Preview

Chimpanzee and Animals

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
396 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Chimpanzee and Animals
Do Animals Have Language?

Two sources of evidence supporting the viewpoint that animals have the capacity for language:
Many scientists have experimented with animals, to prove that they do have the capacity to communicate. For example, Beatrice and Allen Gardner trained a chimpanzee named Washoe to use about one hundred and sixty signs, including signs for “apple,” “tickle,” “flower,” and “more.” Washoe even learned to combine signs into simple phrasese, such as “more fruit” and “gimme flower.”
Another example, that proved animals have the capacity to communicate was Kanzi, a male chimpanzee, whose mother had been trained to communicate by pushing geometric symbols into a keyboard, but Kanzi had received no special training himself. However, he was present at his mother's training sessions, and at the age of two and a half, he stunned his trainers when he began manipulating symbols on the keyboard to ask for a fruit. Kanzi was able to put the symbols in the appropiate order to reflect changes in actions. Two sources of evidence challenging the viewpoint that animals have the capacity for language are:
One example that shows how animals do not have the capacity to communicate was by Jane Goodall, who raised a chimp named Lucy. After a while of training, she returned Lucy to Africa. She was able to sign, “Please help, out,” but Goodall does not consider this conclusive that the chimpanzee can use language in spontaneous communication, as all humans do. She believes the ability to communicate, separated from events, is the major distinction between humans and apes.
Another example that proved how animals can't communicate was in April 1998. Koko, a female gorilla participated in the first human-simian “chat” on the internet. Koko had been trained to use American Sign Language. However, it didn't go quite as planned. Koko seemed more interested in interacting with her trainer than in responding to questions.
Identify the side you find more convincing and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In 1965, a peculiar chimpanzee was the center of attention as scientists utilized American Sign Language in hopes of communicating efficiently with another species. The female chimpanzee was named Washoe. While this was by no means a quick study, scientists patiently taught Washoe for years and by the time she was an adult, Washoe had been about to spontaneously and appropriately use 350 different signs. It is still under much controversy that she could effectively use this language in complex sentences, or if she had just learned signs for being rewarded. Either way, the debate about, non-human primates having the intellectual capacity for language, remains highly contested.…

    • 1506 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chimps have a complex social system and communication methods, including a primitive "language" system containing more than 20 individual sounds…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Contribution TMA06

    • 1151 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Language is used by a variety of different species to communicate. For example, Karl Von-Frisch (1950) after having studied bees, found that bees once they had returned to their hives performed certain dances to communicate other bees where and how far the food was. Moreover, Seyfarth et al. (1980), after having studied velvet monkeys, found that they communicated to their members the type of predators by giving different alarms calls. So for example if it were an eagle to look out for, the monkey's call would cause its members to look up in the sky, where as if it were a leopard, its members would immediately climb in the trees (Cooper T and Kaye H, 2007). Therefore it can be said that animals, just as humans do, use language to…

    • 1151 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Animals have the same abilities as a human being does. They can talk, do tricks, and many other many things. So there’s not much…

    • 190 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Order Primate Analysis

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages

    During the study chimpanzees and human children “respond in a similar manner when tested with different sounds and “lexigrams” (Koren). Consequently, the divergence occurred when children began to communicate through speech and researches belief this behavior in the article written by Dixon, Apes Cuddle Each Other like Humans, apes are reported to share concern with each other just like humans. Primates “kiss, hug and embrace each” other showing that monkeys are self aware and share the need for interaction very much like humans (Dixon). Younger primates chase and play with each other each other like human children do. In Dixon’s article, Monkeys who scream frequently and are not quieted by these emotional exchanges show less compassion for others. For these traits to be shared amongst primates through a common…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    All together the acts of verbal, nonverbal, and written communication composes of our everyday human communications. All species of living organisms have a way of communication even if it’s through biochemical means. In the future the advancement of technology might even allow for more different and unique ways to communicate with one…

    • 363 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Almost all animals communicate. As author, David Abram, mentions in his text, The Spell of the Sensuous, animals “…communicate with each other, often employing a repertoire of gestures, from “marking” territory with chemical secretions, to the facial expressions of many mammal species, to the hosts of rattles, cries, howls, and growls…” (78). Unlike most animals, the preferred means of communication is language. Language is more than simply a method of communicating information, it holds much more power, and that power is dependent entirely on how we employ it.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unlike the typical primate, humans are able to communicate to other humans without physical contact (MetaPrimate.com,…

