Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Emergence of Linguistic Communication: Studies on Grey Parrots

  • Chapter
Book cover Emergence of Communication and Language

Abstract

Most studies on the evolution of communication systems concentrate on the primate lineage, ignoring the concept of parallel lines of evolution. Although phylogenetically remote from humans, some birds—particularly Grey parrots—share many cognitive and communicative abilities with humans. On certain tasks, they demonstrate processing abilities comparable to 5-6 year-old humans; they learn very simple vocal syntactic patterns and referential elements of human communication, but only through social interaction and in a manner that proceeds in ways similar to those of humans. Given this knowledge of vocal learning in birds, of the effects of social interaction on such learning, and of birds’ complex cognitive abilities, we should not ignore the avian line if we wish to determine the evolutionary pressures that purportedly affected the evolution of complex communication systems—particularly vocal systems—and develop theories and models that can be tested.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Mirror neurons respond to observed actions as if the observer had executed the actions him/herself. Other neurons in the spinal cord act to inhibit the individual from executing the observed action spontaneously.

  2. 2.

    So, for example, when the target was “none”, he would practice “nnnn. *one” (Pepperberg et al., 1991).

  3. 3.

    He probably had heard “grape” from his human trainers, but not any of the other mapped utterances.

  4. 4.

    Remember that Alex questioned trainers directly; such behavior in the juveniles is therefore not unexpected.

  5. 5.

    Nonhuman primates have been trained and tested on their ability to segment human speech sounds (e.g., Newport, Hauser, Spaepen, G., Aslin, R.N., 2004), but not on sound-letter associations or on productive recombination of speech elements.

  6. 6.

    Such rhyme awareness is considered closely aligned to children’s language skills, but is separate from phoneme awareness (see Mann, 2003; cf. Anthony and Francis, 2005).

  7. 7.

    Note that Fogassi and Ferrari (2004) suggest how the MNS might have evolved from monkeys to humans and thus also argue for various forms of MNs relating to various forms of imitation. I did not have access to their material when I wrote the original version of what is in this chapter, in Fall, 2002, after attending a conference on mirror neuron studies.

  8. 8.

    Note that these experiments are critical in the sense that they would confirm what has already been demonstrated. Even a single bellbird that has learned the vocalizations of another species provides fairly strong evidence that learning occurs in the species, but many researchers would want these experiments carried out because the notion of learning by a bird that is supposedly a suboscine and incapable of such behavior is almost heretical.

  9. 9.

    Other features of the song have also changed over the years (Kroodsma, pers. comm., September 2005), but the change in frequency has been emphasized because it is the most obvious (Kroodsma, 2005).

References

  • Anthony, J.L., Francis, D.J.: Development of phonological awareness. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 14 (2005) 255–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arbib, M.A.: The mirror system, imitation, and the evolution of language. In: Dautenhahn, K., Nehaniv, C.L. (eds.): Imitation in Animals and Artifacts. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2002) 229–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Arbib, M.A.: From monkey-like action recognition to human language: An evolutionary framework for neurolinguistics. Behav. Brain Sci. 28 (2005) 105–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley, A., Gathercole, S., Papagno, C.: The phonological loop as a language learning device. Psych. Rev. 105 (1998) 158–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldissera, F., Cavallari, P., Craighero, L., Fadiga, L.: Modulation of spinal excitability during observation of hand actions in humans. Eur. J. Neurosci. 13 (2001) 190–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldwin, J.M.: Deferred imitation in West African Grey parrots. IXth Int’l Cong. Zool., (1914) 536

    Google Scholar 

  • Baptista, L.F.: Song learning. In: Brush, A.H., Clark, G.A. Jr. (eds.): Perspectives in Ornithology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK (1983) 500–506

    Google Scholar 

  • Bickerton, D.: Symbol and structure: A comprehensive framework for language evolution. In: Christiansen, M.H., Kirby, S. (eds.): Language Evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK (2003) 77–93

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R.: A First Language: the Early Stages. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, B., Liberman, A.M.: Meaninglessness, productivity and reading: Some observations about the relation between the alphabet and speech. In: Oakhill, J., Beard, R. (eds.): Reading Development and the Teaching of Reading. Blackwell, Oxford, UK (1999) 157–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Carr, C.E., Soares, D.: Evolutionary convergence and shared computational principles in the auditory system. Brain Behav. Evol. 59 (2002) 294–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, J.M., Snowling, M.J., Hulme, C., Stevenson, J.: The development of phonological awareness in preschool children. Dev. Psychol. 39 (2003) 913–923

