Evolution of language articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  02 January 2024 | Open Access

  Inferring language dispersal patterns with velocity field estimation

  Reconstructing language dispersal patterns is important for understanding cultural spread and demic diffusion. Here, the authors use a computational approach based on velocity field estimation to infer the dispersal patterns of Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, Bantu, and Arawak language families.

  • Sizhe Yang
  • , Xiaoru Sun
  •  & Menghan Zhang

• Article
  30 October 2023 | Open Access

  Phylogenetic evidence reveals early Kra-Dai divergence and dispersal in the late Holocene

  Kra-Dai language family exhibits great linguistic diversity and tremendous socio-cultural importance in East Asia. In this study, the authors found that Kra-Dai languages initially diverged ~4,000 years ago in Southern China coinciding with prehistoric demic and agricultural diffusions likely driven by climate change.

  • Yuxin Tao
  • , Yuancheng Wei
  •  & Menghan Zhang

• Article
  04 May 2023 | Open Access

  Call combinations and compositional processing in wild chimpanzees

  Syntax is a key feature distinguishing human language from other animal communication systems. Here, Leroux et al. show that chimpanzees produce a compositional syntactic-like structure, suggesting syntax might be evolutionary ancient and potentially already present in our last common ancestor with chimpanzees.

  • Maël Leroux
  • , Anne M. Schel
  •  & Simon W. Townsend

• Article
  24 September 2022 | Open Access

  Experimental evidence for core-Merge in the vocal communication system of a wild passerine

  It has been hypothesized that language depends on a capacity to produce and recognize two items (e.g., “come” + “talk”) as a single unit (e.g., “come talk”). Here, the authors show that a wild passerine also uses this capacity in vocal communication.

  • Toshitaka N. Suzuki
  •  & Yui K. Matsumoto

• Article
  11 July 2022 | Open Access

  Cumulative cultural evolution and mechanisms for cultural selection in wild bird songs

  Cumulative cultural evolution is ubiquitous in humans, but is rarely observed in non-human animals. Here, Williams et al. report elaboration of songs over several decades in Savannah sparrows, consistent with cumulative cultural evolution.

  • Heather Williams
  • , Andrew Scharf
  •  & Julie C. Blackwood

• Article
  07 May 2021 | Open Access

  Balanced imitation sustains song culture in zebra finches

  Studying how songbirds learn songs can shed light on the development of human speech. An analysis of 160 tutor-pupil zebra finch pairs suggests that frequency dependent balanced imitation prevents the extinction of rare song elements and the overabundance of common ones, promoting song diversity within groups and species recognition across groups.

  • Ofer Tchernichovski
  • , Sophie Eisenberg-Edidin
  •  & Erich D. Jarvis

• Article
  12 January 2021 | Open Access

  Experimental evidence for scale-induced category convergence across populations

  Category systems exhibit striking agreement across many cultures, yet paradoxically individuals exhibit large variation in the categorization of novel stimuli. Here the authors show that critical mass dynamics explain the convergence of independent populations on shared category systems.

  • Douglas Guilbeault
  • , Andrea Baronchelli
  •  & Damon Centola

• Article | 13 January 2015

  Experimental evidence for the co-evolution of hominin tool-making teaching and language

  Oldowan stone tool-making might have influenced the evolution of human language and teaching. Here the authors show that transmission of Oldowan tool-making skills improves with teaching and language, suggesting that hominin reliance on stone tool-making generated selection for teaching and language.

  • T. J. H. Morgan
  • , N. T. Uomini
  •  & K. N. Laland