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Koko the Gorrilla

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Koko is an extraordinary gorilla that is able to communicate to humans by the use of American Sign Language. Although there may be many linguists who discredit this notion, AOl chat was able to provide transcripts between penny, who is Koko’s translator, and Koko the gorilla through the use of American Sign Language The transcripts provide evidence of gestures, behaviors, and thoughts that Koko does through her conversation with penny.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Most Dangerous Game

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages

    First of all, The Time Magazine article, “Can Animals Think?” by Eugene Lindon relates several accounts of remarkable animal intelligence. In one example, an orangutan named Fu Manchu escaped from his cage at the Omaha Zoo by picking the cage’s lock with a metal wire. By using his intelligence and observation skills, Fu Manchu was able to extricate himself and his family from their cage so they could enjoy an afternoon of freedom. He also saved the wire for future use, further revealing the ability to plan ahead, an unmistakable, higher order thinking skill. Another example of animal intelligence is shown by the story of Orky, a killer whale who helped save his baby by positioning his body as a platform for workers trying to reach, to assist the struggling baby. Orky assessed the problem and devised a solution for getting help to his offspring. He also exhibited the same concern and emotion towards his baby as a human parent would to a child. When confronted with a problem, these animals demonstrated high level cognitive skills.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    So an important thing to distinguish when examining ability of non-human primates with communication or language is the actual defined difference between language and communication, and exactly where the definite line of distinction might be separating the two, if there even is a line to be considered when looking at so many different animals. Non-human primates have been studied and observed for both communication and language capabilities and distinction is often necessary to understand what has been discovered and what can be discovered. Many researchers of non-human primates argue that they cannot and do not have the capability of language, while others believe that non-human primates do have language, or can be taught forms of language by humans. Some researchers, that believe that non-human primates do have language or can be taught language, realize that it may not be the same level of complexity as that of human language as a whole but that it is a simple but true language form nonetheless. The reality is the definition of language and communication are what truly can determine if research can show non-human primates having language and or the ability of learning human language when trained, so each research can have potentially a different…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    decision

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Animals communicate differently. Some animals like dog, dolphins, and birds have developed their own system of communication. But their communication system differs from human communication. Animal communication lacks flexibility and creativity. Their communication tradition is acquired genetically and not through learning .Human language has…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    (1) For years, scientists have attempted to teach animals to communicate, but for the most part, their efforts have failed. (2) In the 1950s, psychologists failed to teach a chimpanzee to speak, for the ape was able to grunt only a few words. (3) In the 1960s, however, a chimp named Washoe learned the sign language of the deaf. (4) Washoe came to understand hundreds of words, and he used them to communicate and express original ideas. (5) As it turns out, the great apes have the capacity to learn language, but they cannot speak. (6) This research proved that humans are not the only animals capable of using language; however, they are the most sophisticated users of…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One of the most important issues related to the morality of experimentation on animals is the extent to which animals are aware. This controversial subject has been debated for centuries. The seventeenth-century “Father of Modern Philosophy” Rene Descartes, who believed animals to be incapable of language, supported the idea that animals have no thoughts or consciousness at all (Regan 3). His hypothesis, however, seems to be contradicted by successful efforts to teach primates American Sign Language. One such example of a literate chimpanzee is Nim Chimpski, who was taught for four years by a team led by Columbia University psychology professor Herbert S. Terrace. Nim Chimpski learned the signs of over a hundred different words, though his sentences remained short and simple (Regan 13). As some animals are capable of rudimentary language, it is clear that they possess some level of intelligence and consciousness as well. Nineteenth-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham, however, stated, “The question is not ‘Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?’” (qtd. in Andre and Velasquez). According to Last…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    People communicating with animals has been portrayed in movies and in real life. In the movie Dr. Doolittle a man can actually here what animals are saying and carry on conversations with these animals, but in real life some people who communicate with animals use a technique called telepathy. Debbie McGillivray is a woman who works as an animal communicator said this, "Communicating with an animal is a two way process, there is a sender and a receiver. Through telepathy, when I ask an animal a question, I receive from them pictures, feelings, words, thoughts and emotions. For example, if I were to ask a horse what part of his body was sore I may feel pain in an area of my body that corresponds to his, i.e. wrists - fetlock, knees - hocks, hands/feet - hooves, etc. The horse may also send me a picture of the area or send me a picture of him moving to show me the lame area. Sometimes the animal will even show or tell me how the injury happened. I act as the translator and the voice for the animal and take all this information and put it into words for the person to understand." Debbie along with many other humans believe they can achieve communication through this process; however, there are some scientist who prefer to work with animals such as apes or chimpanzees by teaching them sign language, pictures, keyboards, symbols, even speech and or the mocking or sounds, and numerous other techniques.…

    • 2000 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays