Great ape language

Great ape language research historically involved attempts to teach chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans to communicate using imitative human speech, sign language, physical tokens and computerized lexigrams. These studies were controversial, with debate focused on the definition of language, the welfare of test subjects, and the anthropocentric nature of this line of inquiry.

The consensus among linguists remains that language is unique to humans.^[1]

Contemporary research has steered away from attempting to teach apes human language and focuses instead on observing apes' intraspecies communication in zoos and natural habitats. This includes gestures, facial expressions, and vocalizations.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

^ McKay, Susan (Spring 2020). "The Marvel of Language: Knowns, Unknowns, and Maybes". Rocky Mountain Review. 74 (1): 49–69. doi:10.1353/rmr.2020.0002. JSTOR 26977687.
^ Amici, Federica; Liebal, Katja (1 April 2023). "Testing Hypotheses for the Emergence of Gestural Communication in Great and Small Apes (Pan troglodytes, Pongo abelii, Symphalangus syndactylus)". International Journal of Primatology. 44 (2): 319–340. doi:10.1007/s10764-022-00342-7. ISSN 1573-8604.
^ Amici, Federica; Liebal, Katja (26 September 2022). "The social dynamics of complex gestural communication in great and lesser apes ( Pan troglodytes , Pongo abelii, Symphalangus syndactylus )". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 377 (1860). doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0299. ISSN 0962-8436. PMC 9358312. PMID 35934967.
^ Fröhlich, Marlen; Wittig, Roman M.; Pika, Simone (1 May 2016). "Should I stay or should I go? Initiation of joint travel in mother–infant dyads of two chimpanzee communities in the wild". Animal Cognition. 19 (3): 483–500. doi:10.1007/s10071-015-0948-z. ISSN 1435-9456. PMC 4824811. PMID 26833496.
^ Hobaiter, Catherine; Byrne, Richard W. (1 September 2011). "The gestural repertoire of the wild chimpanzee". Animal Cognition. 14 (5): 745–767. doi:10.1007/s10071-011-0409-2. hdl:10023/4445. ISSN 1435-9456. PMID 21533821. S2CID 13793972.

[1] McKay, Susan (Spring 2020). "The Marvel of Language: Knowns, Unknowns, and Maybes". Rocky Mountain Review. 74 (1): 49–69. doi:10.1353/rmr.2020.0002. JSTOR 26977687.

[2] Amici, Federica; Liebal, Katja (1 April 2023). "Testing Hypotheses for the Emergence of Gestural Communication in Great and Small Apes (Pan troglodytes, Pongo abelii, Symphalangus syndactylus)". International Journal of Primatology. 44 (2): 319–340. doi:10.1007/s10764-022-00342-7. ISSN 1573-8604.

[3] Amici, Federica; Liebal, Katja (26 September 2022). "The social dynamics of complex gestural communication in great and lesser apes ( Pan troglodytes , Pongo abelii, Symphalangus syndactylus )". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 377 (1860). doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0299. ISSN 0962-8436. PMC 9358312. PMID 35934967.

[4] Fröhlich, Marlen; Wittig, Roman M.; Pika, Simone (1 May 2016). "Should I stay or should I go? Initiation of joint travel in mother–infant dyads of two chimpanzee communities in the wild". Animal Cognition. 19 (3): 483–500. doi:10.1007/s10071-015-0948-z. ISSN 1435-9456. PMC 4824811. PMID 26833496.

[5] Hobaiter, Catherine; Byrne, Richard W. (1 September 2011). "The gestural repertoire of the wild chimpanzee". Animal Cognition. 14 (5): 745–767. doi:10.1007/s10071-011-0409-2. hdl:10023/4445. ISSN 1435-9456. PMID 21533821. S2CID 13793972.

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Great ape language

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