User:Ylevin2020/sandbox


 * Add to Pooh-Pooh Theory* - These sounds were all produced on sudden intakes of breath, which is unlike any other language. Unlike emotional reactions, spoken language is produced on the exhale, so the sounds contained in this form of communication are unlike those used in normal speech production, which makes this theory a less plausible one for language acquisition (Yule, 2014).


 * Teeth and lips
 * Human teeth are upright and not slanted like many other organisms, such as apes. This is more useful for grinding and chewing and for making certain phonetic sounds such as “f” and “v”. Furthermore, human lips are composed of very intricate muscles that allow for better flexibility. Consequently, humans are able to produce sounds like p, b, m, which are phonemes heard in all infants during their first year, no matter the language spoken.  This suggests that the evolution of the teeth and lips in primates has allowed for more intricate movements that resulted in the production of more complex sounds, ultimately creating a more sophisticated language (Yule, 2014).
 * Mouth and tongue
 * The human mouth is a lot smaller than most other primates has a much more extended vocal tract that is L shaped. Furthermore, humans have a much shorter and thicker tongue, composed of a large amount of muscles, which shapes a large variety of sounds within the oral cavity. Diversity of sound production is also increased with human’s ability to open and close the airway, allowing varying amounts of air to exit through the nose. The fine motor movements associated with the lips and tongue makes humans more capable of producing a wide range of shapes to produce sounds at different rates and intensities (Yule, 2014).
 * Larynx and pharynx
 * In humans, the larynx is positioned lower than in other primates. This is because, the evolution of humans to an upright position shifted the head directly above the spinal cord, shifting everything else downward. The repositioning of the larynx resulted in a longer cavity called the pharynx, which is responsible for increasing the range and clarity of the sound being produced. Other primates have almost no pharynx; therefore, their vocal power is significantly lower (Yule, 2014).
 * Handicap Principle
 * Add Diagram
 * Explanation: The graph shows the different signal intensities as a result of costs and benefit. If two individuals face different costs but have the same benefits, or have different benefits but the same cost, they will signal at different levels. The higher signal represents the more reliable quality. The high quality individual will maximize costs relative to benefits at a high signal intensities, while the low quality individual maximizes their benefits relative to cost at low signal intensity. The high quality individual is shown to take more risks (greater cost), which can be understood in terms of honest signals, which are expensive. The stronger you are, the more easily you can bare the cost of the signal, making you a more appealing mating partner. The low quality individuals are less likely to be able to afford a specific signal, and will consequently be less likely to attract a female. The handicap principle can be used to explain language, because individuals who had the ability to communicate were of higher quality and could mate to produce an offspring (Samhita, 2010).
 * Gestural Theory:
 * Our ancestors were unable to control their vocalization at the when gestures were used to communicate; however, as they slowly began to control their vocalizations, spoken language began to evolve. More evidence supporting this theory include the nature of the primate mirror system in the brain, the success of teaching apes to communicate gesturally, and pointing/gesturing to teach young children language.
 * Fogassi and Ferrari (2014)monitored motor cortex activity in monkeys, specifically area F5 in the Broca’s area, where mirror neurons are located. They observed changes in electrical activity in this area when the monkey executed or observed different hand actions performed by someone else. Broca’s area is a region in the frontal lobe responsible for language production and processing. The discovery of mirror neurons in this region, which fire when an action is done or observed specifically with the hand, strongly supports the belief that communication was once accomplished with gestures.