On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage
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fnhum-16-1018708.pdf
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Author(s)
Miyagawa, Shigeru
Arévalo, Analía
Nóbrega, Vitor A.
Date Issued
November 11, 2022
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Citation
Miyagawa, Shigeru, Arévalo, Analía and Nóbrega, Vitor A. 2022. "On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin’s musical protolanguage." 16.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
In this article, we address the tenability of Darwin’s musical protolanguage, arguing that a more compelling evolutionary scenario is one where a prosodic protolanguage is taken to be the preliminary step to represent the hierarchy involved in linguistic structures within a linear auditory signal. We hypothesize that the establishment of a prosodic protolanguage results from an enhancement of a rhythmic system that transformed linear signals into speech prosody, which in turn can mark syntactic hierarchical relations. To develop this claim, we explore the role of prosodic cues on the parsing of syntactic structures, as well as neuroscientific evidence connecting the evolutionary development of music and linguistic capacities. Finally, we entertain the assumption that the capacity to generate hierarchical structure might have developed as part of tool-making in human prehistory, and hence was established prior to the enhancement of a prosodic protolinguistic system.
Subjects
Behavioral Neuroscience
Biological Psychiatry
Psychiatry and Mental health
Neurology
Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2022.1018708
