Ape Talking Other

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 635 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 2

Zuckerman

The same types of communicative behaviors may be exhibited among primates, particularly bonobo, apes, humans, and chimpanzees. However, there are also some core differences in the specific language expressions and their corresponding cognitive patterns among the descendants of a common ancestral lineage, particularly human, bonobo, and chimpanzee (Gillespie-Lynch, et al., 2014). Some of the most dramatic claims related to the philosophical import of non-human primate language imply either that human beings and their non-human primate relatives are completely alike, or alternatively, not at all alike save for some key animalistic features. Building on the formative research of Lord Zuckerberg, current researchers are showing that the question of whether humans and apes are similar is the wrong question; indeed humans are similar to non-human primates but there are distinct and meaningful differences between human beings and their primate counterparts. Those differences may, however, vanish over the next several million years.

Much of the insistence on difference relies heavily on language acquisition, development, and use. For instance, Beattie & Ellis (2010) note ape language does not represent higher-level cognitive functioning because it is only imitative in nature, and that apes never progress from imitation to semantic development in the same way humans do. Apes in fact depend directly on imitation for ongoing language use, unlike humans (Beattie & Ellis, 2010).

Stuck Writing Your "Ape Talking" Other?

View All Our Example Ape Talking Other

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Yet non-human primates are capable of learning sign languages as imitative but also as semantic systems. Moreover, chimpanzees do seem to be evolving with successive generations capitalizing on the gains made by their forebears in language and cognitive development. Hopkins, Russell & Schaeffer (2014) found that chimpanzee intelligence growth is passed down, especially with regards to specific cognitive traits.

This does suggest that if the evolution of non-human primates were traced over the course of the next million years, a unique picture may emerge in which a human-like or absolutely human species would have emerged. After all, human beings were once lacking in the cognitive functions that are perceived to be missing from apes now, and later developed those traits such as symbolic language. That which distinguishes human beings from non-human primates might also not be overly significant. When communicating with each other, bonobos, chimpanzees, and other higher-order primates use language, but human beings have not completely mastered their linguistic domains. Thus, humans and non-human primates do share a predilection for social communication and even for symbolic communication but the role….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Ape Talking" (2015, March 20) Retrieved June 7, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/ape-talking-2149474

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Ape Talking" 20 March 2015. Web.7 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/ape-talking-2149474>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Ape Talking", 20 March 2015, Accessed.7 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/ape-talking-2149474
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example