Open Peer Commentary MacNeilage: Evolution of speech
Out of the mouths of babes . . . and beaks of birds? A broader interpretation of the frame/content theory for the evolution of speech production
Irene M. Pepperberg a1 a1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Department of Psychology, Program in Neurosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
impepper@u.arizona.edu
Abstract
Much of the material MacNeilage cites to support his
frame/content theory for the evolution of speech production
in humans is not unique to mammals. Parallels can be drawn
for comparable evolution of vocal flexibility (specifically the
reproduction of human speech) in birds. I describe several such
parallels and conclude that MacNeilage's hypotheses may
have broader application than he envisioned.
