Who was the first animal to learn human sign language?”
Research concerning the ability of primates to acquire language has profound implications for the understanding of the evolution of the human species. The acquisition of language in primates may shed light on the development of language in early humans. In this sense, research of primate language and primate tool use offer similar insight into our early ancestors. Many people believe that language is a unique capacity of humans. Doubters of the ability of primates to use language include renowned M.I.T. linguist Noam Chomsky and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker. Chomsky’s Universal Grammar theory clearly defines language as a skill limited to humans, the sole possessors of the cognitive hardware which makes language possible. Chomsky makes an analogy to flying in order to illustrate his position on primate language: “Humans can fly about 30 feet-that’s what they do in the Olympics. Is that flying? The question is totally meaningless.” Chomsky and his followers theorize that the neural
Koko is a 35 year-old lowland gorilla who learned to speak American Sign Language when she was just a baby. Her teacher, Dr. Penny Patterson, began working with Koko as a Ph.D. project at Stanford, thinking it would only be a 4-year study. Thirty-some years later, Penny and Koko continue to work together at the Gorilla Foundation in one of the longest interspecies communication studies ever conducted, the only one with gorillas. Koko now has a vocabulary of over 1000 signs, and understands even more spoken English. Koko has become famous not only for her language capabilities, but also her heart-warming relationship with kittens (captured in the book Koko’s Kitten). As Penny says, “she’s just as much a person as we are.” Koko’s greatest desire is to have a baby. She has indicated that she will teach her children sign language, which will engender the next generation of interspecies communication. Koko has become the ambassador for her critically endangered species. People need to care
