{"title":"野生猩猩的三阶自嵌入声基序,以及递归的选择性进化。","authors":"Chiara De Gregorio,Marco Gamba,Adriano R Lameira","doi":"10.1111/nyas.15373","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Recursion, the neuro-computational operation of nesting a signal or pattern within itself, lies at the structural basis of language. Classically considered absent in the vocal repertoires of nonhuman animals, whether recursion evolved step-by-step or saltationally in humans is among the most fervent debates in cognitive science since Chomsky's seminal work on syntax in the 1950s. The recent discovery of self-embedded vocal motifs in wild (nonhuman) great apes-Bornean male orangutans' long calls-lends initial but important support to the notion that recursion, or at least temporal recursion, is not uniquely human among hominids and that its evolution was based on shared ancestry. Building on these findings, we test four necessary predictions for a gradual evolutionary scenario in wild Sumatran female orangutans' alarm calls, the longest known combinations of consonant-like and vowel-like calls among great apes (excepting humans). From the data, we propose third-order self-embedded isochrony: three hierarchical levels of nested isochronous combinatoric units, with each level exhibiting unique variation dynamics and information content relative to context. Our findings confirm that recursive operations underpin great ape call combinatorics, operations that likely evolved gradually in the human lineage as vocal sequences became longer and more intricate.","PeriodicalId":8250,"journal":{"name":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Third-order self-embedded vocal motifs in wild orangutans, and the selective evolution of recursion.\",\"authors\":\"Chiara De Gregorio,Marco Gamba,Adriano R Lameira\",\"doi\":\"10.1111/nyas.15373\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"Recursion, the neuro-computational operation of nesting a signal or pattern within itself, lies at the structural basis of language. Classically considered absent in the vocal repertoires of nonhuman animals, whether recursion evolved step-by-step or saltationally in humans is among the most fervent debates in cognitive science since Chomsky's seminal work on syntax in the 1950s. The recent discovery of self-embedded vocal motifs in wild (nonhuman) great apes-Bornean male orangutans' long calls-lends initial but important support to the notion that recursion, or at least temporal recursion, is not uniquely human among hominids and that its evolution was based on shared ancestry. Building on these findings, we test four necessary predictions for a gradual evolutionary scenario in wild Sumatran female orangutans' alarm calls, the longest known combinations of consonant-like and vowel-like calls among great apes (excepting humans). From the data, we propose third-order self-embedded isochrony: three hierarchical levels of nested isochronous combinatoric units, with each level exhibiting unique variation dynamics and information content relative to context. Our findings confirm that recursive operations underpin great ape call combinatorics, operations that likely evolved gradually in the human lineage as vocal sequences became longer and more intricate.\",\"PeriodicalId\":8250,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences\",\"volume\":\"3 1\",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":4.1000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-05-16\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"103\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15373\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"综合性期刊\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"103","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15373","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
Third-order self-embedded vocal motifs in wild orangutans, and the selective evolution of recursion.
Recursion, the neuro-computational operation of nesting a signal or pattern within itself, lies at the structural basis of language. Classically considered absent in the vocal repertoires of nonhuman animals, whether recursion evolved step-by-step or saltationally in humans is among the most fervent debates in cognitive science since Chomsky's seminal work on syntax in the 1950s. The recent discovery of self-embedded vocal motifs in wild (nonhuman) great apes-Bornean male orangutans' long calls-lends initial but important support to the notion that recursion, or at least temporal recursion, is not uniquely human among hominids and that its evolution was based on shared ancestry. Building on these findings, we test four necessary predictions for a gradual evolutionary scenario in wild Sumatran female orangutans' alarm calls, the longest known combinations of consonant-like and vowel-like calls among great apes (excepting humans). From the data, we propose third-order self-embedded isochrony: three hierarchical levels of nested isochronous combinatoric units, with each level exhibiting unique variation dynamics and information content relative to context. Our findings confirm that recursive operations underpin great ape call combinatorics, operations that likely evolved gradually in the human lineage as vocal sequences became longer and more intricate.
期刊介绍:
Published on behalf of the New York Academy of Sciences, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences provides multidisciplinary perspectives on research of current scientific interest with far-reaching implications for the wider scientific community and society at large. Each special issue assembles the best thinking of key contributors to a field of investigation at a time when emerging developments offer the promise of new insight. Individually themed, Annals special issues stimulate new ways to think about science by providing a neutral forum for discourse—within and across many institutions and fields.