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WORK TITLE: The Theory That Changed Everything
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1934
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE: RI
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES: **Previously mentioned in CA 93-96**
PERSONAL
Born October 25, 1934, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Harry Israel and Miriam Lieberman; married Marcia Rubinstein (a writer), June 2, 1957; children: two sons; Benjamin and Daniel.
EDUCATION:Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E., 1958; Ph.D., 1966.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Brown University, Providence, RI, cognitive scientist, 1974-present; Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, 1997-present; professor of anthropology, 1999-present; George Hazard Crooker University Professor, emeritus, 2012-present. Worked formerly as a research assistant at M.I.T., as a researcher at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, as a researcher at Haskins Laboratories, at the University of Connecticut between 1967 and 1974, at Brown University as George Hazard Crooker Professor from 1992 to 1997.
MIILITARY:Worked as a researcher in the United States Air Force, 1958-62.
AVOCATIONS:Photography and mountaineering.
MEMBER:Modern Language Association of America, Linguistic Society of America, Acoustical Society of America, American Association of Physical Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, Swiss Alpine Club.
AWARDS:Guggenheim Fellowship in psychology, 1987.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Philip Lieberman is a cognitive scientist and professor at Brown University. He is an expert on the evolution of language and linguistics. Lieberman’s main area of study is the nature and evolution of the biological bases of human language and cognition. His research arises from the notion that neural bases of human cognitive ability are the result of both Darwinian theory of natural selection combined with chance events that led to brain modifications. His research suggests that the combination of these two theories of evolutionary adaptation led to cognitive acts, such as language, by linking activity in prefrontal cortex with other cortical areas. Lieberman has published and lectured widely on these concepts.
Lieberman was born on October 25, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York to Harry Israel Lieberman and Miriam Lieberman. His father was a plumber. Lieberman attended college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studied electrical engineering. He returned to MIT to receive his Ph.D. in linguistics. He completed his dissertation in 1966.
Lieberman worked as a research scientist for MIT before serving in the United States Air Force between 1958 and 1967. Specifically, he worked for the Air Force Communication Research Laboratories in Bedford, Massachusetts. He then worked at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, as an associate professor of linguistics and electrical engineering from 1967 to 1970 and exclusively as a professor of linguistics at the University from 1970 to 1974. In 1974 Lieberman began working at Brown University as a linguistics professor.
Lieberman received a Guggenheim Fellowship in psychology in 1987. In 1990, he was offered the opportunity to give the Nijmegen Lectures of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. The title of the lectures was “The Evolution of Language and Cognition.” Between 1992 and 1997 he was a George Hazard Crooker Professor at the school. He was named Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences in 1997 and Professor of Anthropology in 1999. He still holds both titles. Lieberman is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and the American Anthropological Association.
In addition to studying linguistics, Lieberman enjoys photography and mountaineering. His photographs can be seen at collections at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum and on the website of the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library. He also has a collection of over 400 photographs of Nepal that can be viewed at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.
BIOCRIT
Philip Lieberman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Lieberman (born 1934)[1] is a cognitive scientist at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Originally trained in phonetics, he wrote a dissertation on intonation. His career has focused on topics in the evolution of language, and particularly the relationship between the evolution of the vocal tract, the human brain, and the evolution of speech, cognition and language.[2]
Contents
1 Biography
2 Partial list of works
3 References
4 External links
Biography
Lieberman initially studied electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His doctorate was in linguistics, with his dissertation completed in 1966. In the late 1950s and in the 1960s he worked as a research assistant at MIT before serving in the United States Air Force and also carrying out research there at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) at Hanscom Air Force Base and also working at Haskins Laboratories. From 1967 to 1974 he worked at the University of Connecticut.[3][4]
In 1974 he was appointed to the faculty at Brown University, where he was George Hazard Crooker Professor from 1992 to 1997. Since 1997 he has been the Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, and since 1999 he has been Professor of Anthropology, both at Brown University. Since 2012, when he retired from teaching,he has been The George Hazard Crooker University Professor, emeritus[4]
Lieberman was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in psychology in 1987.[5] In 1990, Lieberman gave the Nijmegen Lectures of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics under the title 'The evolution of language and cognition'.[6] He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and the American Anthropological Association.[2]
Lieberman's interests include photography and mountaineering.[2] A collection of over 400 photographs of Nepal by Lieberman is held at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.[7] Lieberman's photographs have also been exhibited at and are in the collections at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum.[8] His photographs of life in remote Himalayan regions can be viewed on the website of the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library.[9]
Partial list of works
Lieberman, Philip (June 1975). On the Origins of Language. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-370690-2.
Lieberman, Philip (1984). The Biology and Evolution of Language. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-07413-0.
Lieberman, Philip (2000). Human Language and Our Reptilian Brain. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-00793-2.
Lieberman, Philip (2006). Towards an Evolutionary Biology of Language. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-02184-3.
Lieberman, Philip (2013). The Unpredictable Species. Princeton University Press.
Philip Lieberman's central interest is the nature and evolution of the biological bases of human language and cognition. In essence, his work centers on the evolution of modern human beings since these are among the central attributes that differentiate us from apes. His outlook, therefore, is shaped by principles and procedures of Evolutionary Biology. As Theodosius Dobzhansky noted, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution." Conversely, the mark of evolution is evidence in the anatomy and physiology of the human brain and body.
Lieberman’s studies support the view that neural bases of human cognitive ability represent the result of both Darwinian Natural Selection and chance events which modified brain mechanisms whose original function was motor control. This process yielded neural circuits that regulate cognitive acts, including language, by linking activity in prefrontal cortex with other cortical areas through shared, common subcortical structures, such as the basal ganglia. This view contrasts with theories such as the 19 th century Broca-Wernicke “language organ” theory, that compartmentalize the brain into localized “modules” that each regulate some distinct capacity. In brief, the neural bases of human cognitive ability, marked by its creative capacity whether expressed in complex language and thought processes, or seemingly unrelated acts such as dancing, are commingled. Moreover, studies of the speech anatomy of human infants, apes and examination of the fossil record suggest that fully modern human beings who could talk and think as we do, appeared comparatively recently – somewhere between 70,000 and 50,000 years ago.
The experimental findings germane to these theories derive from studies over the course of forty years by Lieberman and his colleagues which demonstrate the role of evolution in matching anatomical capabilities for speech with brain mechanisms that regulate motor control as well as cognition. Studies of the development of human speech producing anatomy in infants and comparative studies of non-human primates show that the unique human tongue and upper airway enhance the processes by which speech is produced and perceived, at the expense of increasing the risk of choking on food. Although most linguists, influenced by Noam Chomsky have focused on syntax as the unique feature of human linguistic ability, speech occupies a central role in language; it allows us to communicate information at an exceeding rapid rate. Human speech entails having both unique, species-specific anatomy and neural motor-control capabilities. Therefore, the presence of human tongues 50,000 years ago is an index for brains that could rapidly sequence the gestures necessary to produce voluntary speech, a capability absent in apes, else the propensity to increase the risk of death by choking would not have led to its retention.
Lieberman’s joint research with medical school faculty, other colleagues, and Brown University graduate and undergraduate students have revealed a “syndrome” – a pattern of speech motor and cognitive deficits occurs that derive from impaired subcortical basal ganglia structures. Ongoing studies of Parkinson’s disease, childhood developmental verbal apraxia, Rolandic epilepsy, autism, hypoxic insult to the brain arising from exposure to extreme altitude as climbers ascend Mount Everest, and focal brain lesions provide an opportunity for both graduate and undergraduate students to participate in research. Other studies on speech production have synthesized the vowels that Neanderthals could have uttered. The findings of these studies have been applied to the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions as well as monitoring systems for exposure to high-intensity radiation in space travel, which produces damage to neural circuits involving the basal ganglia.
The relevance of these findings to linguistic theories such as those proposed by Chomsky and Pinker is discussed in his books which include, The biology and evolution of language (1984), Human language and our reptilian brain: The subcortical bases of speech, syntax and thought (2000), and Toward an evolutionary biology of language (2006), all published by Harvard University Press. The general constraints of evolutionary biology and genetic data argue against any version of Chomsky’s, “Universal Grammar,” including its most recent version, the “narrow faculty of language.” Lieberman’s other research interests include the expression of emotion and how genes influence behavior.
Lieberman received a Guggenheim Fellowship, presented the 1990 Nijmegen Lectures of the Max Planck Institut fur Psycholoinguistic, was a NATO Visiting Professor, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The American Psychological association, and the American Anthropological Association. He also holds an appointment at Brown University as Professor of Anthropology. He has lifelong interests in mountain walking, climbing and photography. Lieberman’s photographic exhibits and publications are listed in Who’s who in American art. He has documented life in traditional Tibetan settings. His photographs also illustrate his wife, Marcia’s articles and guidebooks on mountain walking and trekking in the Alps and Himalaya and document the 15 th century Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings in the temples of the Mustang region of Nepal in a joint study with her that was commissioned by the Getty Foundation.
Philip Lieberman
George Hazard Crooker University Professor, Emeritus
Philip_Lieberman@brown.edu
(401) 863-1857
Office Location:
Metcalf 243
Research Focus:
Evolution of biological bases of language and thought
Read the recent interview in Zurich with Professor Lieberman on his new book: The Unpredictable Species: What Makes Humans Unique.
I study the evolution of human linguistic and cognitive ability. In the 1970s my focus was on the evolution of the vocal anatomy that makes human speech possible. My current work concerns the neural circuits that regulate syntax, cognition as well as speech production and other aspects of motor control. These circuits, which involve the basal ganglia and other subcortical structures, are related through their evolutionary history. My research also involves applications such as voice monitoring cognition and emotion, and the assessment of Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases, and of verbal apraxia and its genetic bases in children.
Neue Züricher Zeitung – Forschung und Technik - 14. August 2013, Nr. 186, 52
No motor action is more difficult to coordinate than speaking
Linguist and cognitive scientists Philip Lieberman about the evolution of our ability to
speak
Philip Lieberman had a long career. He was one of the first linguists to work in the
Darwinian framework of natural selection. His new book, The Unpredictable Species:
What Makes Humans Unique, explains what creativity and language have in common.
Mr. Lieberman, is language a biological or a cultural phenomenon?
It is both. All humans have the same cognitive abilities. The cultural framework
determines which language they speak and how complex it is. The structure of our brains
makes it possible to acquire language. This happens through learning processes. We need
neither a specific language organ nor a universal grammar.
UG is a concept of the American linguist Noam Chomsky. It claims that all human
languages follow the same grammatical principles, which are innate. You do not share
Chomsky’s view?
His concept does not work. For example the passive of Turkish violates a principle that is
supposed to be universal. In Brazil exists the Pirahã language. It also lacks an element
that Chomsky claims all languages share: complexity1
. Chomsky’s theory makes the
wrong predictions.
You have been once Noam Chomsky’s student.
That is true. I took his courses when I studied engineering sciences. But later I moved
slowly away from his views. His explanations made less and less sense to me. At the
core, all languages seem to be like English.
