Phonological Syntax in Bat Vocalizations - A Biolinguistic Approach

生物语言学是一个高度跨学科的领域，专注于语言的生物学基础，阐明其进化，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。在这种背景下，一个基本问题是，语言的哪些方面是人类独有的，哪些相似的特征可以在动物发声中找到。目前的共识确定了语言的三个关键组成部分，即语音模仿，语法和语义参考。语音学句法这一语言学术语通常用于指按特定时间顺序排列的离散的声音元素，没有隐含的语义（即意义）。应用形式语言学方法来研究动物发声的语音句法可以提供大量信息。然而，最能发声的哺乳动物，鲸目动物和蝙蝠，至今还没有被详细研究过。我将使用不同的观察、实验和计算语言学方法，用生物语言学的方法研究蝙蝠的句法产生和感知。蝙蝠是生物语言学句法研究中一个非常有趣的物种，因为它是少数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。我将研究双头莲不同发声的句法个体发生、区域句法差异和句法灵活性。此外，我将采用跨学科的方法，应用计算语言学方法来研究蝙蝠发声的语法。

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.