Apes and Language: The Search for Communicative Competence

摘要: In the years since Gardner and (1969), Patterson (1978), Premack (1972), Rumbaugh, Gill, Glaserfeld (1973) first demonstrated that apes could acquire a set of symbols (gestural signs, computer lexigrams, or plastic tokens representing words ideas), controversy has arisen over extent to which apes’ use these be called language. Objections belief possess language have ranged from priori assumptions animal inferiority, stemming western worldview only humans rational soul, specific problems with methods, evidence, conclusions ape researchers (Brown, 1973; Limber, 1977; Mounin, 1976; Terrace, Petitto, Sanders, & Bever, 1979). Review criticism primate research linguists, psychologists, anthropologists, philosophers is necessary important means furthering our understanding abilities nature intelligence. However, some done more obscure this quest than illuminate it.