Apes In English

Words: 1849
Pages: 8
Open Document
For decades, primatologists, anthropologists, and linguists have explored the question as to whether apes can cross the final bridge of learning a human language. Since the 1960s and 1970s, a multitude of studies have been initiated to investigate the ability of apes to learn our complex human language. Many different methods are being attempted in different species of apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos in order to discover the answer to this heavily debated issue among the biological community.
There are two major opposing sides in this argument which focuses on the ability of these clever animals to produce language. Many researchers have spent their lifetimes focusing on this type of research and have come to support each …show more content…
Wallman believes that the species of apes being studied are clever animals, but have not actually acquired any human language skills. Instead, the concepts of behaviorism and reinforcements have been applied to train them to respond to their trainers. Although Wallman believes that lingual abilities have not been acquired, he takes into account that their abilities to use abstract thoughts suggests that they are very close relatives to human as this trait may have developed right before the lineage split. Savage-Rumbaugh has an opposing perspective on the issue. She and her husband have been at the core of research in this field and believe that apes are capable of learning language. Although they may never be able to vocalize the same sounds as humans due to the location of their voice box, many of these research animals have demonstrated the basic knowledge of an open system of language. They have been able to learn a symbolic language in lieu of the spoken language that is common in young humans. After multitudes of ape learning projects such as Kanzi and Panbanisha, they have concluded that the language capability using symbols resembles the abilities of young children. I support Savage-Rumbaugh’s perspective because I believe, although apes cannot vocalize or learn language as quickly as humans, there is a certain level of abstract thought being …show more content…
Although they may not have had the correct grammar or vocalization of words, which is the main behavior deficit in apes, scientist would not declare that those learning to speak the English language as not having the lingual abilities. As a young child, I only spoke my native language of Gujarati. This parallels to research findings of apes using their own language among nature in the wild. I then learned to speak English through mimicking and would sometimes use actions to illustrate my points. This process took many months and according to scientists I belonged at the same level of Homo sapiens, meaning I had the capability to pick up language. In this case, if we are talking about another species which has had limited interaction with humans, wouldn’t it be justified for an animal to take longer to pick up a language? Many critics claim that apes don’t have the same rate of picking up language as young human children, but under the circumstances I believe the progress that has been made is extraordinary compared to the decades of separation that appeared between humans and primates. This perspective leads me to support the proponent side of this
Show More

Related Documents: Apes In English

Save The Last Dance

Mr. Needham English 1310.130 21 November 2013 Save the Last Dance. Seriously, Save It. On March 17, 2012 my closest friends and I drove to a dance club in Dallas, Texas to celebrate my 18th birthday. The specific dancing establishment that we traveled to had published many advertisements claiming that they had the “Best Dancers in Dallas,” and I wanted that one to facilitate my first nightclub experience. Sadly, my experience at that club communicated a strong sense of false advertisement and disillusion…

Words 824 - Pages 4

Tarzan Of The Apes Research Paper

Throughout Tarzan of the Apes, Tarzan is superior to other men, even the most civilized men. Therefore, Tarzan is a representation of white the racial superiority and is a prime example of how an intrinsically intelligent,“civilized,” white man became “evolved” and became the ideal strenuous man. Burroughs describes Tarzan as a “perfect type of the strong, masculine” man over any white man (pg. 143). Tarzan grew up as a “savage, primeval man,” however, he became highly evolved than any ordinary human…

Words 521 - Pages 3

Justin Whitted Cry The Beloved Country Whitted 1 Essay

Justin Whitted Whitted 1 Cook. E English June 14 2014 Is this Africa In the poem “Is this Africa” by Roland Tombekai Dempster, he compares Africa as he sees it to Africa as Europeans saw it when they first invaded the continent. The two perspectives and time periods have many contrasting characteristics, and Dempster uses the literary…

Words 558 - Pages 3

Essay On Primate Behavior

bipedal, diurnal primate closely related to the living great Apes. Human behavior is based on a rich social heritage made possible by a tool dependent culture and unique properties of language. However, in most of the fundamental features of his social life, such as prolonged care of immature offspring and lifelong association between related adults, Humans are typical old world primates. Humans are most closely related to the old monkeys and apes. There are six hundred varieties of living Non-human primates…

Words 993 - Pages 4

British Imperialism In The Seventeenth Century

The English, the French, Europeans and Americans came in their tons of millions to discover the ‘savage’ for the first time in zoos or ‘ethnographic’ and colonial fairs. These exhibitions of the exotic (the future ‘native’) laid the foundations on which, over…

Words 1386 - Pages 6

Comparing and Contrasting 2001: a Space Odyssey and “the Sentinel” Essay

Comparing and Contrasting 2001: A Space Odyssey and “The Sentinel” Tracy Goldman HUMN425: Science Fiction Georgia State University Comparing and Contrasting 2001: A Space Odyssey and “The Sentinel” 2001: A Space Odyssey is a film based on Arthur Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel." The purpose of this paper is to explain the similarities and differences between “The Sentinel” and 2001: A Space Odyssey. There are many similarities and differences between “The Sentinel” and 2001: A Space Odyssey…

Words 927 - Pages 4

Essay Linguistics: Human and Language

"Waa, waa, waa" One of the biggest controversies in the field of Linguistics is whether or not animals can be taught a language. Birds, bees, dogs, apes, parrots, even humans have a communication system; however, “human language has a number of characteristics that set it apart from other communication systems” (Wilson 568). There have been many experiments conducted on a variety of different animals, but the most common animal tested is the chimpanzee. “They share close to 99% of their genetic…

Words 1229 - Pages 5

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: an Analysis Essay example

throw at Tessie Hutchinson. The name Delacroix translates into “of the cross”. Bobby Martin, who is the first to gather and stuff stones in his pocket, has the surname “Martin” which derives from a Middle English word signifying ape or monkey. This surname may urge us to be aware of the Hairy Ape within us all, as Helen Nebeker states in her critical essay “The Lottery: Symbolic Tour de Force”. As per Nebeker, Tessie Hutchinson also has a name steeped in meaning. Her first name, Tessie is short…

Words 1528 - Pages 7

Essay On The Girl In The Window

like the Critical Thinking 1 and 2 on pg. 56. INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 3 Language  Language is a form of communication in which sounds and symbols are combined according to formal rules    Phonemes are the basic speech sounds (English has 40-50 phonemes) Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units of language Grammar provides rules for a language   Syntax refers to the rules for word order in a sentence Semantics refers to a system of using words to create meanings © 2004 John…

Words 2294 - Pages 10

English Essay

English Essay Thomas Jefferson once said, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of a good environment.” However, in ‘Lord of the Flies’, William Golding precisely portrays the truly destruction within humans. He also illustrates the collapse of society and peaceful civilization through dissension among the group. In addition, the ‘Lord of the Flies’ is an extraordinarily fierce and bloody novel that illustrates a group of British boys, from…

Words 734 - Pages 3