Abstract
Evaluations of ape language projects rest on acceptable answers to two relatively distinct questions. First, it is necessary to determine what the studies actually establish about ape capacities. Just what skills and competencies does the evidence make it reasonable to attribute to the apes? Second, and conceptually prior, it is necessary to determine the significance of the accepted findings. Supposing all agree that apes have or lack some particular competence, why should that finding be of interest; to what issue would it be relevant?
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Atherton, M., Schwartz, R. (1983). Talk to the Animals. In: De Luce, J., Wilder, H.T. (eds) Language in Primates. Springer Series in Language and Communication, vol 11. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5496-6_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5496-6_10
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