A groundbreaking study published in Scientific Reports has uncovered that chimpanzees might be capable of more than just their typical grunts and hoots; they could potentially speak human words given the right environment. This discovery was made by a small team of speech specialists and psychologists who analyzed old videos, revealing that three chimpanzees had learned to speak human words. The researchers argue that this suggests chimps are capable of basic language skills, a finding that could reshape our understanding of great ape vocal abilities.
The study included an online experiment where human listeners, unaware of the recordings’ origins, consistently identified chimpanzee utterances as syllabic, primarily perceiving them as “ma-ma” among other syllables. “Our findings demonstrate that in the absence of direct data-driven examination, great ape vocal production capacities have been underestimated. Chimpanzees possess the neural building blocks necessary for speech,” the researchers wrote.
One notable case highlighted by the scientists involved a husband-and-wife team from the past who adopted an infant chimp and raised it in their home, attempting to teach it simple words like “mama,” “papa,” and “cup.” Despite their pioneering efforts, their work was eventually dismissed as unethical due to the separation of the chimp from its natural mother.
Undeterred by this historical dismissal, the new team of researchers meticulously reviewed hours of old videos for evidence of chimps attempting human speech. In one particularly significant video from the husband-wife team’s collection, a chimpanzee was captured uttering the word “papa” three times and even managed to say “cup” once. Another video showed a chimp clearly saying “mama,” while a clip from Italy depicted a chimp making the same maternal utterance.
The researchers described these attempts as “essentially word-like,” suggesting that given the right circumstances, great apes can indeed produce human-like speech. The study’s authors urge the scientific community to re-evaluate past dismissals and consider the potential of great apes with a fresh perspective. This new insight into chimpanzee vocal capabilities challenges long-held beliefs and opens up exciting possibilities for future research on the cognitive and communicative abilities of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.
