How do monkeys communicate with each other? How monkeys talk: sounds. Monkey Speech Training

In fairy tales of different peoples, animals communicate with each other with the help of words. And how do they actually talk? This question was asked a lot of ethologists - researchers of animal behavior. Do animals have a language? Of course, watching the herd of antelopes, you can see that several individuals do not graze, but watch vigilantly around. At the slightest danger, they give a signal to their relatives. And the whole herd starts to run. Can this alarm signal mean that antelope has a tongue? Or do other individuals in the herd react to the terrified gesture of the sentries? Scientists decided to trace the verbal signals of the most developed species from the entire animal kingdom - primates, dolphins, whales. In this article we summed up the experiment on monkey-hominids. These are chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and other highly developed species. Have people managed to enter into a dialogue with them, read below.

The first experiments

It is believed that language is the fundamental quality that distinguishes a person from the animal world. But are our smaller mute brothers so? Earlier it was believed that the sounds convey the animal's emotions. Thus, the growling of a dog means a threat, barking - scaring, whining - pain, squealing - request, etc. Any host more or less understands his dog. But sound signals transmit more emotion than information. But language is an opportunity for dialogue. Do monkeys exchange information? Watching them, we can say that these animals perfectly communicate with each other. If you hide an object so that one individual knows about its whereabouts, then another monkey, notified first, will find it. But how do they communicate information? At first, scientists decided that sounds. And began to study them. As a result, a dictionary was compiled.

Biased verdict

The first short phrase-book was compiled in 1844 by the French scientist Piercón de Gamble. It consisted of dozens of short words. But it was not information, but, rather, emotional signals. Their scientist recorded, watching the South American monkeys.

At the end of the XIX century, a professor from the US L. Garner went the same way. In the study of sounds he was helped not so long ago by the invented phonograph. The scientist installed the device in a cage with a pair of monkeys. The phonograph recorded how they communicate with each other. The male, transferred to a single cage, was allowed to listen to the speech of the female. And he reacted as if he heard information. The sounds produced by monkeys are very difficult to transcribe by letters. The recording, made by the phonograph, allowed Garner to communicate with the animals. The scientist noticed that the more socially this or that kind of monkey, the more developed their language. Nevertheless, the scientist came to the conclusion that the lexicon of animals is rather meager. A zoologist Alfred Brem defended the view that animals make sounds, expressing emotions and feelings, and not transmitting information.

Talking monkeys

There were also scientists who went on a dialogue with primates along a different path. Not people should learn the language of monkeys, but vice versa. If some birds can pronounce the words, then why not do the primates? But the process of teaching large apes to the language of people was a fiasco. In 1916, W. Fernissus taught the orang-utan to pronounce two words: cup and dad . But unlike birds, the monkey used these terms not arbitrarily, but relative to the subjects. The scientist noticed that orangutan best words are given, in the pronunciation of which the tongue and lips are not involved. In the 50-ies of the twentieth century, scientists conducted a series of experiments in which a small chimpanzee baby, a female Vicki, was brought up along with peers of human breed. And in solving some logical problems, the monkey left the kids far behind. But as for verbal communication, Vicki managed to learn only four words.

How monkeys communicate with each other

The successes of the small chimpanzee in the logical development forced the scientists to revise the outdated view that animals do not have a language. In 1966, Gardner's spouses, psychologists from the United States, watched a film about Vicki and noticed what had escaped the view of zoologists. The chimpanzee, carefully pronouncing the memorized words, accompanied them with gestures. Observing how the monkeys communicate with each other, the Gardners concluded that the more important in animal communication are not sounds. The couple acquired a small chimpanzee named Washoe and began to teach her the language of the deaf. They showed her an object and folded her fingers in a gesture that signified it on an amslene. Washoe showed amazing abilities. She not only learned one hundred and sixty words, which she successfully operated in dealing with people. She began to combine the terms. For example, after seeing the lighter and realizing how it works, she invented a new word-formation: bottle-match.

Monkey Speech Training

Inspired by Gardner's success, scientists continued experiments with humanoid primates. In 1972, at the University of Oklahoma, a dozen monkeys were trained in amslena. The experiments were conducted with the most social species - gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos. Monkeys showed amazing results. Male bonobo Kanzi freely operated with more than 160 words (and recognized by ear he more than three thousand). He also became famous for producing tools. One day he wanted to open the door that separates him from the cell of a friend, the dwarf chimpanzee Tamuli. But the key was not the researcher S. Savage-Rambo. She said: "The key is for Tamuli. Let her give it to me, and I'll open the door. " Kanzi looked closely at Tamul and made several sounds. After that, the dwarf chimpanzee gave the key to the researcher. Observing how monkeys communicate with each other, we can conclude that they use facial expressions, gestures and sound signals simultaneously.

Smart Views

Obviously, only the structure of the throat apparatus prevents human primates from learning the words of human speech. But this is not at all an indication that they do not have a language, or that their brains can not accommodate some of the logical structures inherent in people's consciousness. Humanoid primates are able to build sentences and create verbal neoplasms. Looking at how the monkeys communicate with each other, it is clear that they have a sense of humor. So, the gorilla Coco, seeing a bald man, said: "A bare head." Naturally, monkeys catch changes in the meaning of the sentence from rearranging words ("I feed you" and "You feed me"). Particularly famous was a female bonobo, who taught her cub sign language, independently, without human intervention.

Level of IQ

It is unreasonable to associate the degree of intellectual development with the vocabulary of the individual. After all, mankind has developed many tests and tasks to determine the level of IQ. As soon as computers appeared, scientists began to conduct experiments in order to reveal how monkeys talk, using the keyboard and mouse. The already mentioned male Bonobo Kanzi has completely mastered the new technology. Lexicograms (geometric signs) were put on the keyboard. From his rich vocabulary Kanzi operated with five hundred such symbols. In the tests, the most developed species is the dwarf chimpanzee bonobi. His level corresponds to a child at the age of three. Almost equally smart are gorillas. Let's recall Coco, who has mastered about a thousand signs.

Why there is a stop in development?

Psychologists watching how monkeys communicate, conclude that in behavioral terms, these animals remain children. They like to babble, to play. In matters of obtaining food, monkeys show considerable ingenuity and even ingenuity, leaving behind two or three-year-old children. But according to the desire for knowledge, the children of the human race show more zeal. And this is fundamental in the overall development of the individual. Kids grow up, and with them the level of their IQ. And primates remain children for life.

Why is the monkey language so meager?

As you can see, primates have considerable potential to master speech. But why in communication with each other do they use only a small combination of sounds and gestures? Scientists conclude that at the level of development of their society, communication does not require more. A sign of the approaching danger, reports of nearby food, an appeal to come together or move to another territory - that's all the necessary set of information exchange. However, there are other opinions. Man just does not fully understand the level of communication of primates. If you carefully study the language of monkeys, you can find the key to understanding it.