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Evolutionary Developmental Biology and Human Language Evolution: Constraints on Adaptation

Overview of attention for article published in Evolutionary Biology, March 2012
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Among the highest-scoring outputs from this source (#29 of 310)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (94th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (87th percentile)

Mentioned by

news
1 news outlet
blogs
1 blog
twitter
3 X users
wikipedia
1 Wikipedia page

Citations

dimensions_citation
42 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
165 Mendeley
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Title
Evolutionary Developmental Biology and Human Language Evolution: Constraints on Adaptation
Published in
Evolutionary Biology, March 2012
DOI 10.1007/s11692-012-9162-y
Pubmed ID
Authors

W. Tecumseh Fitch

Abstract

A tension has long existed between those biologists who emphasize the importance of adaptation by natural selection and those who highlight the role of phylogenetic and developmental constraints on organismal form and function. This contrast has been particularly noticeable in recent debates concerning the evolution of human language. Darwin himself acknowledged the existence and importance of both of these, and a long line of biologists have followed him in seeing, in the concept of "descent with modification", a framework naturally able to incorporate both adaptation and constraint. Today, the integrated perspective of modern evolutionary developmental biology ("evo-devo") allows a more subtle and pluralistic approach to these traditional questions, and has provided several examples where the traditional notion of "constraint" can be cashed out in specific, mechanistic terms. This integrated viewpoint is particularly relevant to the evolution of the multiple mechanisms underlying human language, because of the short time available for novel aspects of these mechanisms to evolve and be optimized. Comparative data indicate that many cognitive aspects of human language predate humans, suggesting that pre-adaptation and exaptation have played important roles in language evolution. Thus, substantial components of what many linguists call "Universal Grammar" predate language itself. However, at least some of these older mechanisms have been combined in ways that generate true novelty. I suggest that we can insightfully exploit major steps forward in our understanding of evolution and development, to gain a richer understanding of the principles that underlie human language evolution.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 165 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Norway 2 1%
Portugal 1 <1%
Colombia 1 <1%
France 1 <1%
Hungary 1 <1%
Austria 1 <1%
United Kingdom 1 <1%
Iran, Islamic Republic of 1 <1%
Romania 1 <1%
Other 0 0%
Unknown 155 94%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 35 21%
Researcher 33 20%
Student > Master 23 14%
Student > Bachelor 17 10%
Student > Doctoral Student 10 6%
Other 29 18%
Unknown 18 11%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 49 30%
Psychology 23 14%
Social Sciences 14 8%
Neuroscience 12 7%
Linguistics 10 6%
Other 32 19%
Unknown 25 15%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 21. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 July 2021.
All research outputs
#1,517,557
of 22,673,450 outputs
Outputs from Evolutionary Biology
#29
of 310 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#8,795
of 156,193 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Evolutionary Biology
#1
of 8 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,673,450 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 93rd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 310 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 17.0. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 90% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 156,193 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 94% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 8 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them