In this experimentthe researchers eventually came to the conclusion that no meaningful true language acquisition has been demonstrated. They were seeking to demonstrate the opposite conclusion, and to prove that Chomsky’s contention that language acquisition is a uniquely human trait was false.
This wiki on an earlier experiment with a chimp named Washoeseem to maintain that language use was demonstrated. Oddly, the Washoe wiki makes no note of any dispute about these results. Both these experiments are over 30 years old at this point, and it seems some contemporary researchers think the Washoe experimental results were a variant on the Clever Hanseffect.
What have we learned in the interim. Can apes acquire complex language or not?
My understanding is that nonhuman apes can learn a lot of words, but they don’t seem to have any sophisticated grammatical abilities. However, there’s been some recent suggestions that dolphins have some notions of grammar.
It’s sad that after all these years, no human has been able to speak “chimp” despite the many attempts that we have made to teach them. I have come to the conclusion that language is restricted to our species.
Non-human species, you mean? I’d like to think so. I don’t see how anybody can possibly read Next of Kin and come away unconvinced that chimps have at least some rudimentary ability to understand and spontaneously use iconic representations of environmental objects and even nonphysical concepts. There just doesn’t seem to be any other possible explanation for the interactions that Fouts documented.
These studies don’t really ask or answer whether animals can learn complex language. They ask (and partially answer) whether animals can learn ‘Human as a Second Language’. They are being asked to communicate through signs and indicators that we are able to understand. That doesn’t necessarily have a lot of bearing on how well they are able to communicate with each other or how complex their communications are.
The problem seems to be that a number of researchers have serious problems with how accurate researchers interpretations of their observations were, and that there was a lot of very “rich” interpretation going on WRT interpreting Washoe’s gestures and assigning meanings to them.
I did several papers on “Language Acquisition By Non-Human Primates” for my Anthro degree. The conclusion to all of them was “apes no spika da English.” Or any other language, verbal or gestural.
Some social animals seem to have learned co-operative patterns of behaviour for hunting.
Are we restricting ourselves to vocal language rather than posture and behavioural?
Personally I think that human type language depends upon the ability to transmit concepts, especially abstract ones or to model reality using other concepts - eg ‘Imagine this pile of rocks is a food source - its over in that direction over there’
That’s what chimps think too: “I am expressing my place in the pecking order relative to this person, but he seems unable to understand even the most rudimentary concept. He also does not respond to my request for mutual grooming. Even a 6 week old chimp can understand that”.
Are you asking them for evidence to answer your previous statement?
I’ll get the ball rolling with thesebut I may be misunderstanding your definition of “speak” or “use language”.
There are numerous studies that demonstrate apes and chimpanzees are able to acquire ‘language’ in human terms, to some extent or another. What level of communication ability do you consider to be ‘speaking’ or ‘using language’ for the purpose of this question?
