23 Mar 2004

Bart de Boer (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Jelle Zuidema

The signals that all human languages use are combinatorial: a limited number of basic signals (phonemes or syllables) can be combined into an enormous number of possible complex signals. Primate signal systems, in contrast, are not combinatorial. A number of theories and models have been developed to explain this evolutionary transition, but some major problems remain. We present a simulation to investigate the hypothesis that combinatorial phonology is a side effect of optimizing signal systems for acoustic distinctiveness. Crucially, signals in our model are trajectories in an (abstract) acoustic space. Hence, both holistic and combinatorial signals have a temporal structure. We believe the model shows a possible evolutionary pathway to the first half of the "duality of patterning".

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