title: Evidence of a Vocalic Proto-System in the Baboon (Papio papio) Suggests Pre-Hominin Speech Precursors.
abstract: Language is a distinguishing characteristic of our species, and the course of its evolution is one of the hardest problems in science. It has long been generally considered that human speech requires a low larynx, and that the high larynx of nonhuman primates should preclude their producing the vowel systems universally found in human language. Examining the vocalizations through acoustic analyses, tongue anatomy, and modeling of acoustic potential, we found that baboons (Papio papio) produce sounds sharing the F1/F2 formant structure of the human [ɨ æ ɑ ɔ u] vowels, and that similarly with humans those vocalic qualities are organized as a system on two acoustic-anatomic axes. This confirms that hominoids can produce contrasting vowel qualities despite a high larynx. It suggests that spoken languages evolved from ancient articulatory skills already present in our last common ancestor with Cercopithecoidea, about 25 MYA.
authors.affiliation: GIPSA-Lab, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Grenoble Alpes University, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France.
authors.forename: Louis-Jean
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Boë
authors.affiliation: GIPSA-Lab, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Grenoble Alpes University, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berthommier
authors.affiliation: Speech and Language Laboratory, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France.|Brain and Language Research Institute, Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Legou
authors.affiliation: Anatomy Laboratory, Montpellier University, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Captier
authors.affiliation: Brain and Language Research Institute, Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France.|Cognitive Psychology Laboratory, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Caralyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kemp
authors.affiliation: New College, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States of America.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Sawallis
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology Laboratory, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Brain and Language Research Institute, Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France.|Cognitive Psychology Laboratory, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rey
authors.affiliation: Brain and Language Research Institute, Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France.|Cognitive Psychology Laboratory, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Joël
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fagot
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007830:Larynx / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D010215:Papio / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D010700:Phonetics; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D014059:Tongue / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology*