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BBC: The language of apes
Quote:
Listening to the language of apes
2 June 2015
The similarities between apes and people have long fascinated scientists. Yet, writes Mary Colwell, the differences can be just as thrilling.
"When you look into the eyes of an ape you see an intelligent, self-aware animal looking back at you and appraising you," says primatologist Charlotte Uhlenbroek, who has spent years observing apes in their natural environment. "I often wonder, what do they make of us when they look at us?"
Apes and humans are so similar it is impossible not to wonder what exactly separates us from our closest relatives on earth. "There is no other creature that so charms and fascinates the beholder as do these little effigies of the human race," wrote R L Garner in 1896. In fact Garner was one of the first people to actively try to discern the differences by living with chimpanzees in West Africa. He noted their physical similarity, but also their social bonding, range of emotions and care of their young.
But it was their language he was most intrigued by. They seemed to talk to each other, but what were they saying and why? "The sounds uttered by these apes have all the characteristics of true speech," wrote Garner. "The speaker is conscious of the meaning of the sound used, and uses it with the definite purpose of conveying an idea to the one addressed; the sound is always addressed to some definite one, and the speaker usually looks at the one addressed; he regulates the pitch and volume of the voice to suit the condition under which it is used; he knows the value of sound as a medium of thought. These and many other facts show that they are truly speech." The language of the apes has fascinated us for centuries.
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