How did you come to linguistics from engineering?
In my dissertation I worked on breathing control during speech and investigated the
complex regulation of the muscles that are involved. That means I started to deal with
biology, and I read the books of evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr. At that time I was one
of the first linguists who worked in the framework of Darwinian natural selection.
Evolution also plays an important role in your newest book [not yet available in
German]. Why did you call it ‘The unpredictable Species’?
In my book I deal with the questions why are humans creative and whether the brain
bases of creativity and language are connected. The answer is: of course, the cognitive
abilities that have evolved in humans underlie both creativity and language. Our behavior
is not as determined by our genes as that of other organisms. In novel situations
individuals can invent new things and modes of behavior that are copied by almost
everyone else. Our culture, our behavior, and our languages are constantly changing. In
this sense we are unpredictable.
Chimpanzees also have considerable cognitive abilities. Why are they not able to speak?
Their brain does not allow them to learn and execute the complex motor routines that are
needed for speech. No other human motor routine is harder to learn than speech. Only by
age of 10 – 12 years do children speak at the same level of proficiency as adults. Speech
also involves add anatomy: humans have the strangest tongues of all animals. The human
tongue is sited way down in the throat, which enhances the process by which speech ie
perceived. But that comes at the cost of increased risk of suffocating while swallowing
food. In the USA this is still the 4th common cause of accidental death. Newborns have
still the entire tongue in the mouth. Neanderthal skulls look like enlarged infant heads
because Neanderthals did not have their tongues and larynx sited as low in the throat as
we do.
In 1971 you were one of the first to simulate the speech of Neanderthals with
computational models. How did you do that?
Because of the similarities between newborns and Neanderthals we used x-rays from
infants who were swallowing and screaming to simulate the speaking abilities of
Neanderthals on a computer. We discovered they could make all the sounds except for i,
u, and a.
So Neanderthals already spoke to one another?
They certainly had a language. Our scientific paper from 1971 is often misinterpreted.
We never denied that Neanderthals spoke. Our conclusion was that they could speak, just
not as efficiently as we.
Was this inefficient speech of the Neanderthals still useful?
Even though there was a pretty high error rate they could communicate, certainly an
advantage. The fact that humans evolved our strange tongue indicates that the ancestors
of modern humans and Neanderthals had speech. Otherwise this adaptation would have
brought no advantage. I believe language evolved gradually through a process that began
several million years ago. Possibly even Homo erectus had already a form of speech. I
have changed my view on this. Earlier I thought, the evolution of our ability to speak
began a few hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Are there also genetic data that corroborate this?
The FOXP2-gen, which played an important role in the evolution of our ability to speak,
is different in modern humans and Neanderthals compared to chimpanzees. This change
must have occurred before modern humans and Neanderthals split roughly 500,000 years
ago. But there is an additional mutation, which is only found in the modern human
version of FOXP2. This was probably essential for the evolution of the human brain.
How did the possibility of genetic research change your field of research?
Now we can trace the changes that affected the human brain on a fundamental level – and
in the distant past. Thanks to complete DNA profiles from bones that are thousands of
years old speculation about the Neanderthal brain has been replaced by objective
research.
How important are image-creating techniques in language and cognitive research?
The problem is that some of these techniques produce nonsensical results. You can, for
example, attempt to isolate a part of the brain area that allows us to playing tennis. You
can start by imaging the brain of someone who first imagines playing tennis and image
the person while they imagine themselves just running back and forth. If you then
subtract the running around neuroimaging from that of imaging that you’re playing tennis
can identify the supposed center or neural module for playing tennis. That is of course,
nonsense. But there are researchers who are identifying modules for morality or religion
in this manner.
What are, nevertheless, the advantaged of these new [imaging] techniques?
If used properly they allow indeed finding out more about the function of certain brain
structures. But it is important to keep in mind that the brain does not consist of modules
that each control a particular aspect of behavior. The brain is a complex system, the parts
of which are connected by circuits. Some of the circuits share elements. Interestingly our
neuronal circuits are very similar to those of rhesus monkeys. But we are neither rhesus
monkeys nor chimpanzees. The key difference probably in regulatory genes like FOXP2
which increase the efficiency of the entire circuit.
Then there is no module for language in the brain, like say the Broca-area?
A module for language does not exist. A whole series of structures must work together to
enable various linguistic processes. For example when one retrieves words from memory,
a circuit that links areas of the prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, and other sub-cortical
structures is activated. The circuit is connected to brain structures that store memories.
But the theory that the Broca-area is the language center is still widely accepted.
Probably because it intuitively explains our language ability. But in the 1980s researchers
showed that humans do not suffer permanent language loss, except when subcortical
regions are damaged. And on the other hand, there are many cases in which patients had a
completely destroyed Broca’s area after a stroke and ability to use language returned.
Do you think that the basal ganglia (brain-structures with motor- and cognitive
functions] play an important role for language [speech]? What supports this view?
Basal ganglia are involved in many functions. They evolved hundreds of millions of
years ago in animals that are similar to modern frogs. But the capacity of the human basal
ganglia has been massively increased during the last 200,000 years through genes like
FOXP2. That’s why we have neural circuits that enable human language, creativity, and
fine motor control. In Parkinson disease, where basal ganglia activity is compromised,
one thus finds a syndrome - symptoms that are seemingly completely unrelated to each
other. Besides cognitive deficits there are also language impairments, fine motor
impairments and changes in personality. This shows that different parts of the brain
communicate via the basal ganglia.
How do speech problems manifest themselves in Parkinson patients?
They have difficulties understanding sentences that 10-year old children easily
comprehend. We tested medication that improves basal ganglia function for Parkinson
patients. The patients showed much better comprehension with medication than without.
Similar deficits occur in high altitude mountain climbers. We tested climbers at Mount
Everest and found that at higher altitude they had problems with speech coordination.
The basal ganglia need more oxygen than other parts of the brain and are affected first in
high altitudes.
What makes you proud when you look back at your scientific career?
I am glad that I can say that some of the theses I introduced in presentations, scientific
papers and books have been confirmed or improved by newly available scientific
methods. Others have been disproven. But that is equally important.
CURRICULUM VITAE--- Philip Lieberman
1..
Philip LiebermanFred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic SciencesDepartment of
Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences
Professor of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
Brown UniversityBox 1978Providence, RI 02912(401) 863-1857E-MAIL:
Philip_Lieberman@Brown.edu2 Home Address:141 Elton St.Providence, RI 02906Phone:
(401)831-0720Fax: (401) 274-3739
3. EducationB.S. in Electrical Engineering, M.I.T.M.S. in Electrical Engineering, M.I.T.
1958Ph.D. Linguistics, M.I.T. 1966Dissertation title: "Intonation, Perception and Language"4.
Professional Appointments1957-59Research Assistant, Research Laboratory of Electronics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology1958-62. Lieutenant, United States Air Force: 1962-67
Research Staff, Speech Research Branch, Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories1967.
Research Staff Member, Haskins Laboratories.Associate Professor, University of Connecticut;
Professor, 1969; Acting Head, Department of Linguistics 1973-741974. Professor, Brown
University
1975-77, 1981-86. Chairman, Department of Linguistics1988 - 1991, Chairman, Department
Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences
1992 -1997 George Hazard Crooker University Professor
1997 -- Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences
1999 -- Professor of Anthropology
5. Completed Research
a. BOOKS
Lieberman, P., 1967. Intonation, perception and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Lieberman, P., 1971. Speech acoustics and perception. Indianapolis :Bobbs-Merrill.
Lieberman, P., 1972. The Speech of Primates. The Hague: Mouton and Company.
Lieberman, P., 1975. On the Origins of Language: An Introduction to the Evolution of Speech,
New York: Macmillan.
Lieberman, P., 1977. Speech Physiology and Acoustic Phonetics, New York: Macmillan.
Lieberman, P., 1984. The Biology and Evolution of Language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Lieberman, M. and P. Lieberman, 1987. Walking in Switzerland: The Swiss Way. Seattle, WA:
The Mountaineers Books., 2nd edition 1997.
Lieberman P. and Blumstein, S.E., 1987. Speech Physiology, Acoustics, and Perception
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lieberman, P. 1991. Uniquely human: The evolution of speech, thought and selfless behavior,
Cambridge Ma.: Harvard University Press.Selection of the Library of Science Book Club.
Lieberman, P. 1998, Eve spoke; Human Language and Human Evolution. New York: W. W.
Norton. London: Picador, Macmillan. Selection of the Library of Science Book Club.
Lieberman, M. and P. Lieberman 1998. Switzerland's Mountain Inns, Countryman Press
(Division of W W Norton: New York) -- Photographs
Lieberman, P. 2000. Human language and our reptilian brain: The subcortical bases of speech,
syntax, and thought, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. (Perspectives in Cognitive
Neuroscience). Paperback edition published 2002.
Lieberman P. (2002) Eeeva Puhui Helsinki:Terra Cognita (Finnish translation of Eve Spoke
(1998)
Lieberman, M., P. Lieberman and N. Jorden. 2003. The Tibetan Buddhist Wall Paintings of
Mustang. Commissioned by the Getty Foundation. Brown University Website.URL:
http://dl.lib.brown.edu/BuddhistTempleArt and DVD with Jpeg and TIF files (1020 images plus
text)
Lieberman P. 2005. Lieberman Collection of 155 photographs documenting traditional life in the
Tibetan Himalaya and Kathmandu Nepal. Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library (THDL): URL:
http://www.thdl.org/collections/resources/image search.php
Select COLLECTIONS then SPECIAL COLLECTIONS fields and then scroll to Lieberman
collections which are grouped by region.
Lieberman, P. 2006. Toward an evolutionary biology of language. Cambridge Mass: Harvard
University Press
PATENT:Lieberman, P., 1963. Method and system for acoustic detection of pathologic
larynges. Patent No. 3,245,403/March 12, 1966.
B. CHAPTERS IN BOOKS:
Lieberman, P., 1968. "Vocal cord motion in man." Proc. N.Y. Academy of Science Conference
on Sound Production in Man. New York Academy of Science 155:28-38.Sachs, J., Lieberman,
P. and D. Erickson, 1972. "Anatomical and cultural determinants of male and female speech."
In: Language attitudes: current trends and prospects, Monograph No. 25, Georgetown
University Monograph Series in Language and Linguistics, Georgetown University, Washington,
DC.
Lieberman, P., 1973. On the evolution of speech. Festschrift for Morris Halle. S. Anderson and
P. Kiparsky (eds.) New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 107-127.
Lieberman, P., 1974. A study of the prosodic features. In: Current Trends in Linguistics, Vol.
12, T.A. Sebeok, ed., The Hague: Mouton and Company.Lieberman, P., 1975. The Evolution of
Speech and Language, in The Role of Speech in Language, James F. Kavanagh and James E.
Cutting (eds.).
Lieberman, P., 1976 "Interactive models for evolution: Neural mechanisms, anatomy and
behavior", in Origins and Evolution of Language and Speech, Annals of the New York Academy
of Sciences¯, S.E. Harnard, H.D. Steklis and J. Lancaster (eds.), Vol. 280:660-672.
