12/29/2023 0 Comments In chimpanzee hand gesturesIn a recent paper, we provided evidence that gesture supports the symbolic development of apes and humans reared in language-enriched environments ( Gillespie-Lynch et al., 2013). This research has contributed to the recognition that language is multi-faceted and that many (and possibly all) aspects of language are not uniquely human ( Fitch et al., 2005). Subsequent research has revealed that bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are capable of communicating linguistically (despite limitations on vocabulary and syntactic complexity) when raised in language-enriched environments ( Patterson, 1978 Savage-Rumbaugh et al., 1986 Miles, 1990). Coincidentally, the first recorded attempt to teach apes language occurred when Garner (1900) taught a juvenile chimpanzee, Moses, to approximately vocalize “feu” (fire in French). Therefore, this focused review includes new studies, since our 2013 article, that support a multimodal theory of language evolution.ĭarwin (1871) viewed fire and language as the greatest discoveries of humankind. These findings suggest that increasing multimodal expression of communicative intent may have supported the emergence of language among the ancestors of humans. Multimodal expressions of communicative intent (e.g., vocalization plus persistence or eye-contact) were normative for the child, but less common for the apes. Indeed, an ontogenetic sequence from gesture to symbol was present across the clade but more pronounced in child than ape. Similarities in the form and function of many gestures produced by the chimpanzee, bonobo, and human child suggest that shared non-verbal skills may underlie shared symbolic capacities. Communicative behaviors observed among all species in a clade are likely to have been present in the common ancestor. These three species constitute a complete clade, species possessing a common immediate ancestor. What are the implications of similarities and differences in the gestural and symbolic development of apes and humans?This focused review uses as a starting point our recent study that provided evidence that gesture supported the symbolic development of a chimpanzee, a bonobo, and a human child reared in language-enriched environments at comparable stages of communicative development. 4President of Bonobo Hope, Des Moines, IA, USA.3Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Long Beach, MS, USA.2Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 1Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.Greenfield 2, Heidi Lyn 3 and Sue Savage-Rumbaugh 4 Kristen Gillespie-Lynch 1,2 *, Patricia M.
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