Abstract
The acquisition of linguistic competency from more experienced social partners is a fundamental aspect of human language. However, there is little evidence that non-human primates learn to use their vocalizations from social partners. Captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) produce idiosyncratic vocal signals that are used intentionally to capture the attention of a human experimenter. Interestingly, not all apes produce these sounds, and it is unclear what factors explain this difference. We tested the hypothesis that these attention-getting (AG) sounds are socially learned via transmission between mothers and their offspring. We assessed 158 chimpanzees to determine if they produced AG sounds. A significant association was found between mother and offspring sound production. This association was attributable to individuals who were raised by their biological mother-as opposed to those raised by humans in a nursery environment. These data support the hypothesis that social learning plays a role in the acquisition and use of communicative vocal signals in chimpanzees. This journal is
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 498-501 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Biology Letters |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 23 2012 |
Keywords
- Chimpanzee
- Language evolution
- Vocal learning
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences