| Talk to the animals?Yes.And what's more, they talk | | | | shows that when reared in the proper environment, |
| to us!If you've ever shared your life with animals, | | | | chimpanzees and bonobos are as capable of |
| you'll know that they understand most of what you | | | | understanding questions and simple sentences as a |
| say to them. You mention that you're going for a | | | | two-and-a-half year old child.KANZIKanzi, a bonobo |
| walk and the dog is standing at the gate, ready. You | | | | ape, and his foster mother, Matata, arrived at the |
| say that you're going visiting and that dogs aren't | | | | LRC when Kanzi was 6 months of age. He |
| invited and you find out where the expression | | | | accompanied his mother during her daily lexigram |
| 'hang-dog look' came from -- the ears droop, the | | | | training tasks and spent most of his time ignoring |
| head sinks and Pooch drags himself off to sulk.It's | | | | them or trying to disrupt them in any way he could. |
| dinner time, you tell the cat that she's got fish for | | | | Like any youngster, he liked the lights on the |
| tea and you're overwhelmed with affection; you tell | | | | keyboard and often tried to chase the symbols as |
| her that tonight's the night she has a tin of cat food | | | | they appeared on the projectors above the |
| and watch her turn her back and ignore you.So, we | | | | keyboard.When Kanzi was 2 1/2 years old, Matata |
| know that they know what we're saying, but are we | | | | was sent back to breed and Kanzi was separated |
| clever enough to understand what they are saying to | | | | from her for the first time. After fretting for her for |
| us?A cat has a very large vocabulary -- every syllable | | | | three days, Kanzi then settled and began to play with |
| in miaow can be lengthened, shortened, used alone or | | | | the keyboard. Lab notes record that he, "correctly |
| in combination with one or more of the others; it can | | | | employ(ed) nearly all of the 10 lexigrams that were |
| be loud or barely audible; it can be confident, angry, | | | | on his mother's keyboard at that time. He didn't need |
| intimate or pitiful, depending on what the cat is trying | | | | to be taught these lexigrams, as he already knew |
| to tell us.HOW ANIMALS TEACH US TO | | | | them."Prior to the separation, however, Kanzi had |
| UNDERSTAND THEIR LANGUAGECats teach us how | | | | given no evidence that he had even been attending |
| to understand them in much the same way we teach | | | | to them, much less that he understood any sort of |
| babies to understand their language. Every human | | | | semantic connection between lexigrams and objects |
| baby makes the same pre-speech sounds; the | | | | in his world. Even more striking than the fact that |
| gurgles, clucks, hums and bubbles are common to | | | | Kanzi knew the lexigrams, was the fact that he also |
| every society. When we hear a sound that is similar | | | | knew the spoken English words which the lexigrams |
| to a word used in our language, we repeat it to the | | | | represented. He couldn't speak the words, but when |
| baby and then make a great fuss when the baby | | | | he heard them, he could locate the lexigram, or |
| repeats it to us, and so each child learns the language | | | | printed symbol, that corresponded with the |
| of its own society.When your cat wants to go | | | | word."One of the most fascinating aspects of all this |
| outside, she will try a series of different sounds until | | | | was that Kanzi had learnt to understand the |
| you learn to recognise one of them, then she will | | | | lexigrams simply by being exposed to their use. From |
| always use that particular sound to tell you she | | | | that point, all reward-based learning was discarded in |
| wants to go out. So, a short m'ia means "I'd like to | | | | favour of letting Kanzi learn through conversation.He |
| go outside;" a loud m'ia means "I'd like to go outside | | | | was given plenty of help to learn with gestures, with |
| NOW;" a long miiaoowww means she can't find you; | | | | pictures, with video tape and with activities that |
| a pitiful little m'ow means she's cold and she'd like a | | | | showed the words in action. Most of the |
| cuddle.She will patiently teach you her 'words' until | | | | conversations centered around travel, finding food |
| she feels confident that you can meet all her needs. | | | | and playing and his vocabulary steadily increased until |
| (The poster that states "dogs have masters; cats | | | | today he can use over 200 words and can |
| have staff" has a great deal of truth in it!)BODY | | | | understand more than 500.SIGN LANGUAGEAfter |
| LANGUAGEAnimals use body language and signals, as | | | | observing how chimpanzees communicated in the wild |
| well as sounds, to communicate. Just watch a child | | | | using signals, psychologists, Beatrice and Robert |
| who's been in trouble go to the family dog for | | | | Gardner conducted a series of experiments in the |
| comfort. Pooch sits quietly, gazing into the child's | | | | 1960s, to teach young chimps Ameslan, the American |
| eyes, his face a picture of concern and sympathy. He | | | | sign language where each gesture represents a word, |
| doesn't have to say anything, he just presses gently | | | | rather than a syllable or sound.The young female |
| against the child and offers moral support by simply | | | | chimps learnt hundreds of words and were even able |
| being there.HOW WE TEACH ANIMALS TO | | | | to use these words to invent their own phrases to |
| UNDERSTAND OUR LANGUAGESince we can be | | | | suit different situations. One chimp, Lucy, was given |
| taught to understand animals, researchers have tried | | | | her first taste of a hot radish and signed that it was, |
| to teach animals how to understand our language, | | | | "... cry hurt food."Hearing impaired people who |
| too.Research into the language capabilities of | | | | observed the chimps were able to understand them |
| primates at Georgia State University, Atlanta began in | | | | without difficulty and the Gardners were hopeful of |
| 1971 when the Lana fund was set up "to produce a | | | | being able to extend their communication with the |
| language analog of human language in non-human | | | | chimps.THE LAST WORDHowever, funding for the |
| primates" and was linked to finding different ways to | | | | project gradually dried up and the chimps were sold |
| teach language to children with disabilities.The first | | | | for medical research.Shortly before the facility closed |
| experiments centred around Lana, a female chimp | | | | down, two handlers who had worked on the project |
| born in October 1970 (and named after the project - | | | | made one last visit. They signed to the chimps, |
| LANguage) and were simple tasks that resulted in | | | | "What do you want?"One after another, the chimps |
| food being released when certain keys on the | | | | signed back, "Key."The danger in learning to |
| computer-based keyboard were pressed.However, | | | | understand what animals have to say is that we may |
| Lana soon began to string together stock sentences | | | | not like what we hear.Jennifer Stewart has a degree |
| into meaningful and new sentences of her own | | | | in English and History and taught senior High School |
| creation, such as "You give Lana banana which is | | | | for over twenty years. During that time, she was |
| black?" when asking for an overly ripe | | | | Head of Department, responsible for devising and |
| banana.According to University records, "Lana was | | | | implementing teaching programs, and for supervising |
| the first ape to demonstrate that chimpanzees could | | | | young teachers. After leaving full-time teaching, she |
| form syntactically adequate sentences, the first to | | | | wrote (and now markets) writing courses for |
| show that they were capable of recognizing written | | | | students and adults who want to improve their |
| symbols, and the first to demonstrate that they | | | | writing skills. Visit her website at and subscribe to |
| could read. She could take partially completed | | | | free, weekly Writing Tips: mailto:Jennifer also offers |
| sentences, read them and complete them | | | | professional writing services - copy writing, editing |
| appropriately."Recent research, conducted by Georgia | | | | and proof reading for your web pages, press |
| State University Psychology Professor, Duane | | | | releases, technical booklets, newsletters, business |
| Rumbaugh, Ph.D., of the Language Research Centre, | | | | proposals, reports or any other writing projects. |