Vocal Learning or vocalization is the ability to produce and imitate sounds. Among the six species that have this ability, only two are analogous to each other: Humans and songbirds. Songbirds have been found to have similar brain regions for speech and share convergent gene expression with humans. Due to this similarity, studying vocal learning in songbirds will help us better understand vocal learning in songbirds as well as in humans.

In the article “Vocal learning: a language-relevant trait in need of a broad cross-species approach” the authors Ella Z Lattenkamp and Sonja C Vernes discuss the importance of vocal learning in songbirds as they are “dominant models” to understand vocal learning in humans due to their similar brain regions for speech. The authors also highlight that to understand vocal learning, first, the offspring must be genetically modified in vivo and in vitro (this means that the egg and sperms of the avian will be taken, cultured and modified, and then the modified cells will be inserted into an avian embryo). Since this method is very invasive, it can’t be performed in humans, that’s why vocal learning is being researched in songbirds as they are easy to take care of and study. The terms used by the authors in this article are complex and unknown to the general public, being the audience of this article scientists, specifically those that are familiar with research in vocal learning, “Studies comparing these factors across songbirds and humans have suggested deep-homology in neural circuitry (e.g. cortico-basal ganglia circuits) and genetics (e.g. the FOXP2 gene) that point to convergent evolutionary mechanisms” (Lattenkamp and Vernes).

The tone is informative and dignified as they use appropriate language and provide specific and detailed information to educate the audience. Along the same lines, the purpose of this article is to share the importance of genetically modifying songbirds to understand vocal learning in both; humans and songbirds, “A framework such as this will be key to allow metanalyses across multiple species, which will be crucial for a clear understanding of the evolution and biological encoding of vocal learning, human speech, and spoken language” (Lattenkamp and Vernes). Also, they emphasize the reasons why studies have only been conducted in this species and not in others. The genre is an analytical research paper delivered in an online article. Stance and language would fall in the same category of audience and tone as the language used are very specific that only people familiar with the context would understand as they use terms like “in vivo, FOXP2 gene, neuronal integration, optogenetics, etc.). On the other hand, the stance would be informative as it’s notifying the audience about studies done in the past and things to take into consideration, “Identifying the distribution of this trait (in its different incarnations as discussed above), and determining which species do not display the trait, will be crucial to pinpointing the biological factors necessary and sufficient for vocal learning and for understanding how this trait evolved” (Lattenkamp and Vernes).

In the newspaper article “Of Birds and Babies: Social Cues Are Key to Vocal Learning” the author starts with a very interesting question. Do we humans, and birds, learn how to talk randomly or is it by repeating constantly what we often hear? This is what vocal learning is based on; being able to produce a sound after being taught by a tutor. In this article, the scientist conducted an experiment where the birds, zebra finch, were divided into three groups. Group one received a hormone that influences social bonding called vasotocin. Group two was given a compound that blocked the function of vasotocin, meaning that the offspring will have the opposite reaction of vasotocin. Lastly, group three received a saline solution, meaning the offspring will act on its natural behavior. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate “the ability to learn an effective song is important, as birds use their songs to attract mates” (Targeted News Service). The results of the experiment showed that “these hormones – which belong to a class of hormones called nonapeptide hormones and exist in all vertebrates – are critical to the development of vocal learning” (Targeted News Service).

The author of the article transforms the research by Peck and Goldstein to a more understandable subject as the author of the article is basically summarizing the investigation of the original version as is more complex to understand. The original audience of this research is to scientists but this article makes it more accessible to a more general audience due to the terminology the author uses. The language the author uses in this article is a little bit different, terms used are specific to people familiar and nonfamiliar with the context as the author of this article used non-scientific terms to explain the article in a way that the general public can understand what’s being said, “The BABY lab investigates the development and evolution of communication and social learning, and is one of the only labs in the world that actively compares vocal learning in human infants and songbirds” (Targeted News Service). Similar to the article “Vocal learning: a language-relevant trait in need of a broad cross-species approach”, the tone of this article is also informative and dignified as is detailed, to the point and appropriate language is used. The genre of the article is a short report of an analytical research paper as it doesn’t go too much into detail about the experiment and just focuses on the important information: purpose and findings. This article was delivered written through an online news publisher. As well, the stance is the same as the previous article as its informing the audience about scientific findings. Overall, the purpose of the article and the experiment is that “The study has implications for treating autism in humans. Clinicians have been experimenting with administering oxytocin nasally into young autistic children to increase their social skills, Peck said. “We think this bird work can help shed light on the role of these hormones in social motivation” (Targeted News Service). Improvement in social interaction is essential to vocal learning.

In the magazine article “Finding the brain’s common language”, Erin Wayman discusses the goals of the neurobiologist Erich Jarvis based on his laboratory findings of vocal learning. Jarvis said, “the ability to imitate sounds, not higher intelligence, is the key to language” (Wayman). No matter how smart the species is, if I don’t acquire the ability to imitate sounds, it won’t be able to produce them. In this article, Jarvis mentions that “with the knowledge of what genes expresses the ability of vocal learning, science could do more than “finding a cure” for autism, it would also be the evolution of chimpanzees”. Activating the gene of vocal learning on chimpanzees would give them the uncommon but marvelous capacity to speak. He also hypothesizes that “Vocal-learning species are the only species that can synchronize their bodies to the rhythm of the music” (Wayman). It is thought by Jarvis that movement and speech are related, and this might be a key to vocal learning.

Erin Wayman is the author of this magazine article from Science News. The language that the author uses to communicate the information said by Erich Jarvis in this article is simple, specific and direct. Due to this, this article is delivered to the general public being scientists or not. The tone that the author uses to deliver the message is formal. The medium is written, published via an online magazine. Genre is science as the topic is about scientific research. Similarly, the stance is to inform the audience about scientific findings and the future of such discoveries, “ Jarvis wants to use genetic engineering to re-create the brain connections for vocal learning in animals that naturally lack them, such as chimps, to see if he can transform them into vocal learners” (Wayman). All things considered, the purpose of the author is to educate the broad public on what science has been able to do and that there is more than one purpose for the answers. Where vocal learning develops, what are the relationships, and can science apply this knowledge, “Erich Jarvis, who is now looking for genetic changes in the brain that may account for the origins of dance” (Wayman).

“Animal behaviour: Elephants are capable of vocal learning” similarly to the previous articles, talks about the findings of a research performed in a vocal learner species, in this case, is on African savannah elephants. Elephants are one the species that can imitate and produce sounds but far from humans’ function (not as with songbirds). This article is directed to the scientific audience but also to an audience that’s not so familiar with the topic/investigation as the language that the author uses to communicate the information is specific, explanatory and easy to understand. Complex terms a rarely used and if so, explained in a simpler way. The medium is written as an Academic Journal. The author compares and contrasts two experiments, “Here we describe two examples of vocal imitation by African savannah elephants, Loxodonta africana, a terrestrial mammal that lives in a complex fission-fusion society” (Poole). Elephant A lived in a semi-captive group of orphaned elephants. From the outside of this area, what the elephant heard was the sound of trucks. The constant exposure to this sound influenced the elephant call. “Malaika’s truck-like calls do not differ significantly from the truck sounds… They also show that Mlaika’s truck-like calls differ from the normal calls of African elephants and are similar to the recorded track sounds” (Poole). Malaika instead of learning and producing its natural call learned and produce the sound of the truck. This is due because vocal learners learn what they are taught – tutor song- by their tutor or whom they been bonding with. In this case, the truck is the tutor and the truck sounds the tutor song. On the other hand, elephant B, African elephant, was exposed for 18 years to Asian elephants whose calls are a chirping sound, which highly differs from African elephants. The stance is to inform the audience about scientific findings,  “Our finding that an African savannah elephant matched the calls of Asian elephants with whom he lived follows a pattern commonly seen in species that are capable of vocal learning, in which calls converge as the animals form social bonds” (Poole). The same case with elephant A, elephant B since a young age was exposed to a certain sound and as they developed their vocalization skills, the outcome was the production of the tutor song, the chirping sound of the Asian elephants. As well, the genre is science as the topic is about scientific research. The tone that the author uses is formal and informative. Lastly, the purpose of this article is to compare and contrast the natural call of African savannah elephants with two different elephants that were exposed to different “calls” and relate this observation to social bonding. “Vocal learning enables a flexible and open communication system in which animals may learn to imitate signals that are not typical of the species… It strengthens the idea that there is a primary selection pressure for vocal learning that involves the communicative demands of maintaining social relationships in fluid societies” (Poole).

Although, the newspaper article I don’t think is too credible since the author of the article is anonymous. The information seems to be reliable but there is no specific or direct source of where it came from. Out of all, my favorite source was the magazine and not because of the information of the article if not from who it came from. I had the opportunity to work for and with that scientist over the summer and see the work on first hand made me feel more secure about the information provided. I think that each source is specific on the information they want to transmit, well-formulated and good use of language to communicate the information to the audience whoever they wanted to focus on. In conclusion, these four sources relate one to another in all rhetorical aspects. The authors have the same purpose towards the information, the purpose of each article is to inform the audience and relate those findings to how they can contribute to humans’ vocal learning development, function, and future adaptations. Rhetorically analyzing these sources helped build a bigger understanding of the context as well as what’s outside context.

References 

“Of Birds and Babies: Social Cues Are Key to Vocal Learning.” Targeted News Service, 28 July 2017. Gale OneFile: News, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A499416633/STND?u=cuny_ccny&sid=STND&xid=8db627f5. Accessed 14 Sept. 2019.

Lattenkamp, Ella Z and Vernes, Sonja C. “Vocal learning: a language-relevant trait in need of a broad cross-species approach”. Elsevier Ltd (2018): 209 – 215.

Poole, Joyce H., et al. “Animal behaviour: Elephants are capable of vocal learning.” Nature, vol. 434, no. 7032, 2005, p. 455+. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A185471567/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=48383c51. Accessed 15 Sept. 2019.

Wayman, Erin. “Finding the brain’s common language.” Science News, 27 July 2013, p. 32. Gale OneFile: News, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A338037474/STND?u=cuny_ccny&sid=STND&xid=8e6ea465. Accessed 14 Sept. 2019.

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