexander Meissner
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Yonatan Lahav
- Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery Department, Laryngeal Surgery Unit, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel
- The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Leonid Kandel
- Orthopaedic Department, Hadassah - Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Meir Liebergall
- Orthopaedic Department, Hadassah - Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - María E Prada
- I.E.S.O. 'Los Salados'. Junta de Castilla y León, León, Spain
| | - Julio M Vidal
- Junta de Castilla y León, Servicio de Cultura de León, León, Spain
| | - Richard M Gronostajski
- Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
- Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics Program, New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Anne C Stone
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Benjamin Yakir
- Department of Statistics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Carles Lalueza-Fox
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ron Pinhasi
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - David Reich
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Tomas Marques-Bonet
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institution of Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), 08010, Barcelona, Spain
- CNAG-CRG, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eran Meshorer
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel.
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Liran Carmel
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel.
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Abstract
AbstractHere we present an expanded version of bdproto, a database comprising phonological inventory data from 257 ancient and reconstructed languages. These data were extracted from historical linguistic reconstructions and brought together into a single unified, normalized, accessible, and Unicode-compliant language resource. This dataset is publicly available and we aim to engage language scientists doing research on language change and language evolution. Furthermore, we identify a hitherto undiscussed temporal bias that complicates the simple comparison of ancient and reconstructed languages with present-day languages. Due to the sparsity of the data and the absence of statistical and computational methods that can adequately handle this bias, we instead directly target rates of change within and across families, thereby providing a case study to highlight bdproto’s research viability; using phylogenetic comparative methods and high-resolution language family trees, we investigate whether consonantal and vocalic systems differ in their rates of change over the last 10,000 years. In light of the compilation of bdproto and the findings of our case study, we discuss the challenges involved in comparing the sound systems of reconstructed languages with modern day languages.
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