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Title: Scientists hark back 30,000 years to give Neanderthal Man a voice
Source:
timesonline
URL Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3760832.ece
Published: Apr 18, 2008
Author: Mark Henderson, Science Editor
Post Date: 2008-04-18 06:47:58 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 59
Comments: 2
The voice of Neanderthal Man has been synthesised 30,000 years after the human relatives became extinct. Scientists in the US have used a reconstruction of the larynx of Homo neanderthalis and computer models to mimic the way that the species probably spoke. Only one sound – the “e” – has been generated so far, which seems strangulated and nasal in comparison with its human equivalent. Robert McCarthy, of Florida Atlantic University, who is leading the research, said that he hoped eventually to produce an entire sentence. He told New Scientist magazine that the species lacked the “quantal vowel” sounds typical of modern speech. The Neanderthal “e” did not have the quantal hallmark that would help a listener to distinguish the word “beat” from “bit”. This linguistic difference would have limited Neanderthal speech. Related Internet Links Neanterthals speak out - New Scientist Related Links Neanderthal DNA will help to unlock the buried secrets of humanity Neanderthal man was not so dumb after all “They would have spoken a bit differently,” Dr McCarthy said. “They wouldn’t have been able to produce these quantal vowels that form the basis of spoken language.” In the 1970s research into the Neanderthal’s larynx concluded that the species lacked the subtlety of modern speech. Some experts have criticised this finding, citing archaeological evidence of an oral Neanderthal culture. Erik Trinkaus, an anthropologist at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, believes that the notion that Neanderthals were primitive talkers did not tie in with the large brains of human beings. “Ultimately what is important is not the anatomy of the mouth but the neuronal control of it,” he said. Last year researchers found that Neanderthals and modern Man shared a version of a gene linked to speech. Have your say "lacked the subtlety of modern speech" Er, no. - It was different to modern speech. My vocabularly isn't advanced enough to include a word for discrimination-on-the-basis-that-old-civilisations-are assumed-to-be-stupid, any suggestions? Michael fitzGerald, Walton on Thames, UK Isn't it strange how without any flesh or hair samples the artistic ability of the illustrators is let loose & the skin tone & hair colour are portrayed? I. Cohen, Brooklyn, US Many of the world's languages have five vowel sounds or fewer but they do not lack subtlety. For instance, Virgil, Dante and Umberto Eco have had to struggle along without these 'quantal distinctions'. Frank Upton, Solihull,
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#1. To: Ada (#0)
I can kill you with my brain or bash you with my shell -- you choose. -- YertleTurtle
Nebonics.
#2. To: Ada (#0)
Neanderthal speech
I've already said too much.
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