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaminade, T., Meary, D., Orliaguet, J-P., Decety, J.: Is perceptual anticipation a motor simulation? A PET study. Brain Imag. 12 (2001) 3669–3674

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheney, D.L., Seyfarth, R.M.: How Monkeys See the World. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  • Colunga, E., Smith, L.B.: Learning what is a word. Paper presented at the 25th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, November (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  • Condillac, E.B. de: Essai sur l’origine des connaissances humaines, ouvage ou l’on réduit à un seul principe tout ce concerne l’entendenment (1746). In Oeuvres Philosophiquede Condillac, Paris: George Leroy (1947)

    Google Scholar 

  • Corballis, M.C.: Laterality and human evolution. Psych. Rev. 96 (1989) 492–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corballis, M.C.: The Lopsided Ape: Evolution of the Generative mind. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  • Corballis, M.C.: From mouth to hand: Gesture, speech, and the evolution of right-handedness. Behav. Brain Sci. 26 (2003) 199–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowie, F.: What’s Within: Nativism Reconsidered. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Crain, S., Pietroski, P.: Nature, nurture, and universal grammar. Linguist. Philos. 24 (2001) 139–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dave, A.S., Margoliash, D.: Song replay during sleep and computational rules for sensorimotor vocal learning. Science 290 (2000) 812–816

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deacon, T.W.: Brain-language coevolution. In: Hawkins, J.A., Gell-Mann, M. (eds.): The Evolution of Human Languages, Vol. 10. Addison-Wesley, Redwood City, CA (1992) 49–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Deacon, T.W.: Evolutionary perspectives on language and brain plasticity. J. Commun. Disord. 33 (2000) 273–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deacon, T.W.: The Symbolic Species: Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. Norton, New York (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Deacon, T.W.: Evolutionary perspectives on language and brain plasticity. J. Commun. Disord. 33 (2000) 273–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Boysson-Bardies, B.: How Language Comes to Children. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • DeCasper, A.J., Spence, M.J.: Prenatal maternal speech influences newborn’s perception of speech sounds. Infant Behav. Devel. 9 (1986) 133–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Kort, S.R., ten Cate, C.: Response to interspecific vocalizations is affected by degree of phylogenetic relatedness in Streptopelia doves. Anim. Behav. 61 (2001) 239–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dent, M.L., Brittan-Powell, E.F., Dooling, R.J., Pierce, A.: Perception of synthetic /ba/-/wa/ speech continuum by budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, (1997) 1891–1897

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Villiers, P.A., de Villiers J.G.: Early Language. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar, R.I.M.: Language, music, and laughter in evolutionary perspective. In: Oller, D.K., Griebel, U. (eds.): Evolution of Communication Systems: A Comparative Approach. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2004) 257–273

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, C.S., Marler, P.: Female appearance as a factor in the responsiveness of male chickens during anti-predator behaviour and courtship. Anim. Behav. 43 (1992) 137–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fadiga, L., Craighero, L.: New insights on sensorimotor integration: From hand action to speech perception. Brain Cognition 53 (2003) 514–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Pavesi, G., Rizzolatti, G.: Motor facilitation during action observation: a magnetic simulation study. J. Neurophysiol. 73 (1995) 2608–2611

    Google Scholar 

  • Farries, M.A.: The avian song system in comparative perspective. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1016 (2004) 61–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farries, M.A.: The oscine song system considered in the context of the avian brain: Lessons learned from comparative neurobiology. Brain Behav. Evol. 58 (2001) 80–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farries, M.A.: The avian song system in comparative perspective. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1016 (2004) 61–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez, J.W.: Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1982)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fogassi, L., Ferrari, P.F.: Mirror neurons, gestures, and language evolution. Interact. Stud. 5 (2004) 345–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fogassi, L., Gallese, V.: The Neural Correlates of Action Understanding in Non-Human Primates. In: Stamenov, M.I., Gallese, V. (eds.): Mirror Neurons and the Evolution of Brain and Language, John Benjamins, Philadelphia, PA (2002) 21–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Fouts, R., Rigby, R.: Man-chimpanzee communication. In: Sebeok, T. (ed.): How Animals Communicate. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN (1977) 1034–1054

