Join us for a guest talk with Dr. Jon T. Sakata.
Dr. Sakata from McGill University will present his new work on universals in bird song and human speech.
Title
Universality of ”universals”: prevalence of common speech and music patterns within birdsong
Abstract
Despite the large variation in the acoustic structure of speech and music around the world, there are numerous acoustic patterns that are more common than expected by chance (i.e., speech or music “universals”). Given their prevalence, it is important to discern the factors that contribute to these patterns, and one possibility is that speech and music universals reflect biological predispositions in vocal learning and production. Songbirds offer powerful opportunities to understand the biological mechanisms underlying vocal acquisition and performance. This is because (a) songbirds learn their vocalizations in a manner that resembles how humans acquire speech and music, (b) both songbird and human vocalizations rely on the coordinated regulation of vocal and respiratory anatomy, and (c) songbirds possess neural circuits for song learning and performance that are functionally analogous to those subserving speech and music. For this talk I will discuss the prevalence of speech and music universals within the songs of songbirds and highlight the contribution of learning predispositions to the emergence of these patterns.
Bio
Dr. Jon T. Sakata is a Professor in the Department of Biology at McGill University. He received his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Austin (with David Crews and Francisco Gonzalez-Lima) and then trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (with Michael Brainard). His lab investigates biological mechanisms underlying song learning and performance in songbirds as well as parallels between birdsong, speech, and music. His research is funded by the CIHR, NSERC, FRQNT, and CFI.
