Syntax is not limited solely to humans, according to an international study, which has demonstrated that the Japanese great tit combines these calls to transmit complex meanings, such as “watch out! Come over here!” from simple calls which mean “watch out!” and “come over here” separately.
Researches on communication systems suggests that non-human primates and birds have also developed the ability to assign meanings to arbitrary vocal elements. But until now, the evolution of syntax had been considered exclusive to human language.
Evolutionary biologists at The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Japan), the Uppsala University (Sweden) and the University of Zurich (Switzerland) are now challenging this point of view. For the first time, informs Tendencias 21, this researchers have demonstrated that Japanese great tits (Parus minor) have developed syntactic rules.
The team discovered that this birds use a variety of calls and combinations of calls to interact with each other in specific situations. The combination of sounds such as “ABC calls”, for example, means “watch out”. Japanese great tits use them when a sparrowhawk or other predators is nearby: a potentially dangerous situation.
By contrast, the “D calls” means “come over here,” a call the birds use after discovering a new source of food or when they want their partner to come to the nest.
The Japanese tits frequently combine these two calls into “ABC-D” when, for instance, the encounter predators and they gather to deter them. When hearing a recording of this calls played in the natural order of ABC-D, the birds get alarmed and join. When, however, the call ordered is artificially altered to form D-ABC, the birds do not respond.
“Because the tits combine different calls, they are able to create new meaning with their limited vocabulary. That allows them to trigger different behavioral reactions and coordinate complex social interactions,” says Dr. Michael Griesser, at the Institute of Anthropology at the University of Zurich. It is believed that this factors may have contributed to the development of language in humans.
Researches on communication systems suggests that non-human primates and birds have also developed the ability to assign meanings to arbitrary vocal elements. But until now, the evolution of syntax had been considered exclusive to human language.
Evolutionary biologists at The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Japan), the Uppsala University (Sweden) and the University of Zurich (Switzerland) are now challenging this point of view. For the first time, informs Tendencias 21, this researchers have demonstrated that Japanese great tits (Parus minor) have developed syntactic rules.
The team discovered that this birds use a variety of calls and combinations of calls to interact with each other in specific situations. The combination of sounds such as “ABC calls”, for example, means “watch out”. Japanese great tits use them when a sparrowhawk or other predators is nearby: a potentially dangerous situation.
By contrast, the “D calls” means “come over here,” a call the birds use after discovering a new source of food or when they want their partner to come to the nest.
The Japanese tits frequently combine these two calls into “ABC-D” when, for instance, the encounter predators and they gather to deter them. When hearing a recording of this calls played in the natural order of ABC-D, the birds get alarmed and join. When, however, the call ordered is artificially altered to form D-ABC, the birds do not respond.
“Because the tits combine different calls, they are able to create new meaning with their limited vocabulary. That allows them to trigger different behavioral reactions and coordinate complex social interactions,” says Dr. Michael Griesser, at the Institute of Anthropology at the University of Zurich. It is believed that this factors may have contributed to the development of language in humans.
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