Versatile Call Combinations in Chimpanzees May Shed Light on the Evolution of Human Language

[Judi Lynn]

Versatile Call Combinations in Chimpanzees May Shed Light on the Evolution of Human Language
by Robert Schreiber
Berlin, Germany (SPX) May 12, 2025

Humans are unique among Earth's species for their ability to use language - a system that allows for the combination of sounds into words, and words into sentences, creating virtually infinite meanings. This process relies on linguistic rules that govern how these combinations convey specific meanings. For instance, the word "ape" can be expanded into phrases like "big ape" or "the ape eats," or entirely reimagined in idiomatic expressions like "go ape."
While this open-ended, combinatorial nature is central to human communication, understanding where this capacity originated remains a fundamental scientific question. Researchers often examine the vocal behaviors of other animals, particularly primates, to trace the evolutionary roots of this complex trait.

While primates typically rely on single, context-specific calls, some species exhibit more flexible call combinations, albeit far fewer in number and typically linked to specific contexts, such as predator warnings.

New research led by scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology and for Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, along with colleagues from the Cognitive Neuroscience Center Marc Jeannerod and the Neuroscience Research Center in Lyon, France, provides fresh insights into this topic.

More:
https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Versatile_Call_Combinations_in_Chimpanzees_May_Shed_Light_on_the_Evolution_of_Human_Language_999.html

Went to YouTube to find a video on chimp sounds, found music for chimps, instead:

[scipan]

1. silverback? was definitely keeping time (1st vid)! nt