Research and Publications - Department of Modern Languages and Classics

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    Evidence of a Vocalic Proto-System in the Baboon (Papio papio) Suggests Pre-Hominin Speech Precursors
    (PLOS, 2017) Boe, Louis-Jean; Berthommier, Frederic; Legou, Thierry; Captier, Guillaume; Kemp, Caralyn; Sawallis, Thomas R.; Becker, Yannick; Rey, Arnaud; Fagot, Joel; UDICE-French Research Universities; Communaute Universite Grenoble Alpes; Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble; Universite Grenoble Alpes (UGA); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Aix-Marseille Universite; Universite de Montpellier; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Language is a distinguishing characteristic of our species, and the course of its evolution is one of the hardest problems in science. It has long been generally considered that human speech requires a low larynx, and that the high larynx of nonhuman primates should preclude their producing the vowel systems universally found in human language. Examining the vocalizations through acoustic analyses, tongue anatomy, and modeling of acoustic potential, we found that baboons (Papio papio) produce sounds sharing the F1/F2 formant structure of the human [i o a e u] vowels, and that similarly with humans those vocalic qualities are organized as a system on two acoustic-anatomic axes. This confirms that hominoids can produce contrasting vowel qualities despite a high larynx. It suggests that spoken languages evolved from ancient articulatory skills already present in our last common ancestor with Cercopithecoidea, about 25 MYA.
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    Join or die: How deontological moral intuitions complicate cooperation amid the COVID-19 pandemic
    (Sage, 2023) Del Ponte, Alessandro; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Tackling COVID-19 requires universal collective action: everyone must play their part to reduce the spread of the virus and quell the pandemic. Yet, some people obstinately refuse to cooperate, irrespective of the consequences for themselves and others. In this note, I illustrate a key element of human psychology that hampers cooperation amid the pandemic: deontological moral intuitions. Deontological morality prescribes that moral taboos must be followed no matter the consequences. This means that people who consider Covid vaccines a moral taboo are prepared to suffer virtually any consequence rather than take the vaccine. I discuss the evolutionary basis of deontological intuitions, their implications for cooperation, and consider possible solutions. In conclusion, although not always harmful, deontological moral intuitions against Covid measures -and vaccines in particular- are a major obstacle that stands in the way of successful collective action during the pandemic.
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    Sociolinguistic challenges and new perspectives on determining French speakers in Creole communities: the case of Haiti
    (Walter de Gruyter, 2024-08-06) Tézil, David
    This study examines the sociolinguistic challenges and explores new perspectives on the evaluation of French competency in creole-speaking communities, particularly in Haiti. Due to the absence of an effective and adaptable French proficiency test in the country, the percentage of Francophones often varies between 5 % and 10 %, and as high as 42 %. This inconsistency may be the result of the assumption that schooling is an effective metric of French proficiency. In this study, I argue that while schooling creates some French speakers, it is not necessarily indicative of French proficiency for all Haitians. In other words, not all Haitians enrolled in schools can count as French speakers. I make three propositions to improve the accuracy of the proportion of French speakers in Haiti: (1) combining schooling with some proficiency instrument to determine French speakers; (2) using an adaptable proficiency test that is based on the salient features that distinguish French from Haitian Creole (Kreyòl); (3) controlling for sociolinguistic varieties such as Frenchified Kreyòl or Kreyòl swa to prevent the miscategorization of monolingual Kreyòl speakers as French speakers. Keywords: French proficiency; francophones; Haitian Creole; Kreyòl swa; Kreyòl rèk