Wild chimpanzee gesture "language" translated

Alessandra Kelley

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http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28023630

Researchers led by Dr. Catherine Hobaiter of the University of Saint Andrews have published a study of wild chimpanzee communication in the journal Current Biology.

The researchers studied and filmed wild chimpanzee populations in Uganda, identifying 19 messages using 66 gestures.

Chimpanzees don't appear to use their voices to communicate, but they use gestures in an abstract way.

For example, chimpanzees invite sexual attention by taking tiny bites out of leaves in front of others. Mother chimpanzees invite their babies onto their backs by showing the bottom of a foot.

Dr Susanne Shultz, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Manchester, said the study was commendable in seeking to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the evolution of human language. But, she added, the results were "a little disappointing".

"The vagueness of the gesture meanings suggest either that the chimps have little to communicate, or we are still missing a lot of the information contained in their gestures and actions," she said.
 

cornflake

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Methinks the good doctor is uhm, well, let's go with perhaps not so versed in at least a couple of things - primarily non-verbal language.

This, from the article linked above, is irritating -

Many others, though, appear to be ambiguous. A grab, for example, is used for: "Stop that," "Climb on me," and "Move away."

I have no idea why what seems to be the default explanation is ambiguity.

If I pinch the flesh between my thumb and forefinger that means 'meat,' in ASL. It also means 'context.' It's the exact same sign, yet it has different meaning based on context. There are a whole slew of signs that have different meanings depending on the context in which they're used.

I also take serious issue with her repeated claim that no other animals communicate directly.
 

mirandashell

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"The vagueness of the gesture meanings suggest <snip> we are still missing a lot of the information contained in their gestures and actions," she said.

I think this is the truest thing she said. The sheer arrogance of believing she and her collegues could work out a language that has evolved over millenia in one short study is breathtaking, IMO.
 

regdog

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Sure blame the chimps for her ignorance.
 

frimble3

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I think this is the truest thing she said. The sheer arrogance of believing she and her collegues could work out a language that has evolved over millenia in one short study is breathtaking, IMO.
She should consider that Jane Goodall spent 45 years studying chimpanzees, and hasn't written a Chimpanzee dictionary.