Talking primates: human language vs. chimp communication
England (London)
10.07.2011
3.00pm - 4.30pm
This free discussion is part of the Café Scientifique programme running as part of the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
Chaired by Dr Dora Biro, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, and featuring input from Dr Simon Fisher, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford and Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, and Dr Bridget Waller, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, this talk will explore the similarities and differences between chimpanzee and human communication.
The following questions will be considered:
- Is human language qualitatively different and distinct from animal communication?
- Can you call animal communication a language?
- Is it our language that truly makes us human?
A human child's extraordinary capacity to acquire spoken language is one of the great mysteries of our species. By studying people with inherited language problems, scientists are starting to identify the genes that help us learn to speak. The most well-known of these genes is one called FOXP2. Interestingly, chimpanzees carry a different version of FOXP2 from humans. Could genetic differences like this explain why there are no talking chimpanzees? Or does the ability of primates to communicate using complex calls represent a form of language in itself?
Venue: Terrace Café, Royal Society, London.