Monkeys and humans have been compared for years, “we have all heard the expression monkey see, monkey do. But should the saying really go monkey hear, monkey do?” (Sakrison) Recent studies are finding that the language abilities of some monkeys are more sophisticated than we ever thought possible (Sakrison). Monkeys often always live together in social groups. And each member contribute by helping to defend their food sources, watch for predators, and even raise each other’s young. Is it impossible to live in a social group without some form of communication Group members need ways to influence and inform each other? This is what drives language. (Sakrison)
Primates have evolved many ways of communicating; these include visual cues, and auditory calls. Visual cues can only work if they can be seen, and in the dense forest and underbrush that most primates live in, auditory cues are a much more useful tool. Calls and vocalizations can also be modified in pitch, loudness, and duration, in which messages, can be transmitted. The basic messages that primates need to successfully live in groups are alarm calls, territorial calls, food calls, personal identification calls, and dominance calls. Some primates have developed more complex and specialized forms of auditory communication (Sakrison). Some have even developed a type of language.
Not any one animal have been known to have all the aspects of human language, but several species have some. Diana monkeys are some of the cleverest monkeys when it comes to language; they have combined calls to make sentence-like messages. This requires a type of grammar. The meaning of the “sentence” depends on what sounds are included and in what order they are in. Added sounds can emit more inform...
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...t forms of communicating with one another in the primate world besides the typical grunting, calls, and facial expressions they communicate very well with each other and while we cannot vocally understand now communication with primates is improving with every passing year. Maybe one-day primates will evolve enough to communicate with us as we do with each other.
Works Cited
Kosseff, Lauren. "Primate Use of Language." Primate Use of Language. N.p., 2008. Web. 1 May 2011. .
Malakoff, David. "A Conversation With Koko." PBS Nature. N.p., 2007. Web. 1 May 2011.
Sakrison, Angela. "Clever Monkeys: Monkeys and Language."PBS Nature. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2008. Web. 1 May 2011. .
Chimpanzees make tools and use them to procure foods and for social exhibitions; they have refined hunting tactics requiring collaboration, influence and rank; they are status cognizant, calculating and capable of trickery; they can learn to use symbols and understand facets of human language including some interpersonal composition, concepts of number and numerical sequence and they are proficient in spontaneous preparation for a future state or event.
de Waal, F. B. M. (2001) The Tree of Origin: What Primate Behavior can tell us about Human
The prehistoric times stand evidence to the power of language as a tool for communication and growth. Language has proven to be an effective medium and factor surrounding the evolution of man. Language has played a big role in the development of individuals and societies. What is spoken and/or written, help in the initiation of imagination, expression of feelings, and conveyance of thoughts and ideas. “The pen is mightier than the sword” (Bulwer-Lytton 1839).
Snowdon, C. T., Brown, C. H., & Petersen, M. R. (1982). Primate communication. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press].
Language is commonly held to be the province of humans, but other inhabitants of earth possess their own forms of communication. Birds, dolphins, and whales are some of those that have a language. Primates also use vocal communication with each other. Their utterances have varied uses and volumes, with each primate’s voice being distinct just as human voices are. These unique calls have given researchers insight into the social workings of primate groups. The very fact that primates have a language offers insight into the evolution of language and calls into question what the term human truly means.
Reaching into Thought: The Minds of the Great Apes, ed. A. E. Russon, K. A. Bard & S. T. Parker, pp. 257–77. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Macaques respond to coos with coos of their own. They are used frequently in different contexts, from grooming to mating. Macaques have alarm calls for alerting others of danger. They have aggressive calls, such as threats during altercations or aggressive encounters. Macaques form alliances amongst themselves.
Infrasound adaptation has been an advantage to giraffes and other organisms. For instance, it becomes useful for them to communicate in the open savanna at long distances. Even though giraffes do have the advantage of being tall and can see miles ahead, vocal communication could still be useful. Such as contacting individuals, to let them know them where they are and to keep up with movements of other giraffes. Likewise, this adaptation is also used to give a early warning alert of danger such as predators or natural
. Aggression, however, is reduced in males so they may gain access to the mixed-sex troops ran by females. Females possess a pseudo-penis they use in order to intimidate other smaller monkeys in their groups (Boinski et al., 2005). Vocalization in squirrel monkeys is very important as it enhances group coordination and cohesion. It can also be used to differentiate individuals and is a communication tool when group members cannot see each other.
In 1977 Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard University, did something very bold. At a time when animals still were considered automatons, she set out to find what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. She brought a one-year-old African gray parrot she named Alex into her lab to teach him to reproduce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”
Cohen, Jon. "Thinking Like A Chimpanzee." Smithsonian 41.5 (2010): 50. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Healy, she speaks about two investigations with chimpanzees who are taught to learn phonemic languages but were fairly unsuccessful. The tests were done by Gardners and Premack. After many tests, these scientists found “a chimpanzee would find it easier to associate ideas or meanings with visual and manual sensations than with auditory and vocal sensations,” (Healy, 167). Although some chimps have been taught English, they often don’t speak it. Most chimpanzees, if taught any English, only speak a few words.
In the past, humans were unaware that apes are smart and that they can feel emotions; people just assumed that apes merely animals. Now, people know that apes are much more intelligent than originally thought, that apes share many human behaviours, that apes can feel emotions, and that apes are even able to communicate with humans. This is shown through many trials and experiments with multiple different apes. I chose to write about this topic because it is important for people to view and treat apes as more than just animals. Another factor in my decision was my interest in a specific ape named Koko, who learned sign language.
Language is an essential thing needed to communicate and to develop the skills one needs to be a complete, whole, intelligent individual. Language is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Here we shall define language and lexicon, evaluate the key features of language, describe the four levels of language structure and processing, and analyze the role of language processing in cognitive psychology.
Infant pygmy marmosets, along with their parents, twin, and other siblings, form cooperative care groups. Babbling, or vocalizing, by the infant marmoset is a key part of its relationships with its family members and is a major part of its development. As the infant develops, the babbling gradually changes to resemble and eventually become adult vocalization. There are many similarities between the development of vocalization in infant pygmy marmosets and speech in infant humans. Vocalizing gives the infant advantages such as increased care and allows the entire family to coordinate their activities without seeing each other.These Monkeys don’t live in large groups, they will have 12 members at the most. They really do enjoy bonding and spend all their free time with each