What can forest guenons “tell” us about the origin of language?

Lemasson, Alban

doi:10.1075/ais.1.04lem

Cited by 28 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…For instance, female Campbell's monkeys produce six subtypes of 'CH' calls, which seem to be the structural and contextual analogue of the 'LA' combinations of Diana monkeys. Campbell's monkeys also produce broken and full arches in relation to different contexts, regardless of the caller's age (Lemasson andHausberger 2004, 2011). In individuals raised in captivity, the full arch encoded information about caller's identity and affiliative bonds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, due to their close phylogenetic proximity to humans, the vocal behaviour of non-human primates is relevant to investigate the evolutionary pathways of human language (Lemasson 2011). The mainstream hypothesis here is that human speech has emerged as an evolutionary derivative of a gesture-based communication system, with a subsequent transition from the visual to the vocal domain (Corballis 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Uster and Zuberbühler 2001). They tend to be amongst the most frequently emitted calls of the vocal repertoire and can encode information on the caller's identity, social affinities, or spatial positioning (Harcourt and Stewart 1996;Gautier-Hion 1988;Lemasson andHausberger 2004, 2011). For example, Seyfarth and Cheney (1984) showed that vervet monkeys give acoustically distinct grunts in different social contexts, such as when approaching a dominant or subordinate group member, and that these acoustic differences are 'meaningful' to conspecifics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Japanese macaque 'coo' calls : Green 1975;Pygmy marmoset 'trill' calls: Pola and Snowdon 1975;Baboon 'grunts': Owren et al 1997; Campbell's monkey 'CH' calls: Lemasson and Hausberger 2011;review by Snowdon (2009)]. Further evidence for socially determined acoustic flexibility is in the form of converging acoustic structure of contact calls between affiliated females (Pygmy marmosets: Snowdon and Elowson 1999; Campbell's monkeys: Lemasson andHausberger 2004, Lemasson et al 2005). Here, we define 'social' calls broadly as vocalisations to communicate with other group members over short distances in non-predatory contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Context-related call combinations in female Diana monkeys

2011

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Non-human primates possess species-specific repertoires of acoustically distinct call types that can be found in adults in predictable ways. Evidence for vocal flexibility is generally rare and typically restricted to acoustic variants within the main call types or sequential production of multiple calls. So far, evidence for context-specific call sequences has been mainly in relation to external disturbances, particularly predation. In this study, we investigated extensively the vocal behaviour of free-ranging and individually identified Diana monkeys in non-predatory contexts. We found that adult females produced four vocal structures alone ('H', 'L', 'R' and 'A' calls, the latter consisting of two subtypes) or combined in non-random ways ('HA', 'LA' and 'RA' call combinations) in relation to ongoing behaviour or external events. Specifically, the concatenation of an introductory call with the most frequently emitted and contextually neutral 'A' call seems to function as a contextual refiner of this potential individual identifier. Our results demonstrate that some non-human primates are able to increase the effective size of their small vocal repertoire not only by varying the acoustic structure of basic call types but also by combining them into more complex structures. We have demonstrated this phenomenon for a category of vocalisations with a purely social function and discuss the implications of these findings for evolutionary theories of primate vocal communication.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Context-related call combinations in female Diana monkeys

2011

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“…The evolution of vocal communication has often been said to be inseparable from the evolution of social life (Marler, 1977, p. 46; Waser, 1982, p. 118; Snowdon and Hausberger, 1997), notably in non-human primates (Lemasson, 2011), but this evolutionary hypothesis is hard to test empirically. A means of testing it is to investigate to what extent social complexity has played a role in the structuring of a species' vocal repertoire, such as by comparing species that differ in their social system (Lemasson, 2011; Freeberg et al, 2012). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social complexity parallels vocal complexity: a comparison of three non-human primate species

Bouchet¹,

Blois‐Heulin²,

Lemasson³

2013

Front. Psychol.

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107

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Social factors play a key role in the structuring of vocal repertoires at the individual level, notably in non-human primates. Some authors suggested that, at the species level too, social life may have driven the evolution of communicative complexity, but this has rarely been empirically tested. Here, we use a comparative approach to address this issue. We investigated vocal variability, at both the call type and the repertoire levels, in three forest-dwelling species of Cercopithecinae presenting striking differences in their social systems, in terms of social organization as well as social structure. We collected female call recordings from twelve De Brazza's monkeys (Cercopithecus neglectus), six Campbell's monkeys (Cercopithecus campbelli) and seven red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus) housed in similar conditions. First, we noted that the level of acoustic variability and individual distinctiveness found in several call types was related to their importance in social functioning. Contact calls, essential to intra-group cohesion, were the most individually distinctive regardless of the species, while threat calls were more structurally variable in mangabeys, the most “despotic” of our three species. Second, we found a parallel between the degree of complexity of the species' social structure and the size, diversity, and usage of its vocal repertoire. Mangabeys (most complex social structure) called twice as often as guenons and displayed the largest and most complex repertoire. De Brazza's monkeys (simplest social structure) displayed the smallest and simplest repertoire. Campbell's monkeys displayed an intermediate pattern. Providing evidence of higher levels of vocal variability in species presenting a more complex social system, our results are in line with the theory of a social-vocal coevolution of communicative abilities, opening new perspectives for comparative research on the evolution of communication systems in different animal taxa.

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Age‐ and sex‐specific patterns of vocal behavior in De Brazza's monkeys (Cercopithecus neglectus)

Bouchet

Blois‐Heulin

Lemasson

2011

American J Primatol

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Although vocal production is strongly genetically determined in nonhuman primates, vocal usage is more likely to be influenced by experience. Nonetheless, sex differences in both production and usage can be found in the vocal repertoire of adults, but little attention has been paid to their ontogeny. Here, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of the vocal repertoire of De Brazza's monkeys (Cercopithecus neglectus), with particular attention to age- and sex-specific patterns. This species has special interest because it is the only monogamous species of guenons, but it nevertheless shares the strong sexual morphological and behavioral dimorphism seen in other guenons. A structurally based classification of calls recorded in 23 captive individuals has been cross-validated by an analysis of the associated contexts of emission. We identified sound units that could be uttered alone or concatenated to form 10 call types, including only three types shared by all age-sex-classes. Both age- and sex-discrepancy in terms of phonation could be explained by maturational changes and morphological dimorphism. In general, call production and usage parallel those seen in other guenons, suggesting that phylogeny and sexual dimorphism play important roles in vocal communication in this species. However, the boundary between adult male and female vocal repertoires appeared to be less strict than previously reported, suggesting that both sexes have the capacity to produce calls of the other sex but that social roles may constrain this expression. Similarly, age-specific vocal patterns would reflect respective social roles, and experience to some extent. Finally, calling rates would reflect age-/sex-specific degree of involvement in intragroup social networks. These findings highlight the relative importance of phylogeny, morphology, and social system on the shaping of individual repertoires in nonhuman primates.

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What can forest guenons “tell” us about the origin of language?

Cited by 28 publications

References 0 publications

Context-related call combinations in female Diana monkeys

Context-related call combinations in female Diana monkeys

Social complexity parallels vocal complexity: a comparison of three non-human primate species

Age‐ and sex‐specific patterns of vocal behavior in De Brazza's monkeys (Cercopithecus neglectus)

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