Phonological Syntax in Bat Vocalizations - A Biolinguistic Approach

生物语言学是一门高度交叉的学科，主要研究语言的生物学基础，并融合了认知科学、行为学、神经科学、遗传学、人类学、比较心理学和理论语言学的研究成果。在这一背景下的一个基本问题是，语言的哪些方面是人类独有的，在动物发声中可以找到哪些同源特征。目前的共识确定了语言的三个关键组成部分，即语音模仿、句法和语义指称。语言术语语音句法通常用于指以特定的时间顺序排列的离散的语音成分，没有隐含的语义(即意义)。应用正式的语言学方法来研究动物发声的语音句法可以提供很高的信息。然而，最会发声的哺乳动物，鲸目动物和蝙蝠的发声，到目前为止还没有详细的调查。我将用生物语言学的方法，通过使用不同的观察、实验和计算语言学方法来研究蝙蝠的句法产生和感知。蝙蝠Saccopteryx bilineata是生物语言学语法研究的一个非常有趣的物种，因为它是为数不多的能够模仿声音的哺乳动物之一，这是人类语言的另一个关键组成部分。本文将从句法个体发生学、区域句法差异和句法灵活性等几个方面对双子星的不同发音进行研究。此外，我将应用计算语言学的方法，以跨学科的方法研究蝙蝠发声中的句法。

The highly interdisciplinary field of biolinguistics focuses on the biological foundations of language to elucidate its evolution and merges findings from cognitive science, ethology, neuroscience, genetics, anthropology, comparative psychology and theoretical linguistics. A fundamental question in this context is which aspects of language are uniquely human and which homologous traits can be found in animal vocalizations. The current consensus identifies three key components of language, namely vocal imitation, syntax and semantic reference. The linguistic term phonological syntax is often used when referring to discrete vocal elements arranged in a specific temporal order without implied semantics (i.e. meaning). Applying formal linguistic methods to investigate the phonological syntax of animal vocalizations can be highly informative. However, the vocalizations of the most vocal mammals, cetaceans and bats, have not been investigated in detail so far. I will study syntax production and perception in bats with a biolinguistic approach by using different observational, experimental and computational linguistic methods. The bat Saccopteryx bilineata is a highly interesting species for biolinguistic syntax research because it is one of the few mammals capable of vocal imitation, which is another key component of human language. I will study syntax ontogeny, regional syntactical differences and syntax flexibility in different vocalizations of S. bilineata. In addition, I will apply computational linguistic methods to study syntax in bat vocalizations with an interdisciplinary approach.