Chimps Hint at Origins of Language

Think about the gestures you made today: did you wave hello? Scratch your head? These actions can say a lot, especially when you’re talking to chimps.

Researchers have discovered two interesting developments in the origins of language, thanks to our primate ancestors. In a recent study, researchers at Ag­nes Scott Col­lege in Geor­gia observed 70 chimps for 10 months, looking at their hand use and gestural communication to tell us a little about our own language use.

What Chimps Say About Us

Chimpanzees (specifically the species Pa­n troglodytes) are thought to be mankind’s closest relatives. That’s why scientists are counting on them to gives us clues about our origins — and the origins of language.

The study found that chimps, like humans, are right-hand dominant when gesturing, meaning that the left brain controls their gestural communication. This links chimp gestures to human communication through the brain — the language centers of the human brain are also in the left hemisphere.

This finding supports two conclusions about the origins of language: that chimps’ brains, like ours, have areas devoted to language communication, and that the origins of our language may have come from those monkey gestures.

Interpreting Chimp Gestures

But are chimp gestures really like our language? Scientists say these finding support the notion that the origins of language lie in the chimp system of gestures.

Chimp gestures include motions such as the “hand slap” and the “extend arm,” but what these gestures mean is dependent upon the chimp’s native community. In one group of chimps, an open hand gesture might be a request for food; in another, it could be a sign of friendship.

These traits reveal a lot about the origins of language. Although the gestures are intentional and referential, like human words are, they are not universal. Chimp gestures meanings’ depend on the community where they learned — a diversity that mirrors human languages as well!

Another parallel between chimp and human language systems is the high level of transmission that occurs after new words are created. If one chimp starts a gesture and associates it with a meaning, that intention is quickly passed along to other chimps.

Sound familiar? This sort of cultural transmission is possibly one of the origins of language like “LOL” and “OMG.” These “words” came into being because of someone’s invention, but now a whole generation is familiar with their meanings.

Talk Like a Chimp

Unlike their gestural language, chimps’ vocalizations and facial expressions, are shared among groups of chimps around the world, and relate to a specific set of emotional states or social signals. Just like we smile to show we’re happy or friendly, chimps have their own “language” of expressions. Be your own professional translator for these telltale signals:

Mouth slightly open and relaxed: ready to play

Wide open mouth: preparing for a fight, displaying aggression

Full grin: showing fear or intense excitement

Lip smacking: saying hello, a friendly greeting

Related posts:

1. Do Birds Hold the Clue to How We Learn Languages?
2. How Using Sign Language Keeps the Pace