Re: Singing as prerequisite (or aid) to language.


"Anthony Cerrato" <tcerrato@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:d8kgst$bn3$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> A few weeks ago I saw a David Attenborough documentary (not
> sure now if it was PBS, Discovery, or Nat. Geographic
> channels) on song in certain animals, namely baboons, and I
> think [?]woodpeckers, whales, and sumptin' else [I came in
> towards the end so I missed a lot.] Attenborough stated that
> he thought the development/practice of songs may well have
> been an early precursor to development of language in homo
> sap., maybe going back as far as 50-70 kyrs in proto-humans.
> It seemed a very pleasing hypothesis to me, but I wonder if
> anyone knows how much credibility is given to this idea by
> the other experts in the field, and if there is any real
> reasonable scientific evidence for it
> Any info or opinions? ...tonyC
>

You may read
http://jom-emit.cfpm.org/1998/vol2/vaneechoutte_m&skoyles_jr.html
Its an essay of Mario Vaneechoutte, Department of Clinical Chemistry,
Microbiology & Immunology,
Blok A, University Hospital, B 9000 Ghent, Belgium
and
John R. Skoyles
6 Denning Road, Hampstead,
London NW3 1SU. UK

The title: The memetic origin of language: modern humans as musical
primates.

Some sentences of "abstract":
The question on the origin of language then becomes the question on the
origin of song in modern humans or early Homo sapiens. At present our
ability to sing is unexplained. We hypothesize that song capacity evolved as
a means to establish and maintain pair- and group-bonding. Indeed, several
convergent examples exist (tropical song birds, whales and porpoises,
wolves, gibbons) where song was naturally selected with regard to its
capacities for reinforcing social bonds. Anthropologists find song has this
function also amongst all human societies.


I undserstand not very much of it. But I am also interested in such
questions.

[My English may have some mistakes - my mother tongue is German].

---------------
ThomasA










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