Lieberman, P., 1977. The Phylogeny of Language in How Animals Communicate, T. A. Sebeok
(ed.) Indiana University Press, pp. 3-25.
Lieberman, P., 1980. On the development of vowel production in young children, in Child
Phonology: Perception and Production, G. Yeni-Komshian and J Kavanagh (eds.), New York:
Academic Press, pp. 113-142.Lieberman, P., 1981. Phonetics and Physiology: Some Current
Issues, in Perspectives on Experimental Linguistics. G.E. Pridow, John Benjamins (ed.),
Amsterdam, 1-34.Lieberman, P., 1982. The Innate Central Aspect of Intonation. for Festschrift
for Dwight L. Bolinger, L.R. Waugh and C.H. von Schoonevelt (eds.).
Lieberman, P., 1985. On the genetic basis of linguistic variation, in Invariance and Variability
of Speech Processes. J. Perkell, G. Fant, B. Lindblom, D. Klatt and S. Shattuck-Huffnagel
(eds.), Erlbaum.
Lieberman P., 1985. On the Acquisition by Infants: Physiology and Neural Control, in Intonation
& Discourse. San Diego, California: College Hill Press, pp. 239-259.
Lieberman, P., 1986. "The Physiology of Cry and Speech in Relation to Linguistic Behavior" in
Infant Crying: Theoretical and Research Perspectives, B Lester and D. Boukydis (eds.) Plenium
Press.
Lieberman, P., 1986. The Developmental Physiology of Speech and the Evolution of Language.
in R.J. Ruben, T.R. Van de Water, and E.W, Rubel (eds.) The Biology of Change in
Otolaryngology, Amsterdam: Excerpta Medica.
Lieberman, P., 1988. Language, communication and rule-governed behavior. In H.J. Jerison and
I. Jerison, Intelligence and evolutionary biology. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, pp. 143-
156.Lieberman, P., 1989. Some biological constraints on universal grammar In Learnability and
Teachability of Language. Schiefelbusch, R.L. and M. Rice (eds.).
Lieberman, P., 1989. The origins of some aspects of human language and cognition. In The
human revolution: Behavioral and biological perspectives of the origins of modern humans. P.
Mellars and C.B. Stringer (eds.) pp. 391-414, Edinburgh University Press.
Lieberman, P. 1990. The Evolution of Human Language. Seminars in Speech and Language.
11:63-76.
Lieberman, P. 1991. Language, Evolution. Encyclopedia of Human Biology, Vol. 4. New York:
Academic Press, pp. 641-645.
Lieberman, P., 1991. On the evolutionary biology of speech and syntax. Language Origin: A
Multidisciplinary Approach. J. Wind, et al. (eds.), pp 409-429, The Netherlands: Kluwer
Academic Publishers.
Lieberman, P. 1992. On the Evolution of Language, In J. A. Hawkins and M. Gell-Mann, Eds.
The Evolution of Human Languages. Reading, MA, Addison Wesley, pp. 21-48.Lieberman, P.,
1992. Speech, Collier's Encyclopedia, New York: Macmillan.Lieberman, P. 1994. Human
communication: Anatomical and physiological aspects. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human
Evolution. S. Jones, R. Martin, D. Pilbeam and (eds), Cambridge University Press.pp. 134-137.
Lieberman, P. 1994. The origins and evolution of language. Companion Encyclopedia of
Anthropology: Humanity, Culture, and Social Life T. Ingold (ed.), London and New York:
Routledge, pp. 108-132.
Lieberman, P. 1994. Biologically bound behavior, free-will, and human evolution. In Conflict
and Cooperation in Nature. ed. J. I. Casti, New York: John Wiley and Sons. pp. 133-
163.Friedman, J. and Lieberman, P. 1994. Speech motor and cognitive deficits of Parkinson's
disease. in A. D. Korczn (Ed.) Dementia in Parkinson's Disease. Bologna (Italy):Monduzzi
Editore
Lieberman, P. 1995. What Primate Calls Can Tell Us About Human Evolution. in E.
Zimmermann, J. D. Newman, and U. Jurgens (Eds.) Current topics in primate vocal
communication. New York:Plenum Press, pp. 273-282.
Lieberman, P. 1995. Some biological constraints on the analysis of prosody. In J. L. Morgan and
K. Demuth (eds.) Signal to Syntax: Bootstrapping from speech to grammar in early acquisition.
Hillsdale NJ: Earlbaum Associate. pp. 55-66.
Lieberman, P. (1997) "Language evolution", in Dulbecco, R. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Human
Biology, 2nd Edition, Academic Press:San Diego, pp. 243-247.
Lieberman, P. 2001 "On the subcortical bases of the evolution of language. In J. Trabant and S.
Ward (eds.) New essays on the evolution of language. Berlin-New York:Mouton de Gruyter. pp.
21-40.
Lieberman, P. (2001) On the neural bases of spoken language. In. In the Mind's Eye:
Multidisciplinary perspectives on the evolution of the human mind. A. Nowell (Ed.) Ann Arbor:
International Monographs in Prehistory. pp. 172-186.
Lieberman, P. 2002 "Evolution of Language," In Encyclopedia of Evolution, M. Pagel, Ed..
Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 605-607.
Lieberman P. 2002. The evolution of speech in relation to language and thought. In. Harcourt, C.
S. and Sherwood, B. R. (Eds) New Perspectives in Primate Evolution and Behaviour. Otley,
UK:Westbury, pp. 105-126.
Lieberman, P. 2003. Language evolution and Innateness. In M. T. Banich and M Mack (Eds)
Mind, Brain and Language. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 3-22.
Lieberman, P. 2003. Motor control, speech and the evolution of human language," In M. H.
Christianson and J. R. Hurford, Eds. Language evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
pp.255-271.
Lieberman, P. 2004. Subcortical brain circuits, speech and the evolution of semeosis. In M. Alac
and P. Violi (Eds) In the beginning: evolution of semeosis. pp. 189-205.
Lieberman, P. 2006. The FOXP2 gene, human cognition and language. In. Integrative
approaches to human health and evolution. T. C. Brommage, E. Aguirre and A. Perez-Ochoa
Eds. Elsevier: Amsterdam, pp. 115-126.
Lieberman, P. (in press) Evolution of Language 1: Overview. Encyclopedia of Linguistics,
Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.
Lieberman, P. (in press) Evolution of Language 3: Physical Preadaptations. Encyclopedia of
Linguistics, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.
Lieberman,in press. The basal ganglia and language, In Cambridge Encyclopedia of the
Language Sciences. Ed. P. Hogan.
C. REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES (INCLUDING ONES REPRINTED IN BOOKS):
American English." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 32:451-454. (Reprinted in
Readings in Acoustic Phonetics, D.B. Fry (ed.), London: Penguin Books).Lieberman, P., 1961.
"Perturbations in vocal pitch." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 33:597-
603.Lieberman, P. and S. B. Michaels, 1962. "Some aspects of fundamental frequency and
envelope amplitude as related to the emotional context of speech." Journal of the Acoustical
Society of America. 34:922-927. (Reprinted in Intonation: Selected Readings, D. Bolinger (ed.),
London: Penguin Books).Lieberman, P., 1963. "Some acoustic measures of the fundamental
periodicity of normal and pathologic larynges." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,
35:344-353.Lieberman, P., 1963. "Some effects of semantic and grammatical context on the
production and perception of speech." Language and Speech. 6(3).Lieberman, P., 1965. "On the
acoustic basis of the perception of intonation by linguists." Word 21:40-54. (Reprinted in
Readings in the Psychology of Language, Oldfield and Marshall (eds.), London: Penguin Books;
and Intonation: Selected Readings, D. Bolinger (ed.), London: Penguin Books).Lieberman, P.,
1968. "Direct comparison of sub-glottal and esophageal pressure during speech." Journal of the
Acoustical Society of America 43:1157-1164.Lieberman, P., 1968. "Primate vocalizations and
human linguistic ability." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 44:1574-1784.
(Reprinted in Perspectives on Human Evolution. 2. Washburn and Dolhinow (eds.) New York:
Holt, Reinhart and Winston; and in The Speech Code, Mattingly and Engelhardt (eds.),
Sinauer.)Lieberman, P., D.L. Klatt and W. A. Wilson, 1969. "Vocal tract limitations on the
vowel repertoires of rhesus monkey and other nonhuman primates." Science 164: 1185-
1187Lieberman, P., Knudson, R. and J. Mead, 1969. "Determination of the rate of change of
fundamental frequency with respect to sub-glottal air pressure during sustained phonation."
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 45:1537-1543.Lieberman, P., 1969. "On the
acoustic analysis of primate vocalizations." Behavior Research Methods and Instruments. 1:169-
174.
Lieberman, P., 1970. "Towards a unified phonetic theory." Linguistic Inquiry. 1:307-
322.Lieberman, P.,Sawashima, M., Harris, K.S. and T. Gay, 1970. "The articulatory
implementation of the breath-group and prominence: crico-thyroid muscular activity in
intonation." Language 46:312-327.Lieberman, P. and E.S. Crelin, 1971. "On the speech of
Neanderthal man." Linguistic Inquiry. 2:203-222.Lieberman, P., Harris, K.S., Wolff, P. and L.H.
Russell, 1972. "Newborn infant cry and nonhuman-primate vocalizations." Journal of Speech
and Hearing Research. 14:718-727.Lieberman, P., Crelin, E.S. and D. Klatt, 1972. "Phonetic
ability and related anatomy of newborn and adult human Neanderthal man and the chimpanzee."
American Anthropologist. 74:287-307. (also reprinted in The Speech Code. I.G. Mattingly and
S. Engelhardt (eds.) New York: Sinnauer Association.Lieberman, M.R. and P. Lieberman, 1973.
"Olson's "projective verse" and the use of breath control as a structural element." Language and
Style. 5:287-298.Lieberman, P., Crelin, E.S. and D.H. Klatt, 1973. "Reply to "A Note on
Phonetic Ability." American Anthropologist 75:1719-1721.
Lieberman, P. 1973. On the evolution of human language: a unified view. Cognition 2:59-64.
Lieberman, P. and E.S. Crelin, 1974. "Speech and Neanderthal Man: A Reply to Carlisle and
Siegel." American Anthropologist, 76: No. 2.Lieberman, P., 1975. "More discussion of
Neanderthal speech." Linguistic Inquiry, 6:325-329.Lieberman, P., 1976. "Phonetic Features
and Physiology: A Reappraisal." Journal of Phonetics, 4:91-112.Lieberman, P., 1977 "More on
hominid evolution, speech and language." Current Anthropology 18:550-551.Lieberman, P.
1978. "A reply to Carlisle and Siegel's assessment of Neanderthal Speech Capabilities."
American Anthropologist, 80:676-681.Lieberman, P., 1979. "Hominid evolution, supralaryngeal
vocal tract physiology, and the fossil evidence for reconstruction." Brain and Language, 7:101-
126.Lieberman, P., 1982. "Can Chimpanzees Swallow or Talk?", a reply to Falk." American
Anthropologist 84:148-152.