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuson, K.C.: The development of self regulating aspects of speech: A review. In: Zivin, G. (ed.): Development of Self Regulation through Private Speech. Wiley, New York (1979) 135–217

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R.A., Gardner, B.T.: Comparative psychology and language acquisition. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 309 (1978) 37–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gathercole, S.E., Baddeley, A.D.: The role of phonological memory in vocabulary acquisition: A study of young children learning new names. Brit. J. Psychol. 81 (1990) 439–454

    Google Scholar 

  • Gnam, R.: Preliminary results on the breeding biology of Bahama amazon. Parrot Let. 1 (1988) 23–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottfried, G.M., Tonks, J.M.: Specifying the relation between novel and known: Input affects the acquisition of novel color terms. Child Devel. 67 (1996) 850–866

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, G.: Development of species identification in ducklings: IX. The necessity of experiencing normal variations in embryonic auditory stimulation. Dev. Psychobiol. 15 (1982) 507–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P.: Language, tools and brain: The ontogeny and phylogeny of hierarchically organized sequential behavior. Behav. Brain Sci. 14 (1991) 531–595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P.M., Nelson, K., Salzman, E.: The development of rulebound strategies for manipulating seriated nesting cups: A parallel between action and grammar. Cog. Psychol. 3 (1972) 291–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P.M., Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S.: Imitation, grammatical development, and the invention of protogrammar by an ape. In: Krasnegor, N.A., Rumbaugh, D.M., Schiefelbusch, R.L., Studdert-Kennedy, M. (eds.): Biological and Behavioral Determinants of Language Development. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ (1991) 235–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Hauser, M.D., Chomsky, N., Fitch, W.T.: The faculty of language: What is it, who has it, and how did it evolve? Science 298 (2002) 1569–1579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewes, G.W.: Primate communication and the gestural origin of language. Cur. Anthropol. 33 (1973) 65–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hockett, C.: Animal “languages” and human language. Hum. Biol. 31 (1959) 32–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollich, G.J., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R.M.: Breaking the language barrier: an emergentist coalition model for the origins of word learning. SRCD Monog. 262 (2000) 1–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Homberger, D.G.: The Lingual Apparatus of the African Grey Parrot, Psittacus erithacus Linne (Aves: Psittacidae) Description and Theoretical Mechanical Analysis. Ornithological Monographs, No. 39. The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, DC (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  • Huber, L., Voelkl, B., Rechberger, S.: New methods of analysing the copying fidelity of socially learning animals. Paper presented at the XXVth Int’l Etholog. Cong., Vienna, August (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hultsch, H.: Recombination of acquired songs as a correlate of package formation. In: Elsner, N., Roth, G. (eds.): Brain-Perception-Cognition. Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart (1990) 433

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurford, J.R., Studdert-Kennedy, M., Knight, C. (eds.): Approaches to the Evolution of Language. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, E.D., Güntürkün, O., Bruce, L., Csillag, A., Karten, H., Kuenzel, W., Medina, L., Paxinos, G., Perkel, D.J., Shimizu, T., Striedter, G., Wild, J.M., Ball, G.F., Dugas-Ford, J., Durand, S.E., Hough, G.E., Husband, S., Kubikova, L., Lee, D.W., Mello, C.V., Powers, A., Siang, C., Smulders, T.V., Wada, K., White, S.A., Yamamoto, K., Yu, J., Reiner, A., Butler, A.B. (2005). Avian brains and a new understanding of vertebrate evolution. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 6 (2005) 151–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, E.D., Mello, C.V.: Molecular mapping of brain areas involved in parrot vocal communication. J. Comp. Neurol. 419 (2000) 1–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson Pynn, J., Fragaszy, D.M., Hirsh, E.M., Brakke, K.E., Greenfield P.M.: Strategies used to combine seriated cups by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus), and capuchins (Cebus apella). J. Comp. Psychol. 113 (1999) 137–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, A.S., Freeberg, T.M., West, M.J.: Social experience affects the process and outcome of vocal ontogeny in two populations of cowbirds (Molothrus ater). J. Comp. Psychol. 110 (1996) 276–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroodsma, D.E.: Song learning, dialects, and dispersal in the Bewick’s wren. Z. Tierpsychol. 35 (1974) 352–380

