33@222

Chimps, Chumps, and Language

Researchers Primate Style

1) Hayes' Chimp Speech

2) Kellogg's' Chimp Speech

3) Gardners' Washoe AmSign Lan

4) Terrace Nim Chimpsky AmSignLan

5) Premack Sarah Plastic Symbs

6) Savage- Kanzi Lexigram bd

Rumbaugh 13000 words

20000combinations

Yerkes primate center: attends language classes with mother, Lana, and exhibits extraordinary observation and generative language. Kanzi's performance provides the best evidence available so far that a nonhuman not only can learn a substantial vocabulary but also can learn to form word combinations characterized by grammar.

Page 2

1) Hayes and Hayes (1951) tried literally to teach chimps to

speak. Mama. Papa. Cup. Not fruitful. Speech is not

language. Kellogs

2) WashoeWashoe is a chimpanzee who was taught to sign by her caretakers, Allen and Beatrice Gardner.

She was raised in a friendly environment in which she learned sign language both through imitation

and instrumental learning. Her language acquisition was notable in several respects. Washoe was

able to transfer signs to a new referent without specific instruction. For example, she learned the

word "more" in relation to tickling but was spontaneously able to apply the term to another

referent. Additionally significant was Washoe's use of signs in combinations after learning only

about 8 or 10 signs. This spontaneous combination of signs seems similar to the ability of human

children to connect words in sentences to which they have never specifically been exposed.

Page 3

Washoe has demonstrated reliable use of 240 signs. A sign is deemed reliable when its use has been recorded by three separate observers on 15 consecutive days. Her trainers have observed that Washoe mostly uses her signs to discipline her children and explain her concern about them Non-oral language (ASL) Hand gestures. Allen and Beatrice

Signing vocabulary of 160 words. She learned to combine words "gimme flower" Washoe sorry

More fruit Go out Water bird. Conclusion. Language

development of a 3 year old. Little progress thereafter.

3) Shift from speech. Premack (Premack principle) used small

plastic symbols of various colors and shapes as

substitutes for words. Sarah was taught to arrange these

arbitrary symbols to communicate messages. %= Mary, &

Sarah< $=give, 3=apple. The sophistication of this exchange might not impress you--until you learn

that the student is a two-and-half year old

chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky. The conversation might sound odd to you but it was produced and conducted in sign

language. Terrace (errorless discrimination fame) who raised

the Chimp (like the Gardeners Washoe) from birth in a home

environment. Conversation does appear to be intelligent and

appropriate. Does Nim know how to speak? If so it would mean

that language is not specifically human. It is my feeling

that studying some of the studies in animal communication

provides a good starting point for our departure into

psycholinguistics. (the study of the psychological mechanisms

underlying use of language).

Communicating with chimpanzees:

Page 3

4) Sue Savage Rumbaugh, Rose Sevcik and Liz Ruppert. (1986)

Yerkes primate laboratory

Kanzi: Yerkes primate center: attends language classes with mother, Lana, and

exhibits extraordinary observation and generative language. Kanzi's performance

provides the best evidence available so far that a nonhuman not only can learn a

substantial vocabulary but also can learn to form word combinations characterized by

grammar.

A) Purpose: Developmental account of how chimps acquire

ability to communicate: Touching geometric figures on a

keyboard. Each symbol represents a word. "Yerkish" Robert

Yerkes. Chimp =Kanzi. Kanzi's mother was trained to

communicate with caretakers with same symbol/figure

arrangement: Separation. Kanzi was permitted to attend

mom’s language lesions. He appeared to search for

particular symbols without specific reinforcement.

Behavior reflected learning.

B) Subject: Pigmy chimp.

C) Method: Utterances after 2 and ½

Page 5

Computer based data: Graphic symbols used to communicate atall times (both inside and outside).

Results: 50 words with 800 combinations.

(symbols generally represented food, chase, groom,

Combinations were spontaneous. Person chase Kanzi and viceversa.

Discussions: Study provides stronger support than previous

research for the hypothesis that chimps may able to

follow rules of language in generating spontaneous

sentences. Used symbols without specific training. Mama.

Comment: Impressive accomplishments. Big question is Kanzi

using symbols like humans use them. But is it really

language. To maybe better understand the controversy let's

study the structure of language and get back to the Kanzi

question.

___________________________________________________

Summary

Vocabulary

Human vocabulary

Several thousand vocabulary items (isn't this a very conservative estimate?)

About half the words in utterances are functors (class: count the contentives and functors in the first full paragraph on

page 108; how do they compare?)

My count

Why are functors important?

What would happen if we had no functors?

Ape vocabulary

Several hundred vocabulary items

No functors: is this a problem?