Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
The Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow State University, Moscow
Burlak S., e-mail: svetlana.burlak@bk.ru
Author sums up the data which sheds light on the time of emergence of articulate speech and con-siders anatomical features that, in the opinion of some researchers, are relevant for the transition to ar-ticulate speech, such as lowered larynx, basicranial angle, hypoglossal canal, form and position of hyoid bone, mental protuberance, spinal canal width. The most relevant are lowered larynx (combined with shorter oral cavity, which allows a much greater range of sounds to be produced by movements of the vocal tract) and spinal canal width (indicating the increased capacity of breath control). Author com-pares auditory capacities of modern humans and apes with that of fossil hominids (reconstructed on the base of ear bones form) and also their breath control and information processing abilities. For the fac-ulty of language, not only Broca and Vernicke areas are important, frontal lobes (especially, prefrontal cortex) also play a great role. At the same time, brain size growth in Broca and Vernicke areas does not provide, per se, the decisive argument for developed sound speech in a certain Hominid species. Speech processing has a complex nature, involving brain structures recognizing not only the distinctive features of single sounds but also formant transitions from one sound to another, the whole word-gestalt, linguis-tic and extra-linguistic context. Author also discusses cognitive adaptations necessary for sound speech to emerge: capacity for self-sustained vocal imitation, a strong desire to hear understandable speech and interpret sounds produced by others as symbols. This whole syndrome emerges only in Hominids and cannot be due to a single macromutation. Comprehensive study of the available data makes it possible to conclude that already Homo heidelbergensis was capable of articulate speech: this species had no air sacs (which reduced distinctiveness of articulations), maintained a relatively high sensitivity from 2 kHz up to 4 kHz (a region that contains acoustic features that can be modified by articulation) and had a wider spinal canal than Homo erectus. But there is no reason to believe that this species had a full-fledged human language, because many aspects of the latter are closely associated with frontal lobes, and in Homo heidelbergensis these lobes are smaller than in Homo sapiens.
anthropology, language origin; articulate speech, Homo heidelbergensis
Цит.: Burlak S. When did articulate speech arise (according to anthropological data)? // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2012; 3/2012; с. 110-120
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