Deciphering Junglespeak

Conclusion

Much ink has been spilled debating the best approaches to studying animal origins of human language. Chimpanzees have been central to this debate; the “ape language” research has generated much productive theorizing in this arena, as has the issue of referential vocal signaling in chimpanzees and other primate species. The lack of any clear parallels between chimpanzee vocal communication and human language points to the importance of understanding species ecology in explaining the expression of certain behavioral traits, and urges us away from assuming that species who share a close phylogenetic relationship with humans are continuous in all other behavioral and cognitive domains.