Chapin, C. Tseng, C.Y. and P. Lieberman, 1982. "Short-term Release Cues for Stop Consonant
Place of Articulation in Child Speech." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 71:179-
186.Ryalls, J.H. and P. Lieberman, 1982. "Fundamental Frequency and Vowel Perception."
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 72:1631-1633.Lieberman, P., Katz, W., Jongman,
A, Zimmerman, R. and M. Miller, 1985. Measures of the sentence intonation of read and
spontaneous speech in American English." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,
77:649-657.Mack, M. and P. Lieberman, 1985. "Acoustic analysis of words produced by a child
from 46 to 149 weeks." Journal of Child Language.12:527-550
Lieberman, P., Chatillon, M., Schupack, H. and R.H. Meskill, 1985. "Phonetic speech
perception deficits in dyslexia." Journal of Speech and Hearing Research 28:480-
486.Lieberman, P., 1985. "On the Evolution of Human Syntactic Ability: It's Pre-adaptive
Bases-Motor Control and Speech." Journal of Human Evolution. 14:657-668.Lieberman, P.
1986. On Bickerton's Review of the Biology and Evolution of Language. American
Anthropologist. 88:701-703.Lieberman, P. 1986. Some Aspects of Dimorphism and Human
Speech, Human Evolution 1:67-75. Reprinted in M. Pickford and B. Chiarelli (eds.), Sexual
Dimorphism in Living and Fossil Primates. Firenze: (FI) Sedicesimo, 1986.Lieberman, P., 1986.
"Alice in declinationland-A reply to Johan't Hart." Journal of the Acoustical Society of
America.Lieberman, P., 1987. "A reply to Jacques Mehler's 'Review of the The Biology and
Evolution of Language'." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 80:15321-1522.Sereno,
J.A. and P. Lieberman, 1987. "Developmental aspects of lingual coarticulation." Journal of
Phonetics. 15:247-257.Sereno, J.A., Baum S.R., Marean, G.C. and P. Lieberman, 1987.
"Acoustic analyses and perceptual data on anticipatory labial coarticulation in adults and
children." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 81:512-519.Lieberman, P., 1988. "On
Human Speech, Syntax and Language." Human Evolution. 3:3-18.Lieberman, P., 1989.
"Comment on Gardner and Gardner-Feedforward vs. feedbackward: An ethological alternative to
the law of effect." Behavioral and Brain Sciences.Lieberman, P., Freidman, J. and L.S. Feldman
1990. "Syntax comprehension deficits in Parkinson's disease." The Journal of Nervous and
Mental Disease. 178: 360-365.Lieberman, P., J. T. Laitman, J. Reidenberg, P. Gannon, and K.
Landahl. 1990. "Folk Physiology and Talking Hyoid Bones -- A reply to John Marshall and
Arensberg." Nature. 342:486-487.Lieberman, P. 1991. "Preadaptation, natural selection and
function." Language & Communication, 11: pp. 63-65.Lieberman, P. 1992. "On Neanderthal
Speech and Neanderthal Extinction." Current Anthropology, 33:409-410.Lieberman, P., Kako,
E.T., Friedman, J., Tajchman, G., Feldman, L.S., and E.B. Jimenez. 1992. "Speech production,
syntax comprehension, and cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease." Brain and Language, 43:
169-189.Lieberman, P. 1992. "Could an autonomous syntax module have evolved?" Brain and
Language 43: 768-774.
Lieberman, P., Laitman, J.T., Reidenberg, J.S., and P. Gannon. 1992. The anatomy, physiology,
acoustics and perception of speech: Essential elements in analysis of the evolution of human
speech. Journal of Human Evolution. 23:447-467.
Lieberman, P. 1993. "Old stale wine in an old bottle--Comments on R. Burling, Primate calls,
human language and nonverbal communication, Current Anthropology.Lieberman, P. 1993.
"The Kebara KMH-2 Hyoid and Neanderthal Speech." Current Anthropology.Lieberman, P., B.
G. Kanki, A. Protopapas, E. Reed and J. W. Youngs. 1994. "Cognitive defects at altitude."
Nature. 372:325.Lieberman, P. 1994. "Human language and human uniqueness." Language and
Communication. 14:87-95.Lieberman, P. 1994. "Are there any purely linguistic deficits?"
Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases. 182:494.Lieberman, P. 1994. "Hyoid bone position
and speech: Reply to Arensburg et al. (1990)." American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
94:275-278.Lieberman, P. 1994. "Comment on: Signs of the origin of syntax," Current
Anthropology
Seebach, B.S., Intractor, N., Lieberman, P. and Cooper, L.N. 1994. "A model of prenatal
acquisition of speech parameters." Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, USA. 94:7473-
7476.Lieberman, P. 1994. "Functional tongues and Neanderthal vocal tract reconstruction: A
reply to Houghton (1993)." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 95: 443-
452.Lieberman, P. 1995. "Manual versus speech motor control and the evolution of language."
Behavioral and Brain Sciences.¯
Lieberman, P., B. G. Kanki, A. Protopapas, E. Reed and J. W. Youngs. 1994. Cognitive defects
at altitude. Nature. 372:325.
Lieberman, P., B. G. Kanki, A. Protopapas, 1995. "Speech production and cognitive decrements
on Mount Everest." Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine. 66:857-864.
Lieberman, P. 1996. On Neanderthal speech and human evolution. Behavioral and Brain
Sciences 19:156-157.
Lieberman, P. 1996. Neuroanatomical structures and segregated circuits. Behavioral and Brain
Sciences 19:641
Lieberman, P. 1996. Universal grammar and critical periods: a most amusing paradox.
Behavioral and Brain Sciences 19:735
Friedman, J. H., Lieberman, P. Epstein, M., Cullen, K. Sanes, J. N., Lindquist, M. D. and
Daamen, M. (1996) Gamma knife Pallidotomy in advanced Parkinson's Disease. Annals of
Neurology. 39:535-538.
Protopappas, A. and P. Lieberman (1997) Fundamental frequency of phonation and perceived
emotional stress. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 101:267-277.
Pickett, E. R., Kuniholm, Protopapas, A, Friedman, J. and Lieberman, P. (1998) Selective speech
motor, syntax and cognitive deficits associated with bilateral damage to the head of the caudate
nucleus and the putamen. A single case study. Neuropsychologia 36:173-188.
Lieberman, P. (1998) Let barking dogs sleep: Commentary on MacNeilage Brain and Behavioral
Sciences 21:520-521.
Lieberman, P. 1999. Silver-Tongued Neanderthals? Science 283:175.
Lieberman, P. (2001) Summary of "Human language and our reptilian brain: The subcortical
bases of speech, syntax, and thought," Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 44:32-51.
Cymerman A., P. Lieberman, J. Hochstadt, P. B. Rock, G. E. Butterfield, and L. Moore. 2002.
Speech motor control and the development of acute mountain sickness. Aviation, Space and
Environmental Medicine. 73: 766-772.
Lieberman, P. 2002. On the nature and evolution of the neural bases of human language.
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 45:36-62
Lieberman, P., A. Morey, J. Hochstadt, M. Larson, and S. Mather. 2005. Mount Everest: A
space-analog for speech monitoring of cognitive deficits and stress. Aviation, Space and
environmental Medicine.76:198-207.
Lieberman, P. 2005. review of From hand to mouth:The origins of language." Michael C.
Corballis (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2002)Annals of Biology
Lieberman, P. 2005. The pied piper of Cambridge. The Linguistic Review 2:223-235.
Lieberman, P. 2005. Foreword to, L. Polich, The emergence of the deaf community in Nicaragua.
Wahington D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. (pp. vii-x)
Lieberman, P. 2006. Limits on tongue deformation – Diana monkey formants and the impossible
vocal tract shapes proposed by Riede et al. (2005)Journal of Human Evolution.50:219-221.
Lieberman, P. in press. Review of Evolution of Communication Systems: A Comparative
Approach, Eds. Kimbrough,D.O.and Griebel, U. , Cambridge Mass.: M. I. T. Press. (2004).
Quarterly Review of Biology.
Lieberman, P. 2007. Current views on Neanderthal speech capabilities: A reply to Boe et al.,
(2002). Journal of Phonetics.36:
Hochstadt, J., H. Nakano, P. Lieberman and J. Friedman. 2006. The roles of sequencing and
verbal working memory in sentence comprehension deficits in Parkinson’s disease. Brain and
Language. 97:243-257
Lieberman, P. 2007. Review of Steven Pinker, The stuff of thought, New York: Viking, New
Scientist, 6 October 2007, p. 57.
Lieberman, P. 2007. The evolution of human speech; Its Anatomical and neural bases.Current
Anthropology. 48:39-66.
Lieberman, P. 2008.Old-time linguistic theories. Cortex 24:431-435
Lieberman, P. and R. McCarthy . 2007, Tracking the Evolution of Language and Speech,
Expedition: 49:15-20.
Lieberman, P. 2007, Creation of a Neanderthal language and dialog, for the Discovery Channel
production- Cavemen
Lieberman, P. 2007. Reply to Jackendoff, The linguistic Review
Lieberman, P. 2007, Reply to Boe and colleagues, Journal of Phonetics. . 35:552-563.
Lieberman, P. in press, The Basal Ganglia and Language, Cambridge Encyclopedia of the
Language Sciences, Editor Patrick Hogan, New York Cambridge University Press
Lieberman, P. 2008 Old-time linguistic theories. Cortex. 44:218-226.
Lieberman, P. 2008. Cortical-striatal-cortical neural circuits, reiteration, and the “Narrow Faculty
of Language”: Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 31:527-528.
Lieberman, P. 2008. Extended Review - On the neural bases and evolution of free will:
reflections on:Freedom and Neurobiology: Reflections on Free Will, Language, and political
Power. By John R. Searle, In The European Legacy: Toward New Paradigms, Journal of
ISSEI.13:343-346.
Lieberman, P. 2008. A wild 50,000 year ride. In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays
in the four fields of anthropology in honor of Harold Crane Fleming. Ed. J. D.
Bengston.Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Lieberman, P. in press. Our creative capacity, in what manner is it unique, and who had it?
Proceedings of the Morris Symposium on the evolution of language.
Lieberman, P. in press. Extended Review of S. Mithen (2005) The Singing Neanderthal and A.
Patel, (2008) Music, Language, and the Brain. In Language
Lieberman, P. in press. Review of M.Tomasello (2008) Origins of human communication.In
American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Lieberman, P. in press. Review of Kevin Timpe. Free Will: Sourcehood and Its Alternatives.
Continuum Studies in Philosophy (London: Continuum, 2008). In The European Legacy:
Toward New Paradigms, Journal of ISSEI.
Kugler, S. L, Bali, B., Lieberman, P., Strug, L., Gagnon, B, Murphy, P. L., Clarke, T.,
Greenberg, D. and Pal, D. K. in press. An autosomal dominant genetically heterogeneous
variant of rolandic epilepsy and speech disorder. Epilepsia,
D. NON-REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES.
Lieberman, P. and S.B. Michaels 1963. On the discrimination of missing pitch pulses.
