Still Waters Posted July 20, 2014 #1 Share Posted July 20, 2014 In the new film "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," a brilliant, mutant chimp named Caesar forcefully yells "Go!" at a group of humans who wandered into the ape population's forest. His deep, guttural voice startles the people, but his vocalizations are even more surprising. The ape speaks English. While bands of apes do have ways of communicating with one another, is it possible for nonhuman primates to speak the way humans do? https://uk.news.yaho...20.html#26ZGs66 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Wearer of Hats Posted July 20, 2014 #2 Share Posted July 20, 2014 They can, it's just unlike humans they only speak when they ave something interesting to say 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted July 20, 2014 #3 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) The ape speaks English. What like "innit" ? Edited July 20, 2014 by freetoroam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefenceMinisterMishkin Posted July 20, 2014 #4 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I'm not sure how i would feel hearing a chimp speak like a human in reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielost Posted July 20, 2014 #5 Share Posted July 20, 2014 No they don't have the same vocal cords as humans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefenceMinisterMishkin Posted July 20, 2014 #6 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Chimps are very clever though, they have a broad and diverse language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhen Posted July 20, 2014 #7 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Chimps have almost everything they need for speech. They have both the Broca's and Wernicke's areas of the brain used to process language. They have a hyoid bone but their larynx is not low enough to produce the full range of human sounds. They also have the FOXP2 gene that is necessary for speech, but is slightly different from the human version. It's this slight difference that may be the barrier to chimpanzee speech. "biologists in Leipzig, Germany, genetically engineered a mouse with the human version of FOXP2 substituted for its own. The upgraded mice squeaked somewhat differently from plain mice and were born with subtle alterations in brain structure." As far as I know, no one has tried to replace chimp FOXP2 genes with human ones. As opposed to the mouse experiment, this one would be highly controversial and most likely prohibited. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeder Posted July 20, 2014 #8 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Some things are best left untaught... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhen Posted July 20, 2014 #9 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Since this Yahoo "news" story was inspired by the latest Planet of the Apes movie, I thought I would re-post a commercial from the last one. It was originally released as real footage from Africa, but was quickly revealed to be fake. Still, it's hilarious. [media=] [/media] 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted July 20, 2014 #10 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I think the thinking here is backward. Can humans mimic the noises that an ape can produce? If so, then we simply need to create a language using the sounds apes and humans can both produce and teach it to both humans and apes. So, in a sense, apes could be taught to speak, using their native range of vocalizations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drfeelgood11 Posted July 20, 2014 #11 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I dont know if yall are quite rite or not. I mean parrots dont have vocal cords and ive heard parrots speak clear as day. I dont know if yall are quite rite or not. I mean parrots dont have vocal cords and ive heard parrots speak clear as day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhen Posted July 20, 2014 #12 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I dont know if yall are quite rite or not. I mean parrots dont have vocal cords and ive heard parrots speak clear as day. How come parrots can talk and not monkeys? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldorado Posted July 20, 2014 #13 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) In their defence, monkeys are quite good at singing. Edited July 20, 2014 by Eldorado 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhen Posted July 20, 2014 #14 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) I dont know if yall are quite rite or not. I mean parrots dont have vocal cords and ive heard parrots speak clear as day. Not only can they talk, and not just imitate, they are also highly intelligent and according to the Cambridge Declaration; "Evidence of near human-like levels of consciousness has been most dramatically observed in African grey parrots." And this reminded me of Alex, the African Grey. [media=] [/media] Edited July 20, 2014 by redhen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted July 20, 2014 #15 Share Posted July 20, 2014 In their defence, monkeys are quite good at singing. ? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted July 20, 2014 #16 Share Posted July 20, 2014 It would be cool if apes could talk though, it's be nice to have someone to talk to who has a different viewpoint on things. I was watching a documentary once regarding a refuge for apes that were retired from research labs and I was watching this one old orangutan and i swear I almost expected it to say something any moment too. Same with gorillas. Who knows..maybe someday they will. I'd like to think so but liking an idea doesn't make it true. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted July 20, 2014 #17 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) Haven't read all the links here, but there appears to be some type of significant anatomical difference in a monkey/ape vocal cord set-up as opposed to humans and certain birds. Of course, as stated earlier here, the brain of the animal has a high role in this, as well as the appropriate genes. Edit: I wish my precious dog could speak human. I love her so much. Edit Edit. Come to think of it, maybe I love her so much for not human vocalizing her displeasure of my insanity. Edited July 20, 2014 by pallidin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hammerclaw Posted July 20, 2014 #18 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) While they don't speak like humans,they have language skills all their own, to point of there being different dialects and languages among groups in different localeshttp://www.chimpworlds.com/chimpanzee-communication/ Edited July 20, 2014 by John Wesley Boyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imaginarynumber1 Posted July 20, 2014 #19 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Not only can they talk, and not just imitate, they are also highly intelligent and according to the Cambridge Declaration; "Evidence of near human-like levels of consciousness has been most dramatically observed in African grey parrots." And this reminded me of Alex, the African Grey. [media=] [/media] The best part about Alex is that despite how he was described in newspapers, he was just a regular African Grey. Any Grey with the right temperament can be trained to communicate like he did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbarosso Posted July 20, 2014 #20 Share Posted July 20, 2014 you know what would be REALLY REALLY COOL? if apes could talk. i wonder if anyone has thought of this before? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted July 20, 2014 #21 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) Why can't we just rig them up with a Box like Steven Hawking, or the dog off Up? We could hear a lot of "mine" and "give me"..... Edited July 20, 2014 by DieChecker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartmut Posted July 21, 2014 #22 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Hmm, not quite true that apes can not speak. With apologies to real apes, there are a lot of human political and fanatical religious apes who can utter some sort of words and sentences, but none of which make much sense, if any at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartmut Posted July 21, 2014 #23 Share Posted July 21, 2014 On a more serious note, lets not forget that we were once apes too (some say we still are!). So if for some reason only humans were become extinct, in another few million years apes may evolve to a true 'speaking' level too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHaYap Posted July 21, 2014 #24 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I can't wait for them to form a rock band .... I just can't wait .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashyne Posted July 21, 2014 #25 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Apes can't speak like humans because they don't need to- they use telepathic communication. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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