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Language usage and communication did not end there.
There have been numerous studies to prove if Primates can use language beyond the teaching
of ASL. Yerkish, a complex language composed of lexigrams (symbols
composed of various shapes and lines) representing words, is also being used to study
cognition in Chimpanzees and Bonobos.
- "Recently bonobos have shown particular success with Yerkish, perhaps because they
forage in larger parties on average than chimpanzees, where social communication between
each individual is necessary to maintain group cohesion. Instead of simply responding to
questions and commands posed by the machine, bonobos are now using their new language to
express themselves spontaneously. Kanzi, a male bonobo, learned Yerkish entirely by
watching human trainers and his own mother use the system. Now Kanzi can understand,
Savage-Rumbaugh estimates, between two and three thousand spoken English words, as well as
all of the 250-plus keys on the Yerkish keyboard. Kanzi is apparently trilingual, if you
count bonobish."*Alex
Hawes
But the study of Primate Language
bridges to other Hominidae as well. Orangutan's too have learned and proven the
ability to use sign language and other forms of language for communication. The
Orangutan Language Project, an experiment conducted by the National Zoo,
Washington D.C, involving what is known as a Think Tank, is a project to develop
the
skills of Orangutans in sign, symbol, usage and even video and audio language and
communication skills. The Orangutan Think
Tank can be seen live with on-line video via Discovery Channel OnLine. Featured
articles also appear via the Smithsonian Magazine.
Chantek, an adult male Bornean Orangutan, now
living at Zoo Atlanta is skilled in over 150 American Signs. In an article
written by H. Lyn White Miles, and passed into my possession via the Balikpapan Orangutan
Society, Chantek not only uses his signs to express his desires and demands, but he has
also proven to express the intelligent aspect of abstract concepts such as lying.
- "While walking on the university campus, the little guy holding my hand picked up
something on the sidewalk. I glanced over and saw him biting the top of an eraser
on a bright yellow pencil. 'Uh-oh,' I said, 'You'd better give that to me. Let's find
something else for you to play with.' He shook his head 'no' and replied a little
sheepishly, 'food-eat,' and then opened his mouth to show me he had swallowed the eraser
and that it was all gone. 'Chantek, it's not food, don't eat that' I warned, as he
pulled me toward home. A moment later, I found him in his bedroom, playing with the
eraser. He had lied!"+
Dr. H. Lyn White Miles
* Alex Hawes,
ZooGoer. 1995 http://www.fonz.org/Zoogoer/main.htm
+ Dr. H. Lyn White Miles,
article name and appearance unknown.
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