Essay on The Evolution of Speech

“In grammar school they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fairy tale. In the university they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fact!” (Carlson) The most widespread and decrepit part of Evolution is that human and apes derived from a common ancestor, yet, this is quite a stretch from a genetic perspective. Imagine a parent who has two offspring, the two offspring would have the same basic similarities as the parent and as their sibling. However, and the points below will harken to this fact, humans and apes to do not have any sibling-like similarity. A study done by Philip Lieberman has proven that even an evolutionary manipulated pharyngeal [voice box] region of a monkey or ape would not result in human sounds. The study was reported by Dr. Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist, who states, “Repeated attempts have been made to train nonhuman primates to mimic human speech sounds. Every endeavor has failed…Philip Lieberman concluded that ‘nonhuman primates lack a pharyngeal [voice box] region like man’s, where the cross-sectional area continually changes during speech.’… A research team headed by… biologist Tecumseh Fitch…noted…that [monkeys] lack a ‘speech ready brain’. Fitch and his team demonstrated that the brains and minds of nonhuman primates are almost totally lacking in their capacity to control…vocal tracts.

Language is the most distinctive feature we have as humans. Linguistic anthropologist look at the relationship of specific languages to their cultures”(Parks, 2014). Language isn't just words but also hand gestures, symbols and body language. Hand gestures are usually called “American sign language”. Body language can often let us know if someone is upset, happy, uncertain, afraid and angry. There are about 6000 or more spoken languages in the world right now. Linguistic anthropologist study things by using field methods. They use material observation the most as they are interested in written records. Written records show us the breakthrough in the evolution of language. They focus on “locating, recovery, preservation, dating and analysis of material remains”(Parks, 2014). They locate items that can lead us to understanding how language evolved over time. According to findings, homo sapiens were amongst the first of our species to speak a language. It was said to appear between 30,000 and 100,000 years ago. “Here is where I throw in natural selection and the theory of evolution. Natural selection is the notion that the specific physical traits of a population make that population more likely to survive it's environment.” Language needed to evolve because humans needed to be able to communicate with one another.

In August 2011, Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist and a Professor and head of the Evolutionary Biology Group at the University of Reading, gave his “How Language Transformed Humanity”

Neanderthals share many biological similarities to that of modern day humans, giving rise to the idea of a Neanderthal humanity. One similarity was shown in a recent article published in 2013 on a scientific study done on the Neanderthal hyoid bone called the Kebra 2 hyoid which was found in 1898 in the Kebra caves. The article is called Micro-Biomechanics of the Kebra 2 Hyoid and Its Implications for Speech in Neanderthals. The study involved using a range of computational techniques to examine the mechanical nature and differences between the Neanderthal hyoid and human hyoid bones. The results from the study found, examining the macroscopic anatomy of the Kebra 2 hyoid that it was virtually identical to that of a human’s hyoid bone. Many

Although there is no direct evidence and a species language or their language capabilities do not fossilize, coupled with more modern techniques being used today and archeological evidence, it is possible now to study this topic with more success than in previous years. There is a record that supports the suggestion of Homo neandertal speech capabilities. Previous to the recovery of an intact middle paleolithic hyoid bone, the reconstructed vocal tract and the FOXP2 gene, the lack of evidence on the speech capabilities of Homo neandertals led most scholars to regard the topic as unsuitable for serious study

Despite having numerous species roaming the Earth, infants and young children are more fascinated with human speech. There are certain characteristics in human speech that distinguish it from any other species found in Earth. Previous studies performed by speech language pathologists show that infants and young children are particularly fond of familiar voices, and are easily able to respond more quickly to them as opposed to strangers. Whether the adults realize it or not, they speak to their children differently than to an adult. The intonation and rhythm in the adult’s voice are usually different around young children, causing the adults to be able to get the children’s attention. Over the years, speech language pathologists have conducted

2. It can be concluded that both hominins and modern apes share flat face with forward facing eyes and molars present. The Phylogenetic Tree shows that the modern apes diverged from hominins. This implies that modern apes and hominins share a same ancestor, but early hominins did not evolve from modern apes. The closest relative of human (Homo sapiens) is Homo neanderthalensis. We share many characteristics, such as chain, large cranium and similar width of dental arcade to the length. One of differences is Homo neanderthalensis has Supraorbital bow, not human does not.