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroodsma, D.E.: Song types and their use: Developmental flexibility of the male blue-winged warbler. Ethology 79 (1988) 235–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroodsma, D.E.: The Singing Life of Birds. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, New York (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroodsma, D.E., Konishi, M.: A suboscine bird (Eastern phoebe, Sayornis phoebe) develops normal song without auditory feedback. Anim. Behav. 42 (1991) 477–487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroodsma, D.E., Pickert, R.: Sensitive phases for song learning: Effects of social interaction and individual variation. Anim. Behav. 32 (1984) 389–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuczaj, S.A., Bean. A.: The development of non communicative speech systems. In: Kuczaj, S.A. (ed.): Language Development: Language, Thought, and Culture. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ (1982) 279–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuczaj, S.A.: Crib Speech and Language Play. Springer Verlag, New York (1983)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kuczaj, S.A.: Is an evolutionary theory of language play possible? Cah. Psychol. Cogn. 17 (1998) 135–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhl, P.K.: Discrimination of speech by nonhuman animals: Basic auditory sensitivities conducive to the perception of speech-sound categories. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 70 (1981) 340–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladefoged, P.: A Course in Phonetics. Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch, San Diego, CA (1982)

    Google Scholar 

  • Leger, D.W.: First documentation of combinatorial song syntax in a suboscine passerine species. Condor 107 (2005) 765–774

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lemon, R.E.: How birds develop song dialects. Condor 77 (1975) 385–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leonard, L.B.: Fillers across languages and language abilities. J. Child Lang. 28 (2001) 257–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leonard, L., Chapman, K., Rowan, L., Weiss, A. Three hypotheses concerning young children’s imitations of lexical items. Dev. Psychol. 19 (1983) 591–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, S.T.: The social behavior of the White-fronted Amazon (Amazona albifrons). In: Pasquier, R.F. (ed.): Conservation of New World Parrots. ICBP Technical Publication No. 1, Washington, DC (1980) 403–417

    Google Scholar 

  • Liberman, A., Mattingly, I.: The motor theory of speech perception revisited. Cognition 21 (1985) 1–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, P.: Preadaptation, natural selection, and function. Lang. Commun. 11 (1991) 63–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, P.: Human Language and Our Reptilian Brain. Harvard, Cambridge, MA (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, P.: On the nature and evolution of the neural bases of human language. Yearb. Phys. Anthropol. 45 (2002) 36–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liittschwager, J.C., Markman, E.M.: Mutual exclusivity as a default assumption in second label learning. Paper presented at the biennial convention, SRCD, Seattle, April (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liittschwager, J.C., Markman, E.M.: Sixteen- and 24-month olds’ use of mutual exclusivity as a default assumption in second-label learning. Dev. Psychol. 30 (1994) 955–968

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liska, J.: Bee dances, bird songs, monkey calls, and cetacean sonar: Is speech unique? Western J. Comm. 57 (1993) 1–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, J.L.: A theory of neurolinguistic development. Brain Lang. 58 (1997) 265–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macnamara, J.: Names for Things: A Study of Human Learning. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1982)

    Google Scholar 

  • MacNeilage, P.F., Davis, B.L.: The Evolution of Language. In: Buss, D.M. (ed.): The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology. John Wiley & Sons, New York (2005) 698–723

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, V.A., Foy, J.G.: Phonological awareness, speech development, and letter knowledge in preschool children. Ann. Dyslexia 53 (2003) 149–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margoliash, D.: Offline learning and the role of autogenous speech: New suggestions from birdsong research. Speech Commun. 41 (2003) 165–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margoliash, D., Staicer, C.A., Inoue, S.A.: Stereotyped and plastic song in adult indigo buntings, Passerina cyanea. Anim. Behav. 42 (1994) 367–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markman, E.M.: Constraints children place on word meaning. Cog. Sci. 14 (1990) 57–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markman, E.M., Wachtel, G.F.: Children’s use of mutual exclusivity to constrain the meanings of words. Cog. Psychol. 20 (1988) 121–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marler, P., Peters, S.: Subsong and plastic song: their role in the vocal learning process. In: Kroodsma, D.E., Miller, E.H. (eds.): Acoustic Communication in Birds, Vol. 2: Song Learning and its Consequences. Academic, New York (1982) 25–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Marschark, M., Everhart, V.S., Martin, J., West, S.A.: Identifying linguistic creativity in deaf and hearing children. Metaphor Symb. Act. 2 (1987) 281–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masin, S., Lenti Boero, D., Massa, R,, Bottoni, L. Acoustic characteristics of vowel-like sounds of an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Poster presented at the Avian Brain Conference, XXIXth Int’l Etholog. Cong., August (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  • May, D.: Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Arizona, 2004

