Phonetic ability and related anatomy of the newborn and adult human, Neanderthal man, and the chimpanzee.
| Number | 121 |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972 |
| Drawer | 2 |
| Entry Date | 05/21/1998 |
| Authors | Lieberman, P., Crelin, E. S., & Klatt, D. H. |
| Contact | |
| Publication | American Anthropologist, 74, 287-307. |
| url | http://www.haskins.yale.edu/Reprints/HL0121.pdf |
| Abstract | The sounds of human speechmaker human language a rapid medium of communication through a process of speech “encoding”. The presence of sounds like the vowels [a], [i], and [u] makes this process possible. The supralaryngeal vocal tracts of newborn Homo Sapiens and chimpanzee are similar and resemble the reconstructed vocal tract of the fossil La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal man. Vocal tract area functions that were directed toward making best possible approximations to the human vowels [a], [i], and [u], as well as certain consonantal configurations, were modeled by means of a computer program. The lack of these words in the phonetic repertories of these creatures, who lack a supralaryngeal pharyngeal region like that of adult Homo sapiens, may be concomitant with the absence of speech encoding and a consequently linguistic ability inferior to modern man. |
| Notes |
Search Publications