• DOI:10.1073/pnas.1717572115
• Corpus ID: 3760179

Flexible usage and social function in primate vocalizations

@article{Cheney2018FlexibleUA,
  title={Flexible usage and social function in primate vocalizations},
  author={Dorothy L. Cheney and Robert M. Seyfarth},
  journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
  year={2018},
  volume={115},
  pages={1974 - 1979}
}

• D. Cheney, R. Seyfarth
• Published 5 February 2018
• Psychology, Biology
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance When compared with humans, nonhuman primates have small vocal repertoires that show little acoustic modification during development. These limitations pose a dilemma for those interested in the evolution of language. Recent research, however, suggests that monkeys and apes show an extensive ability to modify their use of calls in different social contexts. Many vocalizations function to facilitate social interaction by reducing the uncertainty about the signaler’s intentions and likely behavior. Such interactions help to establish and maintain the social bonds that increase reproductive success. For scientists interested in the evolutionary transition from nonlinguistic communication to language, a logical starting point should be social interactions between long-lived individuals who interact repeatedly and for whom long-term social bonds are of paramount importance. Vocalizations are a pervasive feature of nonhuman primate social life, yet we know surprisingly little about their function. We review studies supporting the hypothesis that many primate vocalizations function to facilitate social interactions by reducing uncertainty about the signaler’s intentions and likely behavior. Such interactions help to establish and maintain the social bonds that increase reproductive success. Compared with humans, songbirds, and a few other mammals, primates have small vocal repertoires that show little acoustic modification during development. However, their ability to modify call usage is extensive and tuned to variation in the social context, including the historical relationship between caller and listener and the caller’s assessment of how a listener is likely to respond. We suggest parallels between the decision to vocalize and neurophysiological studies of other, nonvocal social decisions between interacting monkeys. The selective factors driving the early stages of language evolution may have come from the need to make decisions about when and how to call within the context of social challenges.