How Does Chimpanzees Use Language

Jane states, “For a long time I never liked to look a chimpanzee straight in the eye. Although, she started doing that after she knew the chimpanzees better. The mind of a chimpanzee is just as good as a humans, and sometimes better. Chimpanzees know how to do a lot of different things. I personally think it is awesome when Jane Goodall talks about the things that happen in a chimpanzees mind. In Chapter Two it says that Lucy said the colors of objects in a book that Jane was reading out loud. After reading the book Through a Window, I have a different perspective on chimpanzees and their mind.

“Chimpanzees have been found to extensively and flexibly use gestural communication, even developing novel gestures in new situations” (Larsen, 210). They show different communicative responses specific to their groups and regions. This indicates that vocal features can be transmitted through social learning. Chimpanzee mothers and infants communicate through distinct vocalizations and gestures (Hirata, 2009). In 2008, Hirata observed several interactions between mothers and infants in captivity. When infants were still young and immature, mothers would help their infants move. When the mothers walked long distances in situations that their young would have trouble traveling alone, the mother would communicate with her infant and they would travel together with the mother carrying the infant. For example, before even traveling one mother stretched out her hand toward her offspring who was somewhat far from her. The infant then approached its mother to take her hand and the mother cradled the infant and moved from one spot to another while carrying her infant. Hirata indicated that mothers will determine the goal of travel in advance and proceed by carrying their young if it is necessary. This is done through communication in advance using several types of gestures and vocals. The range of gestural communication is greater compared to facial and vocal signals.

A person communicate different variety of ways, both verbally and non-verbally. Primates and other animals have been communicating without the use of language since long before humans invented verbal communication. Some scientists believe that even today, most communication between humans is non-verbal. Both types of communication differ significantly between genders and across cultures.

Primate intelligence correlates to primate cognition which is the study of the intellectual and behavioral skills of primates (Low). In the book Human Evolution and Culture, chapter five "Human Evolution Biological and Culture" states that primates share a lot of common features with mammals but what makes them uniquely different than many other mammals is that primates have a wide range of physical and social traits (86). The social relationships of primates are unique because just like humans, they relationship begin with the mother and other adults that the younger dependable primates. "The dependency of infant primates offers an evolutionary benefit that allows infant primates more time to examine and master the intricate behaviors necessary to survival while enjoying the care and protection of mature adults."(87) Primates have the privilege of having a large brain the size similar to body size to learn the culture and the way of life they live. Larger brains give primates the advantage to obtain an enormous amount of learning and integrate data. Primates have a special gift in areas of their brain that's dedicated to speech and language. (94) Primates have the special ability to communicate with each other as well as with humans and are the "only habitual toolmaking animal" (96). Although primates are more cognitively advanced than many other animals/mammals, researchers and critics still debate on how to define, compare and study intelligence and the growth of

     The cultural transmission of a communication system through learning is a fundamental attribute of language. Trained chimpanzee’s Washoe and Lucy have tried to teach Ameslan to other animals, including their own offspring. Washoe has taught gestures to other chimps at the institute where she is, including her son, Sequoia, who died when he was very young. There has been other cases of cultural transmission from chimp to chimp.

Primates have always been viewed as a species that communicates by hand signals and other bodily gestures. The view that is now seen is that “comparative evidence suggests that primates are able, no less than humans, to intellectually perform and understand impulsive or habitual communicational

Language is a form of communication and can be portrayed in many different ways not just vocalization, this is shown by those that use sign language rather than vocalization; these humans still have complex language but they lack the necessary organs or capabilities to produce all of the sounds needed for vocal language; similarly, some non-human primates use different interactions as language not just production and combinations of sounds. Non-human primates do not have the ability to vocalize the way humans do because they lack vocal cords, control of the necessary vocalization, and other speech organs, but that does not mean that they cannot effectively communicate through language with other non-human primates or with humans as well.

The first topic addressed in this book that I will focus on is the social behavior of apes, specifically on courting rituals and mating behavior, such as the love dance performed by the “humans” in the novel. The second topic is the (in)capability of apes to produce human speech. In the novel, the apes all speak human language, but in reality, this is not a likely possibility.

