The Origin of Speech (Studies in the Evolution of Language)

402 Pages·2008·2.115 MB·

by  Peter MacNeilage

The Origin of Speech
Note
ThisisthetenthbooktoappearintheOUPseriesStudiesintheEvolution
of Language, the general editors of which are James R. Hurford and
KathleenR.Gibson.Acompletelistoftitlespublishedandinpreparation
for the series can be found at the end of the book.
The Origin of Speech
Peter F. MacNeilage
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Contents
ListofFigures vii
ListofTables viii
Acknowledgments ix
PartI
Introduction
1 Background:theintellectualcontext 3
2 Gettingtotheexplanationofspeech 29
PartII
Speechanditsorigin:theframe/contenttheory
3 Thenatureofmodernhominidspeech 65
4 Speechindeeptime:howspeechgotstarted 88
PartIII
Therelationbetweenontogenyandphylogeny
5 Ontogenyandphylogeny1:theframestage 105
6 Ontogenyandphylogeny2:theframe/contentstage 121
7 Theoriginofwords:howframe-stagepatternsacquiredmeanings 135
PartIV
Brainorganizationandtheevolutionofspeech
8 Evolutionofbrainorganizationforspeech:background 163
9 Adualbrainsystemfortheframe/contentmode 184
10 Evolutionofcerebralhemisphericspecializationforspeech 200
PartV
Theframe/contenttheoryandgenerativelinguistics
11 Generativephonologyandtheoriginofspeech 223
12 Generativephonologyandtheacquisitionofspeech 243
vi Contents
PartVI
Aperspectiveonspeechfrommanualevolution
13 Anamodalphonology?Implicationsoftheexistence
ofsignlanguage 273
PartVII
Lastthings
14 Ultimatecausesofspeech:genesandmemes 293
15 Conclusions 320
References 335
Index 365
Figures
Fig.1.1 Chomsky’sUniversalGrammaranditsrelationtoother
aspectsoflanguage 26
Fig.2.1 ComparisonofthegenerativeandtheNeodarwinianview
oftherelationbetweennatureandnurtureforlanguage 47
Fig.3.1 Schematicviewofthethreesubsystemsofspeech:
respiratory,phonatory,andarticulatory 66
Fig.3.2 Theprincipalpartsofthearticulatorysystem 69
Fig.3.3 Jackendoff’scharacterizationofthesegmental
structureoftheword‘‘star’’ 74
Fig.3.4 Formantfrequenciesfor8Americanvowels 78
Fig.3.5 Schematicviewofaspectsofspeechintheword‘‘tomato’’ 79
Fig.3.6 Linguisticstructureofthesyllable 80
Fig.5.1 Schematicviewofthearticulatorycomponentofspeech 111
Fig.7.1 Schematicviewsoftheconfigurationofthesoft
palatefornasalandoralsounds 151
Fig.8.1 Schematicleft-lateralviewofthebrain 164
Fig.8.2 Schematicleft-lateralviewofthecerebralcortex 166
Fig.8.3 Wise’sconceptionofcorticalregionsinvolvedin
motorcontrolinthemonkey 169
Fig.9.1 Schematicviewofthecorticalorganizationofspeechproduction 196
Fig.11.1 VenndiagramshowingAnderson’sviewoftherelationbetween
phonologyandothersubdisciplinesconcernedwithspeech 229
Fig.12.1 Threeconceptualizationsofthedevelopment
ofthelabial–coronalsequenceeffect 251
Fig.12.2 Twoalternativedescriptionsofinfants’simplified
versionsofadultwords 260
Fig.13.1 Distributionofspokenbabblingonsettimesin51infants 279
Fig.14.1 Illustrationsofbirdsongs 300
Fig.14.2 Cypriotstonefigure,thoughttobeofAphrodite,3rd
millenniumbc 315
Tables
Table3.1 PhoneticsymbolsforEnglishconsonantsandwordsin
whichtheyoccur 70
Table3.2 PhoneticsymbolsforEnglishvowelsandwordsinwhich
theyoccur 73
Table3.3 Occurrenceofmajorconsonanttypesin317-languagesample 75
Table3.4 Occurrenceofvowelsinparticularlocationsinthevowelspace 76
Table3.5 Percentageoftimesthatparticularsoundsoccurredin
theMaddieson(1994)corpus 77
Table5.1 Meanobserved-to-expectedratiosofCVsequencesin
sixEnglishbabblinginfants 112
Table6.1 Meanobserved-to-expectedratiosofVCsequencesinfirst
wordsoftenEnglish-speakinginfants 124
Table7.1 Therelationbetweenobservedandexpectedfrequencies
forconsonant–vowelrelationshipsinCVCVformsfrom
Ferguson’scorpusofbabytalkterms 140
Table7.2 Observed-to-expectedratiosofCVsequencesinMurdock’s
1959studyofparentaltermsof474languages 142
Table7.3 Observedtoexpectedco-occurrencepatternsinCV
sequencesandVCsequencesinPaine’ssampleofparental
termsin211languages 143
Table7.4 Examplesof‘‘defective’’wordforms 156
Acknowledgments
Thisbookhasbeenalongtimeinthemaking,andIhavebenefitedfrom
a rich and complex support network, which I am supremely grateful for.
My first thanks must go to Gardner Lindzey, long-time mentor, friend,
tennis partner, and master of repartee, particularly for his support
in having Bjorn Lindblom, Michael Studdert-Kennedy, and me together
at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences to
consider our early ideas about the evolution of speech in an idyllic yet
intellectually stimulating setting.
An enormous thank-you goes to my close friend and personal editor,
John Trimble, for heroic midwifery, and for his enthusiastic belief in
the project. He and his wife, Jan, provided convivial conversation and
boundless hospitality, making the task of expressing myself more lucidly
a pleasurable one.
Particular thanks goes to Babs Davis, former student, friend, and
colleague, for harmonious collaboration in our long-term project on
speech acquisition, the results of which form the empirical core of the
book. I am really grateful for what we were able to accomplish together.
And we could not have done what we did without the help of another
formerstudent,ChrisMatyear,thecornerstoneoflaboperations.Thanks
alsotoBabsandKrisztinaZajdo´ foreditingthebookTheSyllableinSpeech
Production: Perspectives on the Frame/Content Theory.
I am grateful to Randy Diehl for his willingness to share his expertise
on speech perception, and to Richard Meier for his patient assistance in
helping me to understand the nature of sign language, as well as for
sharing his viewpoint on sign language, a perspective I am particularly
sympathetic to. I am fortunate enough to have had Bjorn Lindblom to
shareideaswithsince1963,andhispresenceattheUniversityofTexasfor
prolongedperiodsoftimehasbeenacontinuedsourceofinspirationand
conviviality. I have fond memories of the many dinners that he and his
wife Ann Marie have kindly afforded me.