Proceedings of the Speech Communication Seminar, Stockholm: Royal Institute of Technology.
Prinzo, O.V., P. Lieberman and E. Pickett. 1998. An acoustic analysis of ATC communication.
DOT/FAA/AM-98/20. U.S, Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration.
Springfield VA:National technical Information Service.
Smith, W.R. and P. Lieberman, 1964. "Studies in pathological speech production." Air Force
Cambridge Research Laboratories, AFCRL PP. 64-379.
Lieberman, P., 1972. "On the evolution of human language." Plenary paper Proc. of VIIth
International Congress of Phonetic Science. Montreal, 1971. pp. 258-275. The Hague: Mouton
and Company.
Lieberman, P., 1983. "On the Nature and Evolution of the Biological Bases of Language." in
Proceedings of the Third Transdisciplinary Symposium of Glossogenetics, J. Laitman and J.
Wind, (eds.).
Lieberman, P., 1984. Invention of a Neanderthal language and speech for the film Iceman, Fred
Schipisi, Director; Huron Productions, Culver City, California.
Lieberman, P., 1988. "Voice in the wilderness: How humans acquired the power of speech." The
Sciences, 28(4):pp. 22-29.
Lieberman, P. 1991. " On the evolution of modern humans and human language." New York
Review of Books, 38: 53.
Lieberman, P. (1997) Peak Capacity, The Sciences, 37:22-27
Cymerman A., P. Lieberman, J. Hochstadt, P. B. Rock, G. E. Butterfield, and L. Moore. 1999.
Speech motor control and the development of acute mountain sickness. U. S. Army Research
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Technical report No. T99-5, February 1999 AD A360764,
Alexandria Va: Defense Technical Information Center
E. BOOK REVIEWS
Lieberman, P., 1983. "Review of Quest for Fire." American Anthropologist.Lieberman, P., 1983.
"Review of The Clever Hans Phenomenon: Communication with People. T.A. Sebeok and R.
Rosenthal (eds.)." American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Lieberman, P., 1992. "Review of the The origins of Language -- an educational film." American
AnthropologistLieberman, P. 1993. Review of Language and Species. American
Anthropologist.Lieberman, P. 1993. Ape Language Research and the Evolution of Language.
(review of Aping Language by Joel Wallman, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
191 pp.) Current Anthropology 34:327-328.
Lieberman, P. 1996. Review of Tools, Language, and Cognition in Human Evolution. Eds.K.R.
Gibson and T.Ingold, New York:Cambridge University Press, 1995. Journal of Human Biology.
Lieberman, P. 1999. Review of Human evolution, language and mind. W. Noble and I.
Davidson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Anthropological Linguistics, 41:549-552.
Lieberman, P. 2000. Review of The origins of complex language: An enquiry into the
evolutionary beginnings of sentences, syllables and truth. A. Carstairs-McCarthy. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. American Anthropologist102:21-22.
Lieberman, P. 2003. Review of The evolutionary emergence of language: social functions and
the origins of linguistic form. C. Knight, M. Studdert-Kennedy and J. R. Hurford eds,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Journal of Linguistics 39:1-7
Lieberman, P., A. Morey, J. Hochstadt, M. Larson, and S. Mather. 2005. Mount Everest: A
space-analog for speech monitoring of cognitive deficits and stress. Aviation, Space and
environmental Medicine.76:198-207.
Lieberman, P. 2005. review of From hand to mouth:The origins of language." Michael C.
Corballis (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2002) Annals of Biology
Lieberman, P.2007. Review of Steven Pinker, The stuff of thought, New York: Viking by, New
Scientist, 6 October 2007, p. 57.
F. ABSTRACTS NOT PUBLISHED AS REVIEWED PAPERS:
Lieberman, P. Ryalls, J.H. and S. Rabson, 1982. "On the Early Imitation of Intonation and
Vowels." ¯7th Annual Boston University Conference of Language Development Meeting
Handbook, p. 34.Lieberman, P. and C-Y Tseng. 1994. Subcortical pathways essential for
speech, language and cognition: Implications for hominid evolution. American Journal of
Physical Anthropology, Suppl. 16, 93:130.
Lieberman, D. E., R. C. McCarthy, K. Hiiemse, P. Lieberman and J. B. Palmer. (1998) New
estimates of fossil hominid vocal tract dimensions. Paleoanthropology Society Meeting,Seattle
WA, March) In Journal of Human Evolution 34:A12-13
G. INVITED LECTURES AFTER 1978.February, 1978 - Primate Communication: New Data,
Washington, DC, meeting of American Association for the Advancement of Science.April, 1978
- Evolution of Language, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois.June, 1978 - Vowel
development in infants, N.I.H. Conference on speech and language development. Bethesda,
MD.October, 1978 - Primate Communication and the Evolution of Human Language, Duke
University, North Carolina.March, 1979 - Evolution of Speech, International Symposium on
Speech, Edinburgh, Scotland.August, 1979 - Invited Faculty for first international convening on
the Linguistic Institute of the Linguistics Society of America, Salzburg, Austria. October, 1979 -
Development of Speech, Indiana University conference of sensory development of
infants.November, 1979 - Physiology of Vocal Measurements of Stress, Meeting of Academy for
the Forensic Application of Communication Sciences.April, 1981 - On the Evolution of Human
Speech. University of California at Berkeley, University of California at DavisMarch 29, 1982 -
On the Evolution of Human Speech, University of Nevada, Reno.April 1, 1982 - On the
Evolution of Human Speech, Wellesley College, Wellesley .Mass.August 26, 1983 -"Recent
studies on the evolution of language, International Congress Anthropological and Ethnological
Sciences, Vancouver, BC, Canada.April 3, 1984 - On the Evolution of Human Language,
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.November 17, 1984 - The Biology and
Evolution of Language, Brown Learning Community.May 22, 1985 - On the Evolution of
Language, Aphasia Research Unit, Boston Veteran's Administration Hospital.June 25, 1985 -
Seminar on the Acoustic Analysis of Speech. Summer Institute of the Macarthur Foundation
Network on the Study of the Transition from Infancy into Childhood. Wintergreen, VA.August
11-17, 1985 - Discussant, Conference on universals of language, Max-Planck Institit fur
Psycholinguistik. Nijmegen, Holland.September 16, 1985 - The Biology and Evolution of
Language, Neuropsychology Colloquium, Providence Veteran's Administration Hospital.October
28, 1985 - On the evolution of the neural substrate for syntax. Sloan Cognitive Science
Colloquium, University of Pennsylvania.October 29, 1985 - On the Evolution of Human
Language" Psychology Colloquium, University of Pennsylvania - "The Biology and Evolution of
Language.November 13 & 14, 1985 - "The Biology and Evolution of Language" and "The
Expression of Emotion". NIH Poolesville Laboratories.November 22, 1985 - Organizer and
speaker - Symposium on the Evolution of Human Speech and Language. ASHLA convention,
Washington, DC.November 24 - December 28, 1985 - Lecture and seminar series in Italy on
"The Biology and Evolution of Language", organized by the Instituto di Anthropologia,
University of Florence (in Florence, Pisa and Parma, Italy).February 2, 1986 - Developmental
Physiology of Speech Production. Symposium on Developmental Biology, Meeting of the
Association for Research on Otolaryngology.February 21, 1986 - On the evolution of human
language. University of Connecticut.April, 1986 - The Biology and Evolution of Language;
Harvard University Cognitive Science Society.April 17, 1986 - On the evolution of language.
Graduate Center of the City University of New York.May 17, 1986 - Speech deficits in dyslexia
- a case against a Chomsyian 'language organ'. Bell Lecture of the Massachusetts General
Hospital.June 25, 1986 - Seminar on the acoustic measurement of task-induced stress in young
children. Summer Institute of the Macarthur Foundation Network on the Study of the Transition
from Infancy into Childhood, Chatham, Mass.October 16, 1986 - "Some biological constraints
on universal grammar and learnability." Conference on the Teachability of Language, The
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.October 24, 1986 - "On the evolution of intelligence
and language." The University of Chicago - Chicago Linguistic Society.October 26, 1986 - "The
discovery of matched neural mechanisms for speech perception." Plenary paper Conference on
Computers and Language Teaching, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign.November 22,
1986 - "The vocal expression of affect" John and Caroline T. Macarthur Foundation Conference
on the Development of Personality.March 26, 1987 - "The origins of some aspects of human
language and cognition." Symposium on the Origins and Dispersals of Modern Humans:
Behavioral and Biological Perspectives, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, England.December
10 & 11, 1987. - On the evolution of language, thought and moral-sense. University of
Delaware.November 18 - 22, 1987 - "Lectures on (1) the Evolution of Language, thought and
moral-sense, and (2) The expression of emotion. Universite de Geneve, Switzerland.February 27,
1988. - Thinking and Talking. Centennial Celebration of the University Museum, University of
Pennsylvania.October 26, 1988. - On the evolutionary biology of speech and syntax. Department
of Psychology, Harvard University.November 17, 1988. - How children do not acquire language.
Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago.March 21, 1989. - The evolution of language.
Plenary talk Eastern Anthropological Association, Montreal, Quebec.April 5, 1989 - On the
evolution and biological bases of speech and syntax. University of Southern California, Los
Angeles, CA.April 8, 1989 - The selective advantages of speech and syntax. Annual meeting of
the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, San Diego, CA.April 22, 1989 -
Mechanisms for speech and syntax, Neurology Rounds Rhode Island Hospital.August 23, 1989 -
The Evolution of Human Language. Public Lecture - Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM. August
21-28, 1989. One of ten invited participants -- conference on the evolution of complex systems.
Santa Fe Institute.November 9, 1989 - The Evolution of Speech and Syntax. Cognitive Science
colloquium sponsored by Hampshire College and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst,
MA.February, 28 1990 - The Neurophysiology of Talking and Thinking. Institute of Animal
Behavior, Rutgers University. NJ.March 16-24, 1990 - Rule governed processes and relevant
brain mechanisms -- speech and tool making. Wenner-Grenn Foundation for Anthropological
Research Conference of "Tools, Language and Intelligence: Evolutionary Implications."
