Many kinds of birds sing. Some birds sing simple songs while others are capable of 200 varieties of songs. Studies suggest that certain properties of birdsong extend beyond the musical patterns to a biological model that might provide clues to the evolutionary origin of human speech. In this course, we will look at the basics of the science of birdsong. We will then discuss the degree and relevance of behavioral, neural and evolutionary analogies between birdsong and human speech by looking especially the song evolution in Bengalese finches. After that, we reinforce the idea with socio-emotional factors in birdsong. Finally, we will discuss what we can learn about evolution of human speech from birdsong studies.
Overview
Syllabus
Module 1: Basics of birdsong
Module 2: Development of birdsong
Module 3: Mechanisms of song learning
Module 4: Social context in song learning
Module 5: Evolution in Bengalese finch songs: Evolution
Module 6: Evolution in Bengalese finch songs: Development
Module 7: Evolution in Bengalese finch songs: Mechanisms
Module 8: Evolution in Bengalese finch songs: Function
Module 9: Evolution in Bengalese finch songs: Summing up
Module 10: Socio-emotional factors
Module 11: From birdsong to the origin of language
Taught by
Kaz Okanoya
