Language evolution

Why do humans use language for communication and thinking? The ability to speak is unique in the animal kingdom. However, some parts of language may not be. For example, many birds can form complex sound sequences and primates can communicate with the help of different gestures and sounds. We are concerned with the question of which learning processes relevant for language acquisition can be found in other related and non-related species. In this way, we want to better understand how the brain has acquired the ability to speak over the course of evolution.