    Google Scholar 

  • Medina, L., Reiner, A.: Do birds possess homologues of mammalian primary visual, somatosensory and motor cortices? TiNS 23 (2000) 1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Merriman, W.E.: The mutual exclusivity bias in children’s word learning: A reply to Woodward and Markman. Dev. Rev. 11 (1991) 164–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neal, K.B.: The development of a vocalization in an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Unpublished senior thesis, University of Arizona, Tucson (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  • Neapolitan, D.M., Pepperberg, I.M., Schinke Llano, L.: An avian model for studies on second language acquisition. Stud. Second Lang. Acq. 10 (1988) 1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, D.E.: Song overproduction and selective attrition lead to song sharing in the field sparrow. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 30 (1992) 415–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, K.: Monologues in the crib. In: Nelson, K. (ed.): Narratives from the Crib. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1989) 1–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordby, J.C., Campbell, S.E., Beecher, M.D.: Late song learning in song sparrows. Anim. Behav. 61 (2001) 835–846

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nottebohm, F.: Ontogeny of bird song. Science 167 (1970) 950–956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nottebohm, F.: Brain pathways for vocal learning in birds: a review of the first ten years. Progr. Psychobiol. Physiolog. Psychol. 9 (1980) 85–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Oller, D.K.: Underpinnings for a theory of communicative evolution. In: Oller, D.K., Griebel, U. (eds.): Evolution of Communication Systems: A Comparative Approach. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2004) 49–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Oller, D.K, Griebel, U. (eds.): Evolution of Communication Systems: A Comparative Approach. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, D.K., Pepperberg, I.M.: A comparative study of human and parrot phonation: I. Acoustic and articulatory correlates of vowels. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 96 (1994) 634–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, D.K. and Pepperberg, I.M.: A comparative study of human and Grey parrot phonation: Acoustic and articulatory correlates of stop consonants. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, (1998) 2197–2213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peperkamp, S.: Phonological acquisition: Recent attainments and new challenges. Lang. Speech 46 (2003) 87–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Functional vocalizations by an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Z. Tierpsychol. 55 (1981) 139–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Cognition in the African Grey parrot: Preliminary evidence for auditory/vocal comprehension of the class concept. Anim. Learn. Behav. 11 (1983) 179–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Social modeling theory: A possible framework for avian vocal learning. Auk 102 (1985) 854–864

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: An interactive modeling technique for acquisition of communication skills: separation of ‘labeling’ and ‘requesting’ in a psittacine subject. Appl. Psycholing. 9 (1988) 59–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Cognition in an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus): Further evidence for comprehension of categories and labels. J. Comp. Psychol. 104 (1990a) 42–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Referential mapping: attaching functional significance to the innovative utterances of an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Appl. Psycholing. 11 (1990b) 23–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Proficient performance of a conjunctive, recursive task by an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). J. Comp. Psychol. 106 (1992) 295–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Evidence for numerical competence in an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). J. Comp. Psychol. 108 (1994) 36–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Categorical class formation by an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). In Zentall, T.R., Smeets, P.R. (eds.): Stimulus Class Formation in Humans and Animals, Elsevier, Amsterdam (1996) 71–90

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Social influences on the acquisition of human-based codes in parrots and nonhuman primates. In: Snowdon, C.T., Hausberger, M. (eds.): Social Influences on Vocal Development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (1997) 157–177

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Lessons from cognitive ethology: Animal models for ethological computing. Proceedings of the First Conference on Epigenetic Robotics. In: Balkenius, C., Zlatev, J., Kozima, H., Dautenhahn, K., Breazeal, C. (eds.): Lund University Cognitive Science Series No. 85, Lund, Sweden, http://www.lucs.lu.se/Abstracts/LUCS_Studies/LUCS85.html (2001)

