Chapter 15 Evolution of the Brain and Language

Chapter 15: Evolution of the Brain and Language

Key Terms Language: the unique system of communication used by members of the human species. Neurons: the basic cellular units of the nervous system. A neuron consists of a cell body and specialized processes called dendrites (which receive inputs from other neurons) and axons (outgrowths through which neurons send impulses to other neurons). Cerebral cortex: the layer of gray matter that covers the surface of the cerebral hemispheres, divided into functional regions that correspond to local patterns of neuronal organization.

Cont. Cerebellum: the “little brain” tucked under the cerebrum, and important in the control of balance, posture, and voluntary movement. Cerebrum: the largest part of the human brain, which is split into left and right hemispheres. Seat of all “higher” brain functions. Paleoneurology: the study of the evolution of brain structure and function. Encephalization quotient (EQ): the ratio of the actual brain size of a species to its expected brain size based on statistical regression of brain-to-body size based on a large number of species.

Brain Organization Olfactory bulbs: knoblike structures, located on the underside of the frontal lobes, that form the termination of olfactory nerves running from the nasal region to the brain. Prefrontal region: the association cortex of the frontal lobes, located forward of the primary motor region of the precentral gyrus and the supplemental motor areas.

What does the brain do? http: //www. mayfieldclinic. com/PE-Anat. Brain. htm#. Um. KJDfmkp. A 0

EQ and Fossil Hominins Page 452

Language • • • Spoken Semantic Phonemic Grammatical Recursion

Genetic basis for Langauge The anatomical, neural and cognitive bases of speech and language have been open to investigation for some years. Only recently have modern genetic tools been brought to bear on this fascinating aspect of being human [1]. A novel molecular perspective is emerging, driven by isolation of genomic variants that are correlated with disturbances in speech, language and/or reading 2 and 3. One finding at the heart of this new wave of research was the discovery of FOXP 2 mutations that cause a monogenic speech and language disorder 4 and 5. Given adequate environmental input, children normally acquire highly proficient spoken language without conscious effort or formal tuition [6]. By contrast, individuals carrying heterozygous. FOXP 2 mutations have difficulties mastering complex sequences of mouth movements underlying speech (developmental verbal dyspraxia), and have impaired expressive and receptive language, whereas other aspects of cognition and development are relatively spared [7] (Box 1).

Evolution of Grammar?

Language in the Brain

Language in the Throat

Hyoid Bone A small “floating bone” in the front part of the throat, which is held in place by muscles and ligaments.

Scenarios of Language Evolution • • Throwing and Language Evolution Language as a Replacement for Grooming Symbols and Sex Gesture and Spoken Language

The Structure of Language Phonology, the study of speech sounds, considers which sounds are present and meaningful in a given language. Morphology studies the forms in which sounds combine to form morphemes— words and their meaningful parts. Thus, the word cats would be analyzed as containing two morphemes—cat, the name for a kind of animal, and -s, a morpheme indicating plurality. A language’s lexicon is a dictionary containing all its morphemes and their meanings. Syntax refers to the arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences. For example, do nouns usually come before or after verbs? Do adjectives normally precede or follow the nouns they modify?

Phoneme A phoneme is a sound contrast that makes a difference, that differentiates meaning. We find the phonemes in a given language by comparing minimal pairs, words that resemble each other in all but one sound. The words have different meanings, but they differ in just one sound. The contrasting sounds therefore are phonemes in that language. An example in English is the minimal pair pit/bit. These two words are distinguished by a single sound contrast between /p/ and /b/ (we enclose phonemes in slashes). Thus /p/ and /b/ are phonemes in English.

Phonetics is the study of speech sounds in general, what people actually say in various languages, like the differences in vowel pronunciation described in the discussion of Midwestern speech at the beginning of the chapter. Phonemics studies only the significant sound contrasts (phonemes) of a given language. In English, like /r/ and /l/ (remember craw and claw), /b/ and /v/ also are phonemes, occurring in minimal pairs like bat and vat. In Spanish, however, the contrast between [b] and [v] doesn’t distinguish meaning, and they therefore are not phonemes

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Rather than seeking universal linguistic structures and processes, they believe that different languages produce different ways of thinking. This position sometimes is known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis after Edward Sapir (1931) and his student Benjamin Lee Whorf (1956), its prominent early advocates. Sapir and Whorf argued that the grammatical categories of particular languages lead their speakers to think about things in different ways. For example, English divides time into past, present, and future. Hopi, a language of the Pueblo region of the Native American Southwest, does not. Rather, Hopi distinguishes between events that exist or have existed (what we use present and past to discuss) and those that don’t or don’t yet (our future events, along with imaginary and hypothetical events). Whorf argued that this difference leads Hopi speakers to think about time and reality in different ways than English speakers do.

Vocabulary Such specialized sets of terms and distinctions that are particularly important to certain groups (those with particular foci of experience or activity) are known as focal vocabulary. Consider differences between female and male Americans regarding the color terms they use (Lakoff 2004). Distinctions implied by such terms as salmon, rust, peach, beige, teal, mauve, cranberry, and dusky orange aren’t in the vocabularies of most American men. However, many of them weren’t even in American women’s lexicons 50 years ago

Gender Speech

Speech and Social Class?