Cascals, Portugal.November 29, 1990 - Brain Mechanisms for Speech and Syntax, Queens
University, Kingston Ontario, November 29, 1990.December 10-14, 1990. - The Nijmegen
Lectures, Max Planck InstitIt fur Psycholinguistik, Nijmegen Holland:Lecture 1 -
December 10: The evolution of speech, thought and selfless behavior.Lecture 2 -
December 11: Darwinian evolutionary mechanisms and evolution of the modern human
rain.Lecture 3 - December 12: A thoroughly modern human brain -speech and
syntax.Seminar 1 - December 11: Speech and Syntax deficits of Parkinson's disease:
The role of the basal ganglia in speech, syntax, and abstract thoughts.Seminar 2 -
December 12: Brain circuits versus modular organs.Seminar 3 - December 13:
The brain's dictionary.Seminar 4 - December 13: How children might acquire
language.January 14-20, 1991 - Three public lectures on the evolution of modern humans and
human language. -- "Distinguished Lectureship" talks, Academia Sinica, National Science
Council, Taipei.March 11 1991 - The Evolution of Human Speech, Thought and Selfless
Behavior. "Barbara Gordon Memorial Lecture," Florida International University March 25,
1991 - The origins and evolution of language. conference en Anthropologie, Universite de
Montreal. Montreal, Quebec.April 12, 1991 - Uniquely human: The evolution of speech, thought
and selfless behavior. Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA.May 23, 1991. On the
Evolution of Human Speech, Thought, and Selfless Behavior, International Conference on
Genetics, Linguistics, and Archaeology, Centro Fiorentino di Storia E Filosofia della Scienza,
Firenze, Italia.October 24, 1991 - Uniquely human: The evolution of speech, thought, and
selfless behavior. Johnson Memorial Lecture, The Ohio State University.December 5, 1991 -
Speech, symbolic activity, and the Neanderthal question. Symposium on evolution of symbolic
activity. Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, San Francisco, CA.
January 20-23, 1992 - On the neural bases of human language. Conference on Biological and
cultural aspects of language development. Universitat Bielefeld. Zentrum fur interdisziplinare
Forschung. Bielefeld, Germany.February 13, 1992 - On the neurophysiology of speech and
syntax. Grand Rounds Butler Hospital, Providence, RIFebruary 27, 1992 - The neurophysiology
of speech, syntax and logic. Bloefield Memorial Lecture, University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington.March 1, 1992 - The neural bases of speech and syntax. Annual meeting of the
American Association for Applied Linguistics, Seattle, WA.March 12, 1992 - "The brain bases
of speech, syntax, and thinking: New data from the study of Parkinson's Disease." Department
of Anthropology, Harvard University, Boston, MA.March, 17, 1992 - Speech production, syntax
and thinking. 58th Stated Meeting of the Associates of the Neursciences Research Program.
Rockefeller University, New York. (Invited Guest of the Institute for the meeting, March 15-
18.)May 4-8, 1992 - Workshop on Cooperation and competition in evolutionary processes.
Swedish Council for Planning and Coordination of Research (FRN) Abiska, Sweden.November
13, 1992 - "Speech production and the neural bases of human linguistic and cognitive ability
with reference to moral sense." Annual meeting of Northeastern Political Science Association,
Providence, RI.April 4, 1993 - "New Insights On Brain Organization." Academia Sinica, Taipei,
Taiwan..February 17, 1994. On the evolution of intelligence and altruism. Brown Learning
Community.March 20, 1994. Gallery talk. Museum of the Rhode Island School of Design.
Providence.May 26, 1994, Brain mechanisms implicated in motor control and cognition.
Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.December 30, 1994. What Mount Everest does to your brain:
Anoxic deficits in speech and thinking. Appalachian Mountain Club, Pinkham Notch, New
Hampshire.March, 1995, Neurological Grand Rounds, Rhode Island Hospital.
March, 1995, with Marcia R. Lieberman, "The Buddhist Wall-Paintings of Mustang." Tibet
House, New York.
June, 1995. The Biological Bases of Human Language," IFOTT, University of Amsterdam, NL
November 1995, with Marcia R. Lieberman, "Bon and Sherpa Ritualsm" Tibet House, New
York.
December 1995, with Marcia R. Lieberman, "Tibet and Holy Mt. Kailash," Appalachian
Mountain Club, Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire.
April 1997. Subcortical brain mechanisms implicated in language and cognition, Department of
Brain and Cognitive Science, M I T --
October 1997, M I T - Experiments in nature revealing subcortical regulation of speech and
syntax. Harvard Medical School program in Speech and Hearing Science.
April 1998, On the functional language system of the human brain. 2nd International Conference
on the Evolution of Language. London, UK.
May 1998. Language Evolution and Innateness. The Mind, Brain and Language Conference.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
April 1999. Keynote address. Conference on the vocal expression of emotion. Emory University,
Atlanta. GA.
May 1999. "Our reptilian brain on Everest". Museum of Science, Phoenix, Arizona
October 1999. "Human language and the reptilian brain: On the subcortical bases of speech,
syntax, and thought". "Big Problems" Lecture Series of the Franke Institute for the Humanities of
the University of Chicago, Chicago, Ilinois
December 1999. Neanderthal speech. Department of Anthropology, University College, London,
UK.
December 1999. "Human language and our reptilian brain: the subcortical bases of speech,
syntax, and thought," opening lecture of the Conference on Evolution of the BerlinBrandenburgische
Akadamie der Wissenshaften, Berlin, Germany
March 2000. "Neanderthal speech," LOH Symposium, University of California at San Diego and
Salk Institute.
May 2000. "Semeosis, speech and the evolution of the human brain." The Origins of Semeosis,
International Center for Semeotic and Cognitive Studies, San Marino, May 19-21.
May, 2000. Evolution of speech -- radio talk solicited and broadcast in the United Kingdom by
BBC Radio 4
March, 2000. with Marcia R. Lieberman. introductory lecture and slide presentation at Jane
Dwyer Memorial Lecture of Geshe Ngawang Jangchup at the Haffenreffer Museum of
Anthropology.
November 2, 2000. with Marcia R. Lieberman. "Tibetan Buddhist Paintings and People of the
Indian Himalaya," The 101 Forum, Brown University
March 27, 2002. Motor control and the evolution of language, Fourth International Conference
on the Evolution of Language, Harvard University.
October 8, 2003. On the neural bases of human language. Brown University Graduate
Neuroscience Colloquium Series.
November 21, 2003. Basal ganglia and a "universal grammar" for action, language and
cognition. MECA VI -Cognition and Action. Max Planck Institute for Psychological research,
Munich, Germany
December 6, 2003. Motor control, memory and the evolution of human linguistic and cognitive
ability. Symposium - Evolution of Language Reappraised. Primate Research Center (PRI) Kyoto
University, Japan.
March 17, 2004. Subcortical neural circuits and human evolution. Symposium on new directions
in Physical Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. MA.
April 20, 2004. Motor control, the FOXP2 language gene and Mount Everest: Insights on the
evolution of human linguistic and cognitive ability. Dept of Anthropology, University of
Connecticut.
May 29, 2004. Chomsky's "Universal Grammar and the FOXP2 gene." Annual meeting of the
Society for Behavior Analysis, Boston Mass.
August 20, 2004 - via telephone and Powerpoint - Voice Stress Analysis, NTSB and NASA.
January 10-11, 2005 Invited Speaker, Society of French Clinical Neurology, Paris,France
February 3, 2005 Filming by Canadian Broadcasting Company on NSBRI sponsored research
(for broadcast in 2006)
February 17-19, 2005 Workshop on Evolution of Cognition, University of Delaware, Delaware
April 18-20, 2005 Invited speaker, Fundacion Ramon Areces, Integrative Symposium:
Integrative Approaches to Human Health and
Evolution, Madrid, Spain
June 13-15, 2005 Encoding/Decoding Workshop, Santa-Fee Institute,
New Mexico
October 14-16, 2005 Invited Speaker, Alice V. and David H. Morris Symposium on the
Evolution of Language, Stony Brook University, New York
November 21, 2005 Invited Speaker, Mary Washington University, Virginia
March 15, 2006…Invited Speaker. “Mount Everest – A Space Analog”. Grand Rounds, Rhode
Island Hospital, Providence, RI
March 17, 2006 Invited Speaker, “FOXP2 and the evolution of language”. McGill University,
Montreal, Canada.
July 18, 2006- Invited Speaker, “Hypoxic insult to the brain deriving from extreme altitude,”.
Defense Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, New Delhi, India.
October 7, 2006.-Invited Speaker, “Neanderthal speech and language,”. Society for
Understanding Humans. University of California, San Diego.
June 6, 2007, Invited speaker; “Voice monitoring cognitive deficits on a space-analog - Mount
Everest.” Eighth International Conference on Naturalistic Decision Making, , Asilomar CA
February 2, 2008.Voice monitoring radiation induced cognitive deficits and performance
decrements from cognitive load. NASA Human Research Program Investigators' Workshop,
League City, Texas,
April 22, 2008. Therapsids and Us -- Inferences on the evolution of the neural bases of human
language and cognition. George Washington University, Washington D.C.,.
October 24, 2008. With Marcia R. Lieberman: Southeast Asia- Beyond Touristland. Wheaton
College, Norwood Massachusetts,.
H. NUMEROUS PAPERS READ OVER MANY YEARS.
I. SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
SELECTED SOLO SHOWS:
1983 - Jan: Bertha Urdang Gallery, 23 East 74th St, New York
May: Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit St.
July-Aug: American Gallery, Bern, Switzerland
Sept: Gallery 401, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence
Dec : Bertha Urdang Gallery, 23 East 74th St, New York
1984 - June: Woods-Gerry Gallery of the Rhode Island School of Design
l986 - April: Silver-Bullet Gallery, Providence
June: Brouha Gallery, Providence
Nov: Bertha Urdang Gallery, 23 East 74th St, New York
1988 - Oct: Bannister Gallery, Rhode Island College, Providence
1989 - March: Bertha Urdang Gallery, 23 East 74th St, New York C
1991 - Dec: Bertha Urdang Gallery, 23 East 74th St, New York City
1992 - Nov: Gallery 401, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence
1994 - Feb: Providence Art Club.
1994 - Dec 31: "The Sherpa Festival of Dumji." Appalachian Mountain
Club, Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire.
1995 - March 29: (with lecture by M. R. Lieberman) Tibet House,New York. "The wall
paintings of Mustang, Nepal"
1995 - Dec 30, Dec 31: "Holy Mount Kailash" and "Swiss Berghotels", Appalachian
Mountain Club, Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire.
1996 - Feb. 25 to March 8. Dodge House Gallery of Providence Art Club. The
Tibetan Himalayan World.
1996 - June 15 to July 7: Galerie Op Steker, Amsterdam
1996 - November 17: (with lecture by M. R. Lieberman) Tibetan Art. Jacques Marchais
Museum of Tibetan Art, Staten Island, NY
1996 - Dec 31: The Chang-Tang Plateau of Tibet, Appalachian Mountain
Club, Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire.
1998 - Nov 15 to Dec 4. Dodge House Gallery of Providence Art Club.
From Tibet to Benefit Street: Recent Photographs
1999 - December. Visions and Voices of Tibet. Haffenreffer Museum of
Anthropology, Brown University.
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
Carl Siembab Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
De Cordova Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts
Invitational: a traveling show curated by Bertha Urdang: at London Regional Art Gallery,
London, Ontario; Depree ArtCenter, Holland, Michigan; and other public galleries.
1986-1988 - International Traveling Invitational Show. "The Animal in Photography, 1843
- 1985." Assembled by the
Photographer's Gallery, London, U. K.
1994. "Contemporary Art in Rhode Island" Museum of the Rhode Island School of Design. One
of 25 fine artists (one of fi ve photographers) Three my five prints were selected for the
Museum's permanent collection.
SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHIC PUBLICATIONS:
Walking Switzerland: The Swiss Way. Seattle: The Mountaineers (1987)
The United States of the Alps. New York: Alpine Tourist Commission (1991)
The Sherpas of Nepal (photographic essay), Trilogy.
January/February, 1992, pp. 24-29.
Carpet-children of Nepal, The Rhode Islander, May 15, 1994, 18-19
United Nations Development Commission Report, 1997 and 2000
The Alpine Parks of France and Northwestern Italy. (1994) Seattle: The Mountaineers
Walking Switzerland: The Swiss Way, 2nd edition, (1997) Seattle: The Mountaineers, text by
Lieberman, M.
Swiss Mountain Inns (1998) Woodstock, Vt: Countryman Press (A division of W. W. Norton),
text by Lieberman, M.
Where the earth meets the sky. In The Oberoi Group Magazine Summer 2001. pp. 1-11.
Himalayan portraits. In The Oberoi Group Magazine Summer 2006, pp. 50-57.
Photographs published in The New York Times
April 5, 1987 -- Emmental farm life
February 21, 1988 -- Khumbu and Solu Khumbu, Nepal.
July 3, 1988 -- Climb of the Breithorn, Switzerland.
August 14, 1988 -- Engadine villages, Switzerland.
June 11, 1989 -- Berghotels in Switzerland.
March 17, 1991 -- Suvarov's route through Switzerland.
July 28, 1991 -- Tumlingtar to Tengboche and Thame, Nepal.
March 1, 1992 -- Life and landforms in Zanskar and Ladakh, India
April 5, 1992 -- Bronze age art in Alpes-Maritimes, France.
April 25, 1993 -- Life and landforms in Dolpo, Nepal.
June 13, 1993 -- Valgrisenche, Italy.
April 24, 1994 -- Mustang, Nepal.
August 28, 1994 -- Queyras and Ubaye, France.
March 5, 1995 -- Hohturli, Switzerland.
April 19, 1995 -- Newari Art of Kathmandu.
November 12, 1995 -- Kathmandu.
September 1996 -- Holy Mt Kailash, Tibet
September 1997 -- The Appenzell
May 1, 1998 -- Inner Dolpo, Nepal
November 22, 1998, Kerala's Inland Waterways and Havelis of
Rajistan, India
June 6, 1999 -- Inland Rhode Island
June 20, 1999 -- Tour di Monte Rosa
February 11, 2001 -- Where the earth meets the sky.
Photographs published in The Boston Sunday Globe
February 4. 2001 -- A Zermatt High
June 17, 2001 -- The Surprise of Sicily
May 12, 2002 -- Ancient route through the Alps is rediscovered.
CD-ROM: with Marcia R. Lieberman and Lama Ngawang Jorden -- Photographic survey of the
15th Century Buddhist wall-paintings of the gombas (temples) of Mustang, Nepal Grant from
the Getty Grant Foundation. The DVD is an archive containing 1,300 images (JPEG plus high
resolution TIF files), a prayer chant and discussions of Tibetan art and culture. It is also on the
Brown University website URL http://dl.lib.brown.edu/BuddhistTempleArt
650 Photographs in the permanent collections of The Brooklyn Museum, New York, The
Museum of the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, and The Haffenreffer Museum of
Anthropology.
155 Photographs documenting life in the Himalaya in the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library
(THDL) of the University of Virginia - The material on the CDROM of the 15th Century
Buddhist wall paintings of Mustang is also being placed on this website in a form that can be
accessed by scholars throughout the world. The Instructions for accessing this collection are as
follows:
Listed in Who's Who in American Art
CULTURAL DOCUMENTATION FOR HAFFENREFFER MUSEUM
147 archival prints of my photographs documenting Buddhist culture and life in Ladakh India
and Laos were placed in the permanent collection of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.
These photographs record the ongoing cultural transition occurring as traditional Buddhist
agrarian and nomadic cultures encounter outside “modern” influences.
6. RESEARCH
The goal of my research over more than three decades has been to understand both the nature
and the evolution biological bases of the some of the attributes that make us human. A full
understanding of any aspect of biology must take into account its evolution. As Dobzhanzy
noted, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” That understanding,
unfortunately, usually does not characterize research in Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, or
Linguistics.
Although linguists have focused on syntax being the key to human language, evolutionary
principles point to talking being a critical element - animals can’t talk. I initially focused on the
evolution of the human, species-specific, vocal tract. The anatomy of the skull base, mouth,
pharynx and throat evolved in part to facilitate speech production. But it is apparent that other
species, even closely related primates, also lack the neural substrate that allows humans to
flexibly reprogram motor gestures to produce voluntary speech. The papers that my colleagues
and I published between1968 and 1972) showed that this is the case. Therefore, the speciesspecific
human vocal tract which increases the risk of choking would have been worse than
useless without the presence of this neural substrate. This synergy between the evolution of
anatomy and brains has allowed us to make reasonable inferences about the time-depth of fully
human speech. If a fossil hominin had a modern vocal tract, s/he most like had a brain that could
have produced voluntary speech.
Moreover, we can make the reasonable inference that s/he also would have possessed modern
cognitive capabilities. Lieberman and McCarthy (2007) proposed that modern speech and
cognitive capabilities are first apparent in the Upper Paleolithic, some 50,000 years ago when the
archaeological record suggests that a “cultural revolution” took place. This inference is
reasonable because speech production is regulated by cortical-striatal-cortical circuits, whose
subcortical striatal elements also support neural circuits that confer the range of cognitive
capabilities grouped under the rubric of “executive control.”These capabilities include cognitive
flexibility – which I see as the key to creativity, working memory, comprehending syntax,
accessing words from the brain’s “dictionary” (temporal regions of the brain), and solving
mathematical problems.
I have proposed that the neural circuits that confer human cognitive ability evolved from ones
initially adapted for motor control. The mark of this evolutionary process appears to be evident
in the fact that deficits in speech motor capabilities co-occur with a group of cognitive deficits
that experimental findings show involve damage to the striatal basal ganglia in these neural
circuits. Impendent fMRI data from both neurologically intact and compromised subjects support
this conjecture.
The practical fruits of this enterprise are techniques that make use of the fact that the basal
ganglia support neural circuits implicated in cognition as well as motor control. We have used
speech measures to monitor cognitive deficits arising from Parkinson’s disease, Developmental
Verbal Apraxia and hypoxia. Working with Dr. David Mandelbaum and his colleagues at R I
Hospital, we propose to develop and validate a rapid, low-cost procedure for monitoring
cognitive deficits resulting from concussion, using speech and error-rate measurements from 4-
minute long repeatable tasks. My previous research shows that these procedures can detect
cognitive deficits.
Specific Research Projects
June 2000- October 30, 2008)."Speech monitoring of stress and cognitive deficits."National
Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) – we demonstrated that we could monitor
cognitive deficits arising from exposure to radiation or hypoxia through speech analysis.
Ongoing collaboration with Dr. Mandelbaum, Hasbro Children’s Hospital on Developmental
Verbal Apraxia
Ongoing collaboration with Dr. Joseph Friedman, Neurohealth, on Parkinson’s Disease
Ongoing collaboration with Dr. Deb Pal. Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia
University. on Rolandic epilepsy. We show a syndrome that appears to result from dysfunctional
basal ganglia - speech motor control and cognitive flexibility are compromised. The gene
implicated in this condition has been isolated.
Book Project
In line with my overriding interest concerning human nature and human evolution, I am working
on a book aimed at a general audience on the neural bases of free will and their evolution
I define free will as the ability to choose among alternatives. My basic premise is that this
capacity derives from neural circuits that initially were adapted for motor control. . The book
also will discuss the biological bases of morality because morality and free-will are often tied
together. My claim is that morality does not have a discrete genetic basis. Contrary to the claims
of Evolutionary Psychology, there is no “moral gene.”
The evidence that I will discuss includes the findings of current neuroimaging studies,
neurophysiologic studies of other species and humans that reveal circuits, behavioral studies of
the consequences of insult to the brain, and the historical record.
7. SERVICE:Brown University:
Chairman, Department of Linguistics, 1975-1977. 1981-86. Chairman, Department Cognitive
and Linguistic Sciences, 1988 - 1991Modern Language Board and Council for Languages and
Literature, Brown University, 1975-1976.Committee on Honorary Degrees, 1984-
1986.Chairmen's Meeting Agenda Committee, 1983-1984.Freshman advising, 1976 - 2003
Professional:
Program Committee of the Linguistic Society of America, 1974-1976.
Technical Committee on Speech Communication, Acoustical Society of America, 1965-1972.
Language editorial review committee, Linguistic Society of America,1978-1981.
Consultant and site visitor for NSF, NIH and New Zealand Research Council. Dutch NSF
equivalent, Canada Council, National Transportation Safety Board, New Zealand NSF,
Netherlands Science Foundation, Belgium, UK, Israel Science Foundation and others
American Psychological Association Planning Committee for cognitive psychology. 1986.
Study group for mission of the NIH Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders,
January 1989.
Editorial Boards: Human Evolution, Linguistic Research, Mother Tongue. MOCA (Society for
understanding human evolution)
REFEREE OF SUBMITTED PAPERS, GRANT PROPOSALS, AND BOOKS
Cortex, Cel,l, Brain and Language, American Journal of Primatology, Journal of Applied
Physiology, Brain and Behavioral Sciences,Trends in Cognitive Science,NSF, NIH, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Springer Verlag, Cambridge University Press
1995 to present - Board of Directors, Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory.
1997- to present - La Jolla Group for explaining the origin of humans (LOH)
Reviewer: Science, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, American Journal of
Physical Anthropology, General Psychology Review J. Nervous Mental Disease, Brain and
Language., Neuropsychologia, Cell, American Journal of Primatology, Journal of Applied
Physiology, Cortex, MIT Press, Springer, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press,
Harvard University Press, LEA, and other publishers and journals.
Community:
Consultant on voice analysis and voice analyses for various law enforcement agencies,
defendants in criminal trials, National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the US Army and other Federal entities.
Lectures to civic groups on the evolution of language. Slide shows on Buddhist Art with M.
Lieberman.
Contributions of photographs for auctions benefiting WSBE, First Unitarian Church, Museum of
the Rhode Island School of Design, Hands in Outreach, Community Volunteers, PBS and other
charitable organizations,
8. Honors
Fellow: American Association for Advancement of Science
Fellow: American Psychological Society
Fellow: American Anthropological Association.
Associate: Current Anthropology,
Associate: Brain and Behavioral Science
1974: Research Award of the American Speech and Hearing Association.
1984. Guggenheim Fellow
1985: NATO Visiting Professor, Instituto di Anthropologia, Florence, Italy.
1986: Guest Editor, of Human Evolution.
1990: Nijmegen Lecturer, Max Planck Institut fur Psycholinguistik, Nijmegen Holland, (
aweeklong seriues of lectures) December 10-14, 1990
1991: Distinguished Lecturer, Institute of Philology of the Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan,
Republic of China.
