Proto-consonants were information-dense via identical bioacoustic tags to proto-vowels

Adriano R. Lameira (), Raquel Vicente, António Alexandre, Gail Campbell-Smith, Cheryl Knott, Serge Wich and Madeleine E. Hardus
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Adriano R. Lameira: Evolutionary Anthropology Research Group
Gail Campbell-Smith: Jalan S. Parman Gang Tomat, No. 18B, RT02, RW01, Sukaharja, Ketapang
Cheryl Knott: Boston University
Serge Wich: School of Natural Science and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University

Nature Human Behaviour, 2017, vol. 1, issue 2, 1-5

Abstract: Abstract Why did our ancestors combine the first consonant- and vowel-like utterances to produce the first syllable or word? To answer this question, it is essential to know what constituted the communicative function of proto-consonants and of proto-vowels before their combined use became universal. Almost nothing is known, however, about consonant-like calls in the primate order1,2. Here, we investigate a large collection of voiceless consonant-like calls in nonhuman great apes (our closest relatives), namely orangutans (Pongo spp.). We analysed 4,486 kiss-squeaks collected across 48 individuals in four wild populations. Despite idiosyncratic production mechanics, consonant-like calls displayed information-dense content and the same acoustic signatures found in voiced vowel-like calls by nonhuman primates, implying similar biological functions. Selection regimes between proto-consonants and proto-vowels were thus probably indistinguishable at the dawn of spoken language evolution. Our findings suggest that the first proto-syllables or proto-words in our lineage probably constituted message reiterations, instead of messages of increasing intricacy.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-017-0044

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