Testing for grammar in apes

Georgia State University, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Apes have been shown repeatedly to be capable of learning a lexical linguistic code (vocabulary) and of using it in propositional communication. Their communicative production most commonly resembles a pidgin language; that is, it is almost entirely devoid of grammar (syntactic construction, grammatical morphology). Since apes appear to comprehend spoken English that includes grammar, the tantalizing question arises can even use grammar by systematic designing an enhancing instructional environment? Our study, in which a primatologist and a linguist collaborate, is designed to answer these questions. The answer, whichever it may turn out to be, goes to the very heart of several fundamental questions concerning (i) the plasticity of the relevant & human neurology; (ii) the difference between innate capabilities and actual learning; and (iii) the interaction between innate capabilities (or neurological design) and environmental stimulation in the acquisition of communication.