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Evolution of communication from an avian perspective. In: Oller, D.K., Griebel, U. (eds.): Evolution of Communication Systems: A Comparative Approach. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2004a) 171–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Grey parrots do not always ‘parrot’: Phonological awareness and the creation of new labels from existing vocalizations. Keynote address, Third International Symposium on Imitation in Animals and Artifacts, Hatfield UK, April (2004b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M. An avian perspective on language evolution: implications of simultaneous development of vocal and physical object combinations by a Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). In: Tallerman, M. (ed.): Language Origins: Perspectives on Evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK (2005a) 239–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M. Insights into vocal imitation in African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus). In: Hurley, S., Chater, N. (eds.): Perspectives on Imtation: From Neuroscience to Social Science. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2005b) 243–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) numerical abilities: addition and further experiments on a zero-like concept. J. Comp. Psychol. 120 (2006a) 1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Grey parrots do not always parrot: roles of imitation and phonological awareness in the creation of new labels from existing vocalizations. Lang. Sci. 28 (2006b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Ordinality and inferential abilities of a Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus). J. Comp. Psychol. 120 (2006c) 205–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M.: Learning to Communicate. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (in prep)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Gordon, J.D.: Numerical comprehension by a Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus), including a zero-like concept. J. Comp. Psychol. 119 (2005) 197–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Schinke Llano, L. Language acquisition and use in a bilingual environment: A framework for studying birdsong in zones of sympatry. Ethology 89 (1991) 1–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Sherman, D.V.: A two-trainer modeling system to engender social skills in children with disabilities. Int’l J. Comp. Psychol. 15 (2002) 138–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Shive, H.A.: Simultaneous development of vocal and physical object combinations by a Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus): Bottle caps, lids, and labels. J. Comp. Psychol. 115 (2001) 376–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M. Wilcox, S.E.: Evidence for a form of mutual exclusivity during label acquisition by Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus)? J. Comp. Psychol. 114 (2000) 219–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Wilkes, S.R.: Lack of referential vocal learning from LCD video by Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus). Interaction Stud. 5 (2004) 75–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Brese, K.J., Harris, B.J.: Solitary sound play during acquisition of English vocalizations by an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus): Possible parallels with children’s monologue speech. Appl. Psycholing. 12 (1991) 151–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Gardiner, L.I., Luttrell, L.J.: Limited contextual vocal learning in the Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus): the effect of co-viewers on videotaped instruction. J. Comp. Psychol. 113 (1999) 158–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Naughton, J.R., Banta, P.A.: Allospecific vocal learning by Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus): A failure of videotaped instruction under certain conditions. Behav. Process. 42 (1998) 139–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Sandefer, R.M., Noel, D., Ellsworth, C.P.: Vocal learning in the Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus): Effect of species identity and number of trainers. J. Comp. Psychol. 114 (2000) 371–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg, I.M., Brezinsky, M.V.: Relational learning by an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus): Discriminations based on relative size. J. Comp. Psychol. 105 (1991) 286–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perkel, D.J.: Origin of the anterior forebrain pathway. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1016 (2004) 736–748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, A.N.: Filler syllables: What is their status in emerging grammar? J. Child Lang. 28 (2001) 229–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Premack D.: On the abstractness of human concepts: Why is would be difficult to talk to a pigeon. In: Hulse, S.H., Fowler, H., Honig, W.K. (eds.): Cognitive Processes in Animal Behavior. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ (1978) 421–451

    Google Scholar 

  • Querleu, D., Renard, X., Versyp. F.: Les perceptions auditives du foetus humain. Méd. Hygiène 39 (1981) 2101–2110

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiner, A.: pers. comm., April 19, 2005

    Google Scholar 

  • Richman, B.: On the evolution of speech: Singing as the middle term. Cur. Anthropol. 34 (1993) 721–722

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzolatti, G., Arbib, M.: Language within our grasp. TiNS 21 (1998) 188–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Rizzolatti, G., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V.: Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the understanding and imitation of actions. Nature Rev. Neurol. 2 (2001) 661–670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakai, K.L.: Language acquisition and brain development. Science 310 (2005) 815–819.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S., Murphy, J., Sevcik, R.A., Brakke, K.E., Williams, S.L., Rumbaugh, D.M. Language comprehension in ape and child. SRCD Monog. 233 (1993) 1–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W.J.: The behavior of communicating, after twenty years. In: Owings, D.H., Beecher, M.D., Thompson, N.S. (eds.): Perspectives in Ethology, Vol. 12, Plenum Press, New York (1997) 7–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W.J., Smith, A.M.: Behavioral information provided by two song forms of the Eastern kingbird, T. tyrannus. Behaviour 120 (1992) 90–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W.J., Smith, A.M.: Information about behavior provided by Louisiana waterthrush, Seurus motacilla (Parulinae), songs. Anim. Behav. 51 (1996) 785–799