One form of nonhuman primate communication that occurs in the wild is through noises (Zuberbuhler 6). Most primates have species specific sounds for certain situations (Zuberbuhler 6). For example, vervet monkeys have different alarm calls for different types of predators (Zuberbuhler 10). The listeners of these calls respond to each call differently, protecting themselves from specific predators (Zuberbuhler 10). This means that they are not just reacting to another monkey being scared, but they know what scared it based on the call the monkey makes. Specific calls therefore can be said to symbolize specific meanings (Zuberbuhler 10). However, it is not known whether or not this is intentional or if the monkeys are aware of this. While this would not necessarily be considered a language, it is one of their natural forms of communication. The human listeners and nonhuman listeners both interpret arbitrary noises to mean something specific (Zuberbuhler 11). However, a difference between human language and these primate calls is that humans learn their language socially (Zuberbuhler 11). There is no evidence to say that nonhuman primate calls or sounds are learned socially instead of instinctual (Zuberbuhler 11). In fact, there is some evidence to support the opposite. “Monkeys reared in social isolation produce basically all their species-typical call types from soon after birth”(Arbib 1054). This means that these species specific calls are not taught, but they know them

For example, imitation and teaching explain that chimpanzee’s may watch their mother doing actions academically (problem-solving) she never gives her young enough feedback or just a simple look to reinforce his observation. He concludes by explaining that humans have a preexisting capacity that allows them to represent what they imagine by combining human elements (language) while, animals clearly do not.

Alternatively, some may argue other intelligent species, such as dolphins or chimpanzees also possess the ability to express views and opinions, having language very similar to ours; however, what makes human language so unique is its variety and complexity. As cleverly described by Jason Goldman (2012): “Whales sing, monkeys howl, birds chirp. Lizards bob their heads up and down to communicate, and some squid do it by regulating the coloration of their skin cells. But none of these processes can be explained by language.” The distinctiveness of human language is not defined by how it allows individuals to communicate with each other, but instead, the infinite variety that follows. While other species communicate to

Language is a communicative system of words and symbols unique to humans. The origins of language are still a mystery as fossil remains cannot speak. However, the rudiments of language can be inferred through studying linguistic development in children and the cognitive and communicative abilities of primates as discussed by Bridgeman (2003). This essay illustrates the skills infants have that will eventually help them to acquire language. The topics covered are firstly, the biological aspects, the contribution of the human brain to language development? Secondly, key theories of language development will be considered. Is the development innate? Is there a critical period? Thirdly, what must be learned? What are the rudiments infants must

Language in animals has been studied over the course of many years. Studies like that of Chaser (Piley, 2013) and of Bonobo monkeys (Williams, Brakke, K., & Savage-Rumbaugh,1997) focus on a non-human animal’s ability to comprehend human language and their ability to respond in a way that makes it clear to the observer that they comprehend at least to some degree but there are surprisingly few studies done on communication between animals. It is extremely anthropocentric to solely focus on a non-human animal’s capacity for human language. I propose a study that instead focuses on the communication done between animals, specifically: the stress response a dog has to the barks of another dog. There is some speculation that dog vocalization, barking in particular, is not specifically communicative, and is possibly just a way to draw attention to something. (Bradshaw & Nott, 1995.) However, other studies have shown that pitch and duration of the bark changes based on the situation they are used (Yin, 2002.) The purpose of vocal communication between dogs has the potential to be extremely complex and involved. Barking in dogs is often discounted due to its repetitive nature. Wolves have not been shown to bark more than once in stress situations. The repetitive barking could have easily been selected for (intentionally or not) during the domestication process. Having a watch dog that barks over and over when he is alarmed is extremely advantageous over a dog that

If you have a pet like dog, you will think it knows us. They know our expressions and they always can give us a comfort when we are in terrible situation. I think a lot of people often think about do animals know humans’ language? I want to discuss about Do animals have ability to learn language and what is the difference between human language and animal language.

This article discusses the form of communication that Gibbon monkeys use amongst their species. The argument that appears to be present throughout this article is that Gibbons are not only able to communicate with each other, but also that their communication system shares certain features with the human language system. Although I agree that this species’ communication system shares particular design features with the human language, the definition of language attests that this type of communication is not considered a language.