Page 36 LECTURE 01-13 Listen to part of a lecture in a zoology class.

u W Professor: irrefutable that humans and other primates shared a common ancestor millions of years ago.
However, while we humans acquired the ability to use language, other primates did not.

u However, here’s an interesting question: Since primates—particularly gorillas and chimpanzees—share more

than ninety-five percent of the DNA that humans have, could they not be taught to communicate as
humans do ? In recent decades, some researchers have put primates to the test, and

they’ve reported that, in several cases, they’ve taught these primates how to communicate with humans

. Nevertheless, the results are somewhat controversial.

u I think that I first need to explain about how primates can talk with humans since they don’t vocalize words

like a parrot does. Instead, researchers use two main methods to achieve communication. The first involves

sign language.

u Sign language was first proposed as a means of communication with primates for three reasons. First, many

researchers thought primates weren’t intelligent enough to use verbal language .

Second, others believed that primates couldn’t imitate sounds they heard in the way that human children do

. Third, researchers thought that primates’ vocal cords were

physically incapable of making human-sounding vocalizations.

u As for the second method, it uses lexigram keyboards. Lexigrams, by the way, are symbols used to represent

words. Lexigrams are relatively new, with the first being made back in the early 1970s. Anyway, by using a

lexigram keyboard—a keyboard with pictures of lexigrams—primates can communicate with humans.

u Researchers have experienced success with both methods.

u The first involves a female chimpanzee named Washoe. In the early 1970s, Washoe learned American Sign

Language . Her caretakers raised her as if she were a human child,

and they only used sign language with her. They didn’t speak in front of Washoe since they thought that

might confuse her and slow down her progress in learning sign language .

After a few years of training, Washoe began using sign language. Eventually, she learned around 350 words.

Interestingly, Washoe learned to use many of these signs in combinations that had not been taught to her
. In doing so, she demonstrated the ability to put words into

sentences in a spontaneous manner. After a while, Washoe became so proficient at signing that she was

sometimes faster than her own trainers and often had to slow down so that they could understand her

u There’s an ongoing experiment involving Kanzi, a male bonobo chimpanzee. Kanzi communicates by using a

lexigram keyboard . Years ago, one researcher was trying to teach Kanzi’s
mother how to use a lexigram keyboard while Kanzi was merely observing

. One day, Kanzi just, uh, just started using the keyboard to communicate. He learned

ten words quickly, and, since then, he has picked up thousands of new words. He can make sentences, he
 follows instructions, and he even makes vocalizations. Some recent studies involving Kanzi have proven that,

when he makes a vocalization at the same time when he presses a key on his keyboard for a word
, the vocalization he’s making represents that particular symbol.

u M Student: I’m sorry, but are you saying that Kanzi is actually speaking?

u W: Well, yes, he is in his own particular way. The team that handles Kanzi believes he might be trying to
articulate English words; however, his vocal range is too high for them to understand what he’s saying

u There are lots of people—many of whom are experts on language—who claim that examples like Washoe

and Kanzi are just that; they’re examples.

u This argument has some validity since, of the many primates that researchers have tried teaching, only a few

have successfully managed to communicate . Some skeptics even

question these success stories. These doubters say that, although the primates can make some words in sign

language or with a keyboard, they’re merely imitating actions they saw rather than making language

. They state that the primates are simply trying to please their

trainers instead of communicating their thoughts and feelings. Additionally, these skeptics note that,

compared to the relative ease that human children learn language, primates lag far behind in the learning

curve .

u That’s certainly true. Yet it doesn’t mean that primates can’t communicate at all. In fact, I’m certain we’ll see

more success stories like Washoe and Kanzi in the future.