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The human vocal tract allows for speech production through adjusting the vocal folds and mouth shape. While the vocal tract also serves other functions like eating, aspects like downward larynx position are better suited for speech despite risks like choking. Early hominids with speech capabilities may have had an advantage through language.

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Chloe Eisenheart
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23 views3 pages

ELC02 Reviewer

The human vocal tract allows for speech production through adjusting the vocal folds and mouth shape. While the vocal tract also serves other functions like eating, aspects like downward larynx position are better suited for speech despite risks like choking. Early hominids with speech capabilities may have had an advantage through language.

Uploaded by

Chloe Eisenheart
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Human Vocal Tract and Language

The capacity to produce speech depends on the structure and the functioning of the human vocal tract,
which is illustrated in Figure 2.1. Speech is produced when air from the lungs exits the larynx and is
filtered by the vocal tract above the larynx.

We can change the pitch of the sound we produce by tightening or loosening the vocal folds in the larynx.
We can further change the sound that comes out of our mouths by changing the shape of the vocal tract
above the larynx (or, technically speaking, the supralaryngeal vocal tract). Although the structures in
our vocal tract serve other purposes—biting, chewing, swallowing, inhaling—these structures have
features that seem better suited for speaking than for their other functions. Human teeth are even and
upright, which is not necessary for eating but is useful for producing certain sounds, such as [s] and [f].
The human lips and tongue also have properties that are useful for rapidly producing different sounds
but are not particularly necessary for anything else (Aitchison, 1989). The most notably speech-specific
feature of the human vocal tract is the position of the larynx. In humans, compared with other mammals,
the larynx is low. Although this feature is good for producing speech sounds, it comes at a cost. Because
our larynx is low, food from our mouths can fall into the trachea, and we run the risk of choking to death.
Other animals have a higher larynx, and they can close off the passage for air into the lungs. Thus, other
animals can breathe through their nose and drink at the same time; humans cannot. Changes in the
shape of the mouth that go along with the lower larynx also account for the frequent human problem of
overcrowded teeth and impacted wisdom teeth (P. Lieberman, 1991). These life-threatening
disadvantages that come with a vocal tract that is good for speech suggest that speech must have been
very useful to the first hominids who had it. It must have given them a survival advantage that more
than compensated for the risk of death from infected teeth and choking on food. It is possible to look at
fossils to see when the hominid vocal tract first had a shape that would have supported modern speech.
According to Philip Lieberman (1984, 1991), no hominid before Cro-Magnon was capable of producing
the range of sounds in modern languages. Lieberman suggests that the advantage of having language
may explain why the Cro- Magnon prevailed over their nonlinguistic contemporaries, the Neanderthal.
HUMAN BRAIN
LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAIN
Analytical Thoughts Creativity/Art
Logic Imagination
Language Intuition
Reasoning Music Awareness
Math/Science Right-handed
Numbering Skills
Left-handed
NOTE: It is just a function.

PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND ACQUISITION

SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATIVE FOUNDATIONS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

The social and communicative foundations of language development refer to the ways in
which social interaction and communication contribute to the acquisition and refinement of language skills
in individuals, particularly in children. These foundations are crucial for understanding how language
develops in a social context and how communication skills are shaped over time.

1. Social Interaction

- Imitation: Infants and young children often learn language by imitating the sounds, words, and gestures of
those around them. Imitation is an essential social learning mechanism.
- Joint Attention: Joint attention occurs when individuals focus on the same object or event. It plays a vital
role in language development, as it helps children associate words with objects or actions in their environment.

- Social Contingency: This involves responding to social cues and signals from others. For example, when a
baby coos, and a caregiver responds with a smile or a word, the baby learns that their vocalizations lead to
social interaction.

2. Communication

- Turn-Taking: Conversations involve a back-and-forth exchange of information. Children learn the


importance of taking turns in conversation, which is fundamental to effective communication.

- Expressive and Receptive Language: Expressive language involves producing speech or gestures, while
receptive language involves understanding and interpreting the language of others. Both are critical
components of communication development.

- Nonverbal Communication: Before children develop verbal language skills, they often rely on nonverbal
communication, such as facial expressions, gestures, and body language, to convey their needs and emotions.

3. Caregiver-Child Interaction (Guardian-Child Interaction)

- Caregiver Responsiveness: When caregivers respond promptly and appropriately to a child's


vocalizations, gestures, or attempts at communication, it fosters a sense of security and encourages further
language development.

- Child-Directed Speech (CDS): Caregivers often use a specific style of speech, known as child-directed
speech, when interacting with infants and young children. This involves using a higher pitch, exaggerated
intonation, and simple language, which helps capture the child's attention and facilitates language learning.

4. Social Learning Theories

- Behaviorism: According to behaviorist theories, language is learned through reinforcement and


conditioning. Positive reinforcement, such as praise or attention, can encourage language development.

- Social Cognitive Theory: This theory emphasizes the role of observational learning and modeling.
Children learn language by observing and imitating the language used by those around them.

• In summary, the social and communicative foundations of language development highlight the
importance of social interaction, communication skills, caregiver-child interactions, and social
learning theories in the process of acquiring language. These foundations underscore the
interconnectedness of language and social development, emphasizing the role of the social
environment in shaping linguistic abilities.

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