Page 69 - Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Language

SECTION III Language and Mind
Apes and Language
S. L. Williams, E. S. Savage-Rumbaugh, D. M. Rumbaugh
The second half of the twentieth century has seen a great surge of interest both in language and in apes. With regard to language, the questions have been focused upon the pattern and process whereby it is acquired by children and whether its roots are in gen- etics or in learning. With regard to apes, the questions focused upon evolution and the genetic relatedness of apes to the early hominoids and humans. The intensity of debates on both topics has been substantial and sustained. It should come as no surprise, then, that the question, 'Can apes acquire language?' also gives rise to great controversy. After all, to answer that question presumes that one can define 'language.' Language, along with all other similar concepts, can be defined—but not to everyone's satisfaction. Is speech, for example, a requisite to language? What constitutes a natural, versus an artificial language? Also, one might even object to that question by declar- ing, 'If, as many hold to be the case, language is a distinguishing attribute of our species, apes cannot possibly acquire it!' Nevertheless, within this con- fusion matrix, a number of investigators did launch research programs to answer the question, 'Can apes acquire language?'
Why might the ape be expected to acquire language? The answer is, of course, that they are very closely related to us. Chimpanzees, for example, are more closely related to us than they are to gorillas. Humans share 99 percent of genetic material with these apes (Andrews and Martin 1987), and human lineage diverged from theirs only 4-6 million years ago (Sibley and Ahlquist 1984).
1. Early Attempts to Teach Language
Since neural limitations and the anatomy of the vocal tract prevent the ape from producing sounds necessary for human speech (Lieberman 1968), alternative modes for communication have been sought.
The 1960s witnessed the beginnings of two impor- tant chimpanzee projects, each with a unique approach to communication: one by Beatrix and Alan Gardner of the University of Nevada and another by
David Premack at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gardners used a manual sign language, the American Sign Language for the Deaf, as their medium for establishing 'two-way communication' with a chimpanzee. They believed that their chim- panzee (Pan troglodytes), Washoe, would be com- petent to make such signs and that she would be acquiring a 'natural' language as she did so. Premack used plastic tokens to stand for words with his chim- panzee, Sarah. His method employed an artificial language system. Despite different methods and goals, both Washoe and Sarah learned to use their signs and tokens and impressed many with their accomplishments.
The 1970s saw the launching of the LANA Project by Rumbaugh and his associates of Georgia State University, the Universityof Georgia, and the Yerkes Primate Center of Emory University. Unique to the LANA Project was the introduction of a computer- monitored keyboard, with each key having a dis- tinctive geometric pattern called a 'lexigram.' Instead of letters, each lexigram key on the chimpanzee Lana's keyboard was meant to serve as a whole word. The priority goal of the LANA Project was to determine whether a computer-controlled language-training sys- tem might be perfected to advance research where learning and language abilities were limited, either due to genetics (i.e., apes, whose brains are one-third the size of the human brain) or brain damage (i.e., chil- dren with mental retardation). Development of the computer-controlled system succeeded beyond expec- tations. That system also was a prototype for portable language-communication keyboards that are now commercially manufactured and in wide use by chil- dren with mental retardation (Romski and Sevcik 1992). Through such keyboards, many retarded chil- dren are able to communicate and thus participate in the world as they have not been able to do in the past.
The 1970s also saw Terrace's Project Nim (Nim was a chimpanzee) launched at Columbia University and Miles's Project Chantek (Chantek was an orangutan, of the genus Pongo) at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. Also, Fouts led his own project, first
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