Attempts to shed light on language evolution have used different approaches and methods (e.g., comparative approach and purpose of language), focused on different research disciplines (e.g., biology, linguistics, and neuroscience), and used different model systems (e.g., songbirds, great apes for an overview see Fitch, 2010). However, although the evolution of language has intrigued scientific scholars for centuries ( Darwin, 1859) and across scientific disciplines (e.g., Christiansen and Kirby, 2003b Fitch, 2010 Corballis, 2011 Hauser et al., 2014 Killin, 2017), it still remains a mystery ( Knight et al., 2000). Language has been proposed to be uniquely human ( Christiansen and Kirby, 2003a Corballis, 2009 McNeill, 2010) because it involves specific characteristics such as high variation, complexity, open-endedness, and the use of linguistic and socially learned symbols to direct the attentional and mental states of others (e.g., Christiansen and Kirby, 2003a Pika et al., 2005). Finally, we pinpoint fruitful research avenues and hypotheses to move the field of turn-taking development forward and improve our understanding of the impact of turn-taking on language evolution. Nonetheless, the results of some studies suggested that specific turn-taking elements are innate, while others are acquired during development (e.g., flexibility). In addition, studies investigating turn-taking abilities across different development periods and in relation to different social partners were very rare, thereby hampering direct, systematic comparisons within and across species. Overall, we found a considerable variation in the terminologies and methodological approaches used.
Most of these studies were from the last decade, showing an increased interest in this field over the years. We performed a systematic review including a wide range of terms and found 21 studies presenting findings on turn-taking abilities in infants and juveniles. Since mammals exhibit an extended development period, including learning and strong parental care, they represent an excellent model group in which to investigate the acquisition and development of turn-taking abilities. Second, we highlight research avenues to spur more research into this domain and investigate if distinct turn-taking elements can be found in other non-human animal species. Hence, the aim of the current paper was 2-fold: First, we carried out a systematic review of turn-taking development and acquisition in mammals to evaluate possible research bias and existing gaps. Surprisingly, however, the existing studies have mainly focused on turn-taking production of adult individuals, while little is known about its emergence and development in young individuals.
Moreover, there is some evidence for turn-taking in different mammalian taxa, especially those capable of vocal learning. Recently, it has been argued that this turn-taking infrastructure may be a foundational and ancient mechanism of the layered system of language because communicative turn-taking has been found in human infants and across several non-human primate species. A recent hypothesis, the Interaction Engine Hypothesis, postulates that language was made possible through the special capacity for social interaction involving different social cognitive skills (e.g., joint attention, common ground) and specific characteristics such as face-to-face interaction, mutual gaze and turn-taking, the exchange of rapid communicative turns.
How human language evolved remains one of the most intriguing questions in science, and different approaches have been used to tackle this question.
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