Dept. of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Anim Cogn. 2024 Aug 30;27(1):58. doi: 10.1007/s10071-024-01884-4.
The arbitrary relationship between signifier and signified is one of the features responsible for language's extreme lability, adaptability, and expressiveness. Understanding this arbitrariness and its emergence is essential in any account of the evolution of language. To shed light on the phylogeny of the phenomenon, comparative data examining the relationship between signal form and function in the communication systems of non-humans is central. Here we report the results of a study on the production and usage the whistle-high hoot call combination (W + HH) from two distant populations of wild bonobos (Pan paniscus): Lui Kotale, DRC, and Kokolopori, DRC. We find that the context in which bonobos produce the W + HHs varies systematically between populations. Our results suggest that variation in W + HH production may represent an example of signal-adjustment optionality, a key component of arbitrariness.
任意的符号能指和所指之间的关系是语言极不稳定、适应性强和表现力强的特征之一。理解这种任意性及其出现对于任何语言进化的解释都是至关重要的。为了阐明这一现象的系统发生，对非人类交流系统中信号形式和功能之间关系的比较数据的研究是至关重要的。在这里，我们报告了对来自刚果民主共和国的两个遥远的野生倭黑猩猩（Pan paniscus）种群——Lui Kotale 和 Kokolopori——的哨声-高音鸣叫组合（W+HH）的产生和使用的研究结果。我们发现，倭黑猩猩产生 W+HH 的语境在种群之间存在系统差异。我们的研究结果表明，W+HH 的产生变化可能代表信号调整任意性的一个例子，这是任意性的一个关键组成部分。
