Language is a cornerstone of human culture, yet the evolution of this cognitive-demanding ability is shrouded in mystery. Studying how different species demonstrate this trait can provide clues for its evolutionary route. Indeed, recent decades saw ample scientific attempts to compare human speech, the prominent behavioral manifestation of language, with other animals' vocalizations. Diligent studies have found only elementary parallels to speech in other animals, fortifying the belief that language is uniquely human. But have we really tested this uniqueness claim? Surprisingly, a true impartial comparison between human speech and other animals' vocalizations has hardly ever been conducted. Here, I illustrate how treating humans as an equal species in vocal-communication research is expected to provide us with no evidence for human superiority in this realm. Thus, novel balanced and unbiased comparative studies are vital for identifying any unique component of human speech and language.

中文翻译：

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动物没有语言，人类也是动物。

语言是人类文化的基石，但这种认知需求能力的演变却笼罩在神秘之中。研究不同物种如何表现出这种特性可以为其进化途径提供线索。的确，最近几十年来，人们进行了充分的科学尝试，将人类的言语（语言的主要行为表现）与其他动物的发声进行了比较。勤奋的研究发现，在其他动物中，语音仅与语音基本相似，从而强化了语言是人类独特的信念。但是，我们是否真的测试了这种独特性主张？令人惊讶的是，几乎没有进行过人类语音和其他动物的发声之间的真正公正的比较。这里，我说明了在语音交流研究中如何将人类视为平等物种，这有望为我们提供这一领域人类优势的证据。因此，新颖的平衡和公正的比较研究对于确定人类言语和语言的任何独特组成部分都是至关重要的。