     “Statistical analysis was applied to groups of vocal tract estimates from different vocalizations, and a significant difference was found between the groups. When compared with human data the results indicated that there could possibly be three speakers, one of, which is nonhuman. The average vocal tract length was found to be 20.2 cm. This significantly longer than for a normal human male.

The origin of speech in Homo sapiens is controversial topic since the problem is related to humans' unprecedented use of the tongue, lips and vocal organs as instruments of communication. As we know, the other animals vocalize, but do not use the tongue to modulate sounds. The most interesting scenario about this evidence, with regards to human language evolution, is the lip-smacking. According to scientists, lip-smacking has been observed as the first step towards the evolution of speech, although it is a phenomenon common in every primate. The evolution of distinctively human speech capacities has become a distinct and in many ways separate area of scientific research. Many studies have been done throughout the history regarding the origins of human language. The article about the Gelada monkeys of

The complete history of human evolution is a long-standing mystery scientists have yet to fully figure out. The topic typically focuses on the evolutionary trajectory of primates, which over the course of millions of years, has lead to the appearance of anatomically modern humans. As you can imagine, piecing together beyond ancient history, involves the combined prowess of many scientific disciplines, and once in a while, a curveball may confuse even the most methodical anthropologists. Other times, a rare “ah-ha!” moment is encountered, which can shed light on the complex timeline of Homo Sapiens.

In an attempt to find a correct phylogenetic tree, our group has found that Phylogenetic tree C shows a significant lineage. After researching, Phylogenetic Tree C seems to be an accurate depiction of hominid evolution. It shows a clear line of lineage that begins with the common ancestor A. Afarensis. To explain how the hominids connected in the lineage, our group decided to compare the skulls’ cranium width and length of braincase. We concluded that over millions of years, the width of the cranium of the hominids have increased, along with the length of braincases. Our explanation matched up with tree C respectively. The order of the width of craniums recorded are: A. Afarensis (80 mm), A. Boisei (80 mm), A. Africanus (85 mm), H. Habilis (98 mm), H. Erectus (108 mm), H. Heidelbergensis (122 mm), H. Neanderthalensis (128 mm), and H. Sapien

Language development can be defined as how children improve their language skills during their childhood. This topic has resulted in many disagreements between language experts. The disagreement is whether genetic or environment effects our development. This is referred as the nature and nurture conflict. Nature is the characteristics we inherit through our genes (McLeod, 2016).

In order to approach the question; the author developed an understanding of the authorship of Charles Darwin that he employed as the foundation with which he was able to further his studies. Because of the understanding of the approach employed, it becomes undisputed that the methodology that was employed to carry out the research was qualitative, making varied comparisons trying to bring out the quality of the content under investigation ("How human language could have evolved from birdsong. (n.d.). The findings of the content of the article show that the reception accorded by the professors in the field of linguistic was positive. This translates to the fact that the research findings made a positive impact in linguistics as it is considered to have its effect in the next five years to come. The conclusion associated with the research question has been narrowed down to the fact that in deed the origins of human language are associated with birdsong and in a broader perspective, the animal kingdom. From the conclusion associated with the content of the article and the reception that the content of the article has from the field of linguistics, the article has proven to be convincing on the arguments that it presented ("How human language could have evolved from birdsong.

Allowing that language is defined by the ability to speak, Physiological evidence shows that humans have feature which make them specially adapted to talk. For example, human beings have a developed brain structure and a flexible tongue in order to make different sounds. On the other hand, chimpanzees and higher primates have immature vocal tracts, which are narrow. Speaking is therefore a species specific characteristic of homo sapiens. Advancements

There has been a long debate about whether a critical period for language acquisition truly exists in humans. It may be true that children have an easier time obtaining fluency when it comes to acquiring a new language, but this does not mean that it is impossible for adults to also acquire a new language with the same level of control even in late adulthood(Snow). So can it really be said that there is a critical period through which children have an easier time to learn a language? And if so, is there a limit to how many languages that a child can learn before this critical period is over?