Vocalization In Primate Research

According to “When Animals Communicate, They Are Not Using “Language” “, Mia Lewis says “...scientists insist that when chimpanzees or other animals are taught to use words or signs, more often or not they are simply performing a kind of trick in order to receive a reward - usually food. That is why animals don’t go on to create more words or complex sentences. A human baby, on the other hand, rapidly progresses from saying a single word to being able to form complex sentences”. Animals only perform actions of language for treats or rewards because of the ‘thing’ that they lack in their brain. However, since humans have this ‘thing’, we start saying words as a baby, than as we grow, form them into complex sentences, and make

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 vocabulary of these trained apes may be impressive [for apes], but it isn’t that great compared to human infants. While human infants would add adjectives to their nouns, Nim’s utterances didn’t increase in length. In addition to the length, Nim’s utterances usually conveyed a demand for something; Nim didn’t go around naming random objects. These observations that showed the chimps’ simpler form of learning.

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.

Specifically, learning language indicates the most stunning ability about Bonobos intelligence. Human is regarded as the intelligence animal because we can use language which distinguishes us with others. Language covers many combinations of words such as grammars, sentences, phrases that only human can understand. Since I was a child, I usually thought that the world of animal had its own language that we did not know about it. Although many species can understand what their species want to transfer in the world of nature by using methods such as waves or signal, but none of them can deliver it into language. But we know this:

The origin of speech in Homo sapiens is controversial topic since the problem is related to humans' unprecedented use of the tongue, lips and vocal organs as instruments of communication. As we know, the other animals vocalize, but do not use the tongue to modulate sounds. The most interesting scenario about this evidence, with regards to human language evolution, is the lip-smacking. According to scientists, lip-smacking has been observed as the first step towards the evolution of speech, although it is a phenomenon common in every primate. The evolution of distinctively human speech capacities has become a distinct and in many ways separate area of scientific research. Many studies have been done throughout the history regarding the origins of human language. The article about the Gelada monkeys of

One reason why Chimps communicate but don’t use language is they can be trained since birth, but they still won’t be able to communicate with the complexity level that humans do. Kanzi the Bonobo learned 348 symbols at the age of 26 which is the equivalent 3,000 English words. Even if animals could use a language they could very well not be able to speak clearly because of their low count of known words. The Bonobo Kanzi is living in a 10 million dollar lab/ home complex. However, all the chimpanzees are being taught in the complex are how

The animal kingdom is filled with multiple different species, all with their own way to communicate. Birds tweet and twitter, cows low, horses neigh, and dogs bark. Each sound has its own specific meaning behind it, a word they use to communicate. But what exactly animals are communicating is something humans have always had an interest in. From the story of Dr. Doolittle to looking at your own pet and wondering what is going on behind their eyes and what it is exactly that they want to tell you, we all desire to know what animals mean when they bark, growl, or meow. And when it comes to primates, especially non-human primates, we grow even more interested. Primate communication has risen to a level above that of other animals in the world, to the point of speech with distinct languages and definitions. Here lies a possible missing link to discover our own language origins, by studying the communicative patterns of non-human primates. But why did primate communication evolve to such a high level? What are the pressures behind this leap forwards? By looking at one specific species, I believe we can further dig into this mystery.

The evolution of human language is a highly debated topic with many perspectives and theories dating back to the 19th century and as a result is it a subject full of ambiguity. This is due to the fact that there is an abundance of theories with evidence to give them grounds to argue, not only this, but because more than one aspect of the evolution of language is in question. The first question lies in the purpose of its development, what evolutionary advantages would it present early humanity. The second is how it came to fruition, was it through natural selection or was it taught. The third query lies within the early stages of human language, what form did it take and why. Was language always vocal or did it start by being gestural similar to sign language. There is an abundance of forms of communication in the animal kingdom, namely babies crying for their mothers’ attention or calls to warn of danger. However, this can not be deemed as a language because in the context of evolutionary linguistics, language is defined “as any system which allows for the free and unfettered expression of thoughts into signals, and the complementary interpretation of such signals into thoughts” (Fitch, 2010 pg.

In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution, three editors Jones, Martin, and Pilbeam (1999:128) agree, “There are no non-human languages” and observed, “language is an adaptation unique to humans, and yet the nature of its uniqueness and its biological basis are notoriously difficult to define.” In his book, The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain, Terrance Deacon (1997:25) could not agree when he writes, “In this context, then, consider the case of human language. It is one of the most distinctive behavioral adaptations on the planet. Languages evolved in only one species, in only one way, without precedent, except in the most general

There are clearly many language differences and barriers between human and non-human species, and primate vocal communication is a particularly intriguing one. Although primate vocal communication is incredibly different from human language, it is still important to examine the differences and similarities between human and nonhuman species. This examination can shine a light on the evolution of language. Both humans and non-human species have cognitive capabilities, and in humans, language and cognition are tightly wound together. Language is how an individual’s thoughts and feelings are expressed to the environment. In apes and monkeys, the difference in vocal communication is striking. With only a small apparent repertoire of calls, non-human primates use the same calls that are picked up early in life and those calls seemingly never change. As the continuity theory suggests, language has grown from a primate call system. Humans initially started out using simple cries representing different things such as, ‘Help’ or ‘Danger!’, and over time they evolved into the language used today. Scientists today can examine these stages closely, and looking into the cries of the vervet monkey, it is suspected that the cries of this species could be a possible middle stage in language evolution. Unlike other non-primate species, the vervet monkey has several different alarm calls the distinguish between different types of danger. For example, the chutter warns about a cobra, whereas

Modern humans engage in behaviours that are extremely unique, such as language, art and music, all of which are the result of the superior capabilities in the realms of cognition and linguistics (Sherwood et al., 2008). Humans are not only able to recognize, manipulate and form symbols into working sentences,

The fifth feature to compare is reciprocity. This is where any sender of a language signal could also be the receiver, and features in both human and apes. Communication is only truly reciprocal when the receiver knows the language used by the sender: if an Englishman shouted to Frenchman the receiver would not be able to understand the message and therefore would not be able to respond to the original call. In the case of the trained chimps, Lana who used pictograms on a screen, would not be able to communicate with Washoe, who was trained with signs.

The largest obstacle in great ape language acquisition has been vocabulary. In the past, attempts to teach them to use spoken language has yielded extremely limited results; however, attempts to teach symbolic language (especially human sign language) have been incredibly successful (Patterson & Cohn 1990). It is interesting to note that sign language acquisition in great apes shares similarities with language acquisition in human children. For example, a chimpanzee named Washoe showed overgeneralization in her use of signs during her early learning stages that can be compared to perceptual classifications in children (Patterson 1978). Chimpanzee research has shown that, like young children, chimpanzees acquire gestual language in stages, such as combining

The ability of speech and language processing has always been a defining factor in what makes humans unique, especially from their closest living relative primates. This paper will analyze the differences in modern human brain structure and the common chimpanzee brain structure (pan troglodytes) in regards to the language and speech function. Language and speech processing in modern humans will focus on two parts of the cerebral cortex: Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, which is responsible for generating speech and language and receiving speech and language respectively. Broca’s area will be analyzed by the two parts it is made up of: Brodmann area 44, associated mainly with phonological tasks and Brodmann area 45, associated mainly with semantic processing. Wernicke’s area receives and interprets speech and language and is shown to be connected to Broca’s area by a neuronal tract known as the arcuate fasciculus. The structure of the common chimpanzee brain is shown to have homologous structures to Broca’s and Wernicke’s area in modern humans, but is significantly smaller, and is unable to perform the same developed functions as modern humans in regards to language and speech, but is much more limited and simplified.