Steven Elmlinger
@elmlingersteven.bsky.social
Postdoc Fellow at Princeton Psych, studying early language and communicative development in human infants.
Pinned
The social origins of vocal sequences in songbirds and human infants
Abstract. From birdsong to human language, acoustic communication by vocal learners involves the concatenation of sounds into sequences. Sequences are more
royalsocietypublishing.org
1/11 Animals often communicate in phrases with sequential structure. Infant vocal learners, however, are often studied one note or syllable at a time. What are the origins of vocal sequences in animals that learn vocal communication? Find out in our new paper spanning songbirds and human infants! 🧵
Reposted by Steven Elmlinger
A new theme issue of #PhilTransB examines the mechanisms of learning from social interaction. Read articles for free: buff.ly/K8v43YM
February 6, 2026 at 9:30 PM
A new theme issue of #PhilTransB examines the mechanisms of learning from social interaction. Read articles for free: buff.ly/K8v43YM
Reposted by Steven Elmlinger
From birdsong to human language, acoustic communication by vocal learners involves the concatenation of sounds into sequences. Read 'The social origins of vocal sequences in songbirds and human infants': doi.org/10.1098/rstb... #PhilTransB #evolution
February 6, 2026 at 9:52 AM
From birdsong to human language, acoustic communication by vocal learners involves the concatenation of sounds into sequences. Read 'The social origins of vocal sequences in songbirds and human infants': doi.org/10.1098/rstb... #PhilTransB #evolution
Reposted by Steven Elmlinger
A new theme issue of #PhilTransB examines the mechanisms of learning from social interaction. Read articles for free: buff.ly/K8v43YM
February 5, 2026 at 2:19 PM
A new theme issue of #PhilTransB examines the mechanisms of learning from social interaction. Read articles for free: buff.ly/K8v43YM
1/11 Animals often communicate in phrases with sequential structure. Infant vocal learners, however, are often studied one note or syllable at a time. What are the origins of vocal sequences in animals that learn vocal communication? Find out in our new paper spanning songbirds and human infants! 🧵
The social origins of vocal sequences in songbirds and human infants
Abstract. From birdsong to human language, acoustic communication by vocal learners involves the concatenation of sounds into sequences. Sequences are more
royalsocietypublishing.org
February 6, 2026 at 12:52 PM
1/11 Animals often communicate in phrases with sequential structure. Infant vocal learners, however, are often studied one note or syllable at a time. What are the origins of vocal sequences in animals that learn vocal communication? Find out in our new paper spanning songbirds and human infants! 🧵
Reposted by Steven Elmlinger
Cool new paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social — adults simplify their speech specifically in response to immature vocalizations. Seems like an important mechanism for how infant-directed vocalizations work, with a role for language learning
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
February 9, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Cool new paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social — adults simplify their speech specifically in response to immature vocalizations. Seems like an important mechanism for how infant-directed vocalizations work, with a role for language learning
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Steven Elmlinger
SO very excited about new paper with @simonkirby.bsky.social and @ellengarland.bsky.social: We used infant-inspired tools to analyze eight years of humpback whale song, finding recurring parts with a Zipfian frequency distribution. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Whale song shows language-like statistical structure
Humpback whale song is a culturally transmitted behavior. Human language, which is also culturally transmitted, has statistically coherent parts whose frequency distribution follows a power law. These...
www.science.org
February 6, 2025 at 9:13 PM
SO very excited about new paper with @simonkirby.bsky.social and @ellengarland.bsky.social: We used infant-inspired tools to analyze eight years of humpback whale song, finding recurring parts with a Zipfian frequency distribution. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
How do languages become learnable for young children? Our new paper in Current Biology shows how “Immature vocalizations elicit simplified adult speech across multiple languages.” 🧵 of our findings below: www.cell.com/current-biol... 1/9
Immature vocalizations elicit simplified adult speech across multiple languages
Altriciality, or extended early immaturity, creates opportunities for learning. Across
languages, Elmlinger et al. show that parents simplify their speech in response to
children’s early vocalizations...
www.cell.com
February 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM
How do languages become learnable for young children? Our new paper in Current Biology shows how “Immature vocalizations elicit simplified adult speech across multiple languages.” 🧵 of our findings below: www.cell.com/current-biol... 1/9