Hasn't Got a Clue

< div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" > < p > When I was first tipped to a coming paper about orangutans and the evolution of language, I thought I should ignore it, but I see the < em > New York Times < /em > has given it a plug under the headline, “ < a href="http://nyti.ms/2aQdrxG" > An Orangutan ’s Mimicry Offers Clues to Language’s Origins < /a > . ” So I want to take a moment to say the report offers no clues. The basic news has been around for some  time: an orangutan has, without training, developed an ability to make some human sounds (see e.g. < a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10329-008-0117-y#/page-1" > this paper from 2009 < /a > ). The latest development, according to the Times: “To show the extent of Rocky’s vocal abilities, the researchers had Dr. Madeleine Hardus, an independent researcher who works with the zoo, hold a conversation with the orangutan entirely in “wookies.” She would say “Ah” at a certain tone and Rocky would mimic that sound for a treat.” < /p > < p > Does that sound to you like a conversation? Is it a conversation with your dog when you say, “Speak, Fido, speak.” Fido barks and you give him a biscuit? < /p > < p > Pretty much from the beginning of this blog, I have been reporting that there is plenty of evidence that apes are smart enough use at least a simple language with one another, if only they would. They do not. Long ago I reported on the work of Tomasello who concludes that the probl...

Source: Babel's Dawn - July 29, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Blair Source Type: blogs