1992: - Leading Edge Speaker, Evergreen College, Evergreen, Washington
2005: Concluding Invited Speaker, Alice V. and David H. Morris International Symposium on
the Evolution of Language, Stony Brook University, New York
9. Sponsored Research:
N.I.H. research study, Development of Speech in Infants, Grant #5R01HD09197, 1975-1981;
N.I.H. Grant "Developmental Studies of Speech.
Grants for study of development of speech perception in infants from John and Caroline
Macarthur Foundation 1984-1986
Research contract on forensic voice analysis - U. S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Forensic Sciences, Order # A107193, 1991-1993.
Grants NASA (1992-95) for extreme-altitude Research.
Grant FAA (1995-1996) voice analysis of Air Traffic Controllers.
Grant FAA (1996-1997) Acoustic measures of hypoxia in pilots
with Marcia R. Lieberman,"CD-ROM of a photographic survey of Buddhist wall paintings in
Mustang, Nepal" funded by Getty Grant Program, Los Angeles, CA., Reference Works
Category, 2000-2004
Joint Research Project on Voice Analysis for Hypoxic Cognitive Dysfunction -- U. S. Army,
AIREM, Natick Massachusetts 1997 --
Grant National Space Biomedical Research Institute. Speech-based monitoring of cognitive and
linguistic ability, and personality alterations. 2001-2004,
Current Sponsored Research:
National Space Biomedical Research Institute: Voice measures of cognition and stress. July
2004-June 2007.
SELECTED TV, RADIO, AND PRINT INTERVIEWS:
Subject of Educational Television Documentaries on the Evolution of Language, filmed at
Brown University by: TF-1, French National Television, 1981; Mann-Union TV, Japanese
Television, 1984; RAI, Italian National Television, 1984; Canadian Broadcasting System, 1986;
2002, PBS, WNET/Thirteen "The Mind" 1987, BBC Science Programme 1987, 1999, 2001;
Grenada TV (England) -- "Dead Men Talk' (The evolution of modern human beings) 1991.
Radio interview: March 1993, Canadian Broadcasting System Filming.
1988. Featured in Special Section on "Archaeology: Transitions in Prehistory" Science
282:1455-1457.Discovery Channel,Everest Research 1995, 2003,2005; Swedish
televison,Evolution of language 2007
September 1993 -- Granada TV documentary, "The Origins of Man." 1995 "Language' - PBS
(series produced by G. Searchinger), 1997 Discovery Magazine "Hypoxia on Mount Everest."
1997 DiscoveryMagazine "Voice analysis in Parkinson's Disease."
1999 Deutsche Welt2000 BBC
2003- The Lancet-Neurology, Newsdesk Editorial, "Detection of cognitive impairment: the final
frontier. 2:590-591.
2004: Featured in Special Section on the Evolution of Language, Science 303:1316-1317.
2004 BBC
2004 - A Laboratory known as Everest, article on NSBRI Everest study in The Nation (Nepal)
May 2, pp. 24-25.
2004- Documentary on Everest research, Discovery Channel - Canada
2005 - January 3 Interview on speech perception, Science Magazine
2006 – Interviews New York Times, Science, various PBS and CBC stations.
2007. Interviews with Science, Brazil feature article- Veja Magazine (Brazil),Filming by
Swedish TV on evolution of human language.
Photography:
1994 -- "Contemporary Art in Rhode Island," juried exhibition of Museum of Rhode Island
School of Design (one of 25 artists selected in the Fine Arts Category)
1999 -- "The Tibetan World: Visions and Voices". Exhibit at the Haffenreffer Museum of
Anthroplogy, Brown University.
2002-2003 - 230 prints documenting life in Tibetan Himalayan regions and in Southeast Asia
selected for archives of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.
.
2004- 350 photographs taken over the past twenty years documenting traditional Tibetan life in
the Himalaya placed in the archives of the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library (THDL)of the
University of Virginia.
http://THDL.org (path: Collections - Special Collections) They are available in high-resolution
TIF files to scholars throughout the world. The material on the CDROM of the 15th Century
Buddhist wall paintings of Mustang is also on this website.
Listed in Who's Who in America and\or Who in American Science and Technology .and Who's
Who in the World,at various times 1999.
Listed in Who's who in American Art since 1987.
9. TEACHING LAST THREE YEARS:
Semester 1: CGL 032. The Biology and Evolution of Language
CGL 124. Laboratory course on Speech Physiology,
Perception and Acoustics
Semester 2: CGL 150. Subcortical brain bases of language and
thought
2005-2006
Semester 1: CGL 032. The Biology and Evolution of Language
CGL 124. Speech Physiology, Perception and Acoustics
Semester 2: CGL 150. Subcortical brain bases of language and
thought
2006-2007.
Semester 1:
CGL 124. Laboratory course on Speech Physiology, Perception and
Acoustics
CGL 198: Seminar with M Tarr on the Evolution of Perception and Language.
Semester 2: CGL 150. Subcortical brain bases of language and
thought
2007-2008
Semester 1: CGL 032. The Biology and Evolution of Language
2008-2009
Spring:
CGL 124. Laboratory course on Speech Physiology, Perception and
Acoustics
CGL 150. Subcortical brain bases of language and thought.
Fall: CGL 150. Subcortical brain bases of language and
thought
Independent studies: CG 198 and CG 201 2-4 students per semester,
Honors projects:
Beverly R. Young
Sandra Mather – 2006
Maya Barsky – in pregress
Recent Graduate Theses Supervised
Ph.D. Theses underway: Sandra Mather
Ph.D Thesis directed: W. T. Fitch, completed 1994
Ph.D Thesis directed: E. R. Pickett, completed 1998
Ph.D Thesis advisor (with Prof J Vaissiere, Universite de la Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III): SooJin
Chung, completed 2000
Ph.D Thesis directed: J. Hochstadt, completed 2004
Supervised research of Morana Alec - graduate exchange student from Bologna-Brown program.
1998-2000
10. Prepared December, 2008
Philip Lieberman
George Hazard Crooker University Professor Emeritus
Overview
Philip Lieberman Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences
Professor of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
. Professional Appointments 1957-59 Research Assistant, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1958-62. Lieutenant, United States Air Force: 1962-67 Research Staff, Speech Research Branch, Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories 1967. Research Staff Member, Haskins Laboratories. Associate Professor, University of Connecticut; Professor, 1969; Acting Head, Department of Linguistics 1973-74 1974. Professor, Brown University
1975-77, 1981-86. Chairman, Department of Linguistics 1988 - 1991, Chairman, Department Cognitive and Linguistic
Philip Lieberman
Born: October 25, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, United States
Nationality: American
Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2002. From Literature Resource Center.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2018 Gale, a Cengage Company
Updated:Apr. 18, 2002
Table of Contents
PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Family: Born October 25, 1934, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Harry Israel (a plumber) and Miriam (Mendelson) Lieberman; married Marcia Rubinstein (a writer), June 2, 1957; children: Benjamin, Daniel. Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E., both 1958, Ph.D. (linguistics), 1966. Military/Wartime Service: U.S. Air Force, 1958-62; became first lieutenant. Memberships: Modern Language Association of America, Linguistic Society of America, Acoustical Society of America, American Association of Physical Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, Swiss Alpine Club. Addresses: Home: 141 Elton St., Providence, RI 02906. Office: Brown University, Box E, Providence, RI 02912.
CAREER:
Air Force Communication Research Laboratories, Bedford, MA, research scientist, 1958-67; University of Connecticut, Storrs, associate professor of linguistics and electrical engineering, 1967-70, professor of linguistics, 1970-74; Brown University, Providence, RI, professor of linguistics, beginning 1978. Member of research staff, Haskins Laboratories, 1967-74; guest of Research Laboratory for Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1967-70.
WORKS:
WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
Intonation, Perception, and Language, M.I.T. Press, 1967.
Speech Acoustics and Perception, Bobbs-Merrill, 1970.
The Speech of Primates, Mouton, 1972.
On the Origin of Languages: An Introduction to the Evolution of Human Language, Macmillan, 1975.
Speech Physiology and Acoustic Phonetics, Macmillan, 1977.
The Biology and Evolution of Language, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 1984.
(With Sheila E. Blumstein) Speech Psychology, Speech Perception, and Acoustic Phonetics, Cambridge University Press (New York), 1988.
Uniquely Human: The Evolution of Speech, Thought, and Selfless Behavior, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 1991.
Eve Spoke: Human Language and Human Evolution, Norton (New York), 1998.
Human Language and Our Retilian Brain: The Subcortical Bases of Speech, Syntax, and Thought, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000.
Contributor of articles to journals, including Language, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, American Anthropologist, Brain and Language, and Linguistic Inquiry.
Sidelights
Lieberman told CA: "It's probably comforting for many people to think that human beings, as a class, are unique. The evidence for human uniqueness has, however, been transitory. In the eighteenth century, certain bones were supposed to be present only in human beings; in the nineteenth century, the structure of the human brain was supposed to be unique. Similar bones and similar neural structures were, however, found in apes. The differences which did exist were of degree rather than kind. In recent years the case for human uniqueness seems to be based on language. The problem is that chimpanzees do, in fact, behave in a linguistic mode when they are taught a modified version of American sign language. The counter-argument from advocates of uniqueness is that the chimpanzees are either not really using sign language, or that even if they are, the situation is artificial and they don't exhibit any linguistic behavior when we observe them in the wild.
"I believe that chimpanzees in the state of nature use a linguistic mode of communication and that we will ultimately be able to decode this system. The problem is that chimpanzees are not human beings and the special mechanisms that we know exist in human beings to facilitate the acquisition of human language are probably not appropriate for their language. Research on the biological bases of human language shows that human infants, for example, are equipped to perceive some of the phonetic contrasts that are productive in human speech. The situation is similar for ducklings and duck calls. It is very difficult for humans to hear the distinctions that are meaningful to ducks; we need complex instruments or careful auditory training to differentiate the duck calls that are distinct to ducklings.
"Ultimately I believe that we will find that chimpanzees communicate in a linguistic mode--i.e., by means of an open system that can transmit new information in contrast to the closed communication systems of animals like ducks. I doubt that chimpanzees will have a language that is equivalent in its logical power to human language--they are not, after all, human beings. The difference, however, will be one of degree rather than kind.
"Some of the controversy that has emerged regarding my own work on the evolution of human language is based on the rejection of the theory that linguistic ability is a continuum. My work, for example, indicates that the speech of Neanderthal hominids was less effective than the speech of present day humans. Australopithecines, in turn, were probably closer to present day apes. If linguistic ability is the key to humanness, then the human-nonhuman distinction is not sharp. Thus, people sometimes become emotional in discussing the linguistic abilities of fossil hominids or present-day chimpanzees. The debate really isn't about language but the human-nonhuman distinction.
"The next decade will be interesting. It will be curious, to say the least, to establish ethical standards if the human-nonhuman distinction is a continuum."
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Philip Lieberman." Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1000059995/LitRC?u=schlager&sid=LitRC&xid=63ae1e07. Accessed 23 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|H1000059995