On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage
In this article, we address the tenability of Darwin’s musical protolanguage, arguing that a more compelling evolutionary scenario is one where a prosodic protolanguage is taken to be the preliminary step to represent the hierarchy involved in linguistic structures within a linear auditory signal. W...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.1018708/full |
| _version_ | 1798018520067342336 |
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| author | Shigeru Miyagawa Shigeru Miyagawa Analía Arévalo Vitor A. Nóbrega |
| author_facet | Shigeru Miyagawa Shigeru Miyagawa Analía Arévalo Vitor A. Nóbrega |
| author_sort | Shigeru Miyagawa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this article, we address the tenability of Darwin’s musical protolanguage, arguing that a more compelling evolutionary scenario is one where a prosodic protolanguage is taken to be the preliminary step to represent the hierarchy involved in linguistic structures within a linear auditory signal. We hypothesize that the establishment of a prosodic protolanguage results from an enhancement of a rhythmic system that transformed linear signals into speech prosody, which in turn can mark syntactic hierarchical relations. To develop this claim, we explore the role of prosodic cues on the parsing of syntactic structures, as well as neuroscientific evidence connecting the evolutionary development of music and linguistic capacities. Finally, we entertain the assumption that the capacity to generate hierarchical structure might have developed as part of tool-making in human prehistory, and hence was established prior to the enhancement of a prosodic protolinguistic system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T16:25:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c36c24eecd5498f871356524cc64cba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T16:25:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c36c24eecd5498f871356524cc64cba2022-12-22T04:14:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612022-11-011610.3389/fnhum.2022.10187081018708On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguageShigeru Miyagawa0Shigeru Miyagawa1Analía Arévalo2Vitor A. Nóbrega3Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United StatesInstitute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilSchool of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilInstitute of Romance Studies, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyIn this article, we address the tenability of Darwin’s musical protolanguage, arguing that a more compelling evolutionary scenario is one where a prosodic protolanguage is taken to be the preliminary step to represent the hierarchy involved in linguistic structures within a linear auditory signal. We hypothesize that the establishment of a prosodic protolanguage results from an enhancement of a rhythmic system that transformed linear signals into speech prosody, which in turn can mark syntactic hierarchical relations. To develop this claim, we explore the role of prosodic cues on the parsing of syntactic structures, as well as neuroscientific evidence connecting the evolutionary development of music and linguistic capacities. Finally, we entertain the assumption that the capacity to generate hierarchical structure might have developed as part of tool-making in human prehistory, and hence was established prior to the enhancement of a prosodic protolinguistic system.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.1018708/fulllanguagesyntaxprotolanguagebrain and languagebirdsongprosody |
| spellingShingle | Shigeru Miyagawa Shigeru Miyagawa Analía Arévalo Vitor A. Nóbrega On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage Frontiers in Human Neuroscience language syntax protolanguage brain and language birdsong prosody |
| title | On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage |
| title_full | On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage |
| title_fullStr | On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage |
| title_short | On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage |
| title_sort | on the representation of hierarchical structure revisiting darwin s musical protolanguage |
| topic | language syntax protolanguage brain and language birdsong prosody |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.1018708/full |
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