Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, PO Box 310, Nijmegen 6500 AH, The Netherlands.
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Kapittelweg 29, Nijmegen 6525 EN, The Netherlands.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2020 Jan 6;375(1789):20190061. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0061. Epub 2019 Nov 18.
The comparative approach can provide insight into the evolution of human speech, language and social communication by studying relevant traits in animal systems. Bats are emerging as a model system with great potential to shed light on these processes given their learned vocalizations, close social interactions, and mammalian brains and physiology. A recent framework outlined the multiple levels of investigation needed to understand vocal learning across a broad range of non-human species, including cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants, birds and bats. Here, we apply this framework to the current state-of-the-art in bat research. This encompasses our understanding of the abilities bats have displayed for vocal learning, what is known about the timing and social structure needed for such learning, and current knowledge about the prevalence of the trait across the order. It also addresses the biology (vocal tract morphology, neurobiology and genetics) and evolution of this trait. We conclude by highlighting some key questions that should be answered to advance our understanding of the biological encoding and evolution of speech and spoken communication. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'
比较方法可以通过研究动物系统中的相关特征，深入了解人类言语、语言和社会交流的进化。鉴于蝙蝠具有习得的发声、密切的社会互动以及哺乳动物的大脑和生理结构，它们正在成为一个具有巨大潜力的模型系统，可以为这些过程提供启示。最近的一个框架概述了需要在广泛的非人类物种中理解发声学习的多个层次的研究，包括鲸目动物、鳍足类动物、大象、鸟类和蝙蝠。在这里，我们将该框架应用于蝙蝠研究的最新现状。这包括我们对蝙蝠在发声学习方面表现出的能力的理解、这种学习所需的时间和社会结构的了解，以及关于该特征在整个目内的普遍程度的现有知识。它还涉及到这种特征的生物学（声道形态、神经生物学和遗传学）和进化。最后，我们强调了一些应该回答的关键问题，以推进我们对言语和口语交流的生物学编码和进化的理解。本文是主题为“动物交流能教会我们什么关于人类语言？”的特刊的一部分。
