Studying and comparing the communication of other species with human language raises a number of important questions: what do our language and the communication skills of other animals have in common? What do phenomena of collective intelligence reveal about the form and dynamics of linguistic systems? What can we deduce from comparing the vocal communication of non-human primates to understand the origin and evolution of speech and language?
By comparing human linguistic productions with the vocalisations of gibbons, murichs, howler monkeys, bonobos and chimpanzees, and taking into account the anatomical and physiological constraints that regulate the acoustic characteristics of these primates' vocalisations, the specific acoustic characteristics of each species are highlighted.
By combining these acoustic characteristics, we can understand how these communication systems work, what information they convey, what makes them similar to ours, and how they have evolved.
Lecture by Professor Didier Demolin, Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Paris.
Via Accademia Albertina 15, Torino