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V.A., King, A.P., West, M.J.: A role of her own: Female cowbirds, Molothrus ater, influence the development and outcome of song learning. Anim. Behav. 60 (2000) 599–609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, D.W.: Distribution, ecology, and evolution of the bellbirds (Procnias, Cotingidae). Bull. Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist. 25 (1973) 369–391

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, K.N.: Acoustic Phonetics. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  • Storkel, H.: Learning new words II: Phonotactic probability in verb learning. J. Speech Lang. Hearing Res. 44 (2001) 1312–1323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storkel, H.: Restructuring of similarity neighbourhoods in the developing mental lexicon. J. Child Lang. 29 (2002) 251–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Striedter, G.: The vocal control pathways in budgerigars differ from those in songbirds. J. Comp. Neurol. 343 (1994) 35–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Studdert-Kennedy, M.: Mirror neurons, vocal imitation, and the evolution of particulate speech. In: Stamenov, M.I., Gallese, V. (eds.): Mirror Neurons and The Evolution of Brain and Language. John Benjamins, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2002) 207–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Studdert-Kennedy, M.: How did language go discrete? In: Tallerman, M. (ed.): Language Origins. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (2005) 48–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Todt, D.: Spontaneous recombinations of vocal patterns in parrots. Naturwissen. 62 (1975) 399–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M.: Constructing a Language. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M., Call, J.: Primate Cognition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK (1997).

    Google Scholar 

  • Treiman, R.: Errors in short-term memory for speech: A developmental study. J. Expt’l Psychol.: Learn. Mem. Cogn. 21 (1995) 1197–1208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vauclair, J.: Lateralization of communicative signals in nonhuman primates and the hypothesis of the gestural origin of language. Interact. Stud. 5 (2004) 365–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vihman, M.M.: Vocal motor schemes, variation, and the production-perception link. J. Phonet. 21 (1993) 163–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Vihman, M.M.: Phonological Development: The Origins of Language in the Child. Blackwell, Malden, MA (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  • Visalberghi, E., Fragaszy, D.M.: Do monkeys ape? In: Parker, S.T., Gibson, K.R. (eds.): “Language” and Intelligence in Monkeys and Apes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (1990) 247–273

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Visalberghi, E., Fragaszy, D.M.: “Do monkeys ape?” Ten years after. In: Dautenhahn, K., Nehaniv, C.L. (eds.): Imitation in Animals and Artifacts. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2002) 471–499

    Google Scholar 

  • West, M.J., King, A.P.: Social guidance of vocal learning by female cowbirds: validating its functional significance. Z. Tierpsychol. 70 (1985) 225–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wild, J.M. Arends, J.J.A., Zeigler, H.P.: Telencephalic connections of the trigeminal system in the pigeon (Columba livia): a trigeminal sensorimotor circuit. J. Comp. Neurol. 234 (1985) 441–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, H.: Multiple representations and auditory-motor interactions in the avian song system. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 563 (1989) 148–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, H., Nottebohm, F.: Auditory responses in avian vocal motor neurons: A motor theory for song perception in birds. Science 229 (1985) 279–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wray, A., Gonzalez, R.C. (eds.): The Transition to Language. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, T.F.: Regional dialects in the contact calls of a parrot. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lon. B 263 (1996) 867–872

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, T.F., Dorin, M.: Pair duets in the yellow-naped Amazon (Psittaciformes: Amazona auropalliata): Responses to playbacks of different dialects. Ethology 107 (2001) 111–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamashita, C.: Field observations and comments on the Indigo macaw (Anodorhynchus leari), a highly endangered species from northeastern Brazil. Wilson Bull. 99 (1987) 280–282

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, USA

    Irene M. Pepperberg

  2. Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

    Irene M. Pepperberg

Authors
  1. Irene M. Pepperberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK

    Caroline Lyon  & Chrystopher L. Nehaniv  & 

  2. School of Computing Communications and Electronics, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK

    Angelo Cangelosi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2007 Springer-Verlag London Limited

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pepperberg, I.M. (2007). Emergence of Linguistic Communication: Studies on Grey Parrots. In: Lyon, C., Nehaniv, C.L., Cangelosi, A. (eds) Emergence of Communication and Language. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-779-4_19

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-779-4_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84628-491-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84628-779-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation