(Richman 1978,1987),porpoises (Norris 1991),killer whales (Ford 1991),
wolves,African hunting dogs,and Australian magpies try in their group
vocal interactions to repeat (or at least mimic or vocally match as closely
as they can) what others are saying,and repeat the beats and stay on
beat with others.For these animals this also is part of a strong biologi-
cal drive to remain attached and stay in behavioral synchrony with
others.Joint production of utterances and vocal matching of melodic
contours function as signals in a group context that all participants are
in behavioral synchrony,that they are in solidarity with each other,and
that they are attempting to resolve social and emotional conflicts.These
are crucial social functions of vocal interaction,particularly for creatures
like these and early humans as well,who were forced to live in large,
changing groups in order to survive.
The intricate,precisely timed,vocal rhythmic synchrony,vocal match-
ing,and collaboration in joint production of utterances that I assume was
already in place in the earliest days of the evolution of human language
is obviously a behavior that other,highly social animals are quite capable
of producing.This is one among other examples of behavioral continu-
ity that humans share with nonhuman animals when it comes to the vocal
raw materials that were later worked into socially constructed language.
It is important for us to see these animal continuities as powerful,par-
ticularly when we have the tendency to view human language as some
sort of special creation.Nonsense Formulas Used Today as Evidence for What the First Fixed Formulas
Were Like
Human vocal practices seem to follow what I call the attic principle:like
in an attic in an old house,nothing is ever really thrown away.Living
remnants of ancient vocal practices are retained alongside the most up-
to-date,seemingly more advanced ones.Among the most intriguing of
these seemingly primitive vocal practices that have an active life today
with the most abstract kinds of talk are nonsense vocable formulas used
in all cultures.The best examples I know of which have been described
and analyzed most closely are the “eeney-meeny-miney-mo”children’s
counting-out chant (Opie and Opie 1984;Rubin 1995),Havasupai non-
sense chants (Hinton 1994),Seneca religious chants (Chafe 1994),and
American and New Zealand cattle auctioneer chanting (Kuiper and
Haggo 1984);there are many other examples in the world’s cultures.
These nonsense formulas can help us throw light on what the earliest
fixed formulas in human history might have been like.310 Bruce Richman