Scientists Discover Wild Chimpanzees Are Developing Human-Like Speech — Are We Watching Evolution?

Chimpanzees, also known as chimps, are a very closely related species to modern humans. They are homo sapiens’ closest living relative, who shares 98% of their DNA. Scientists think that we share the same evolutionary path up until about a few million years ago, and that divergence over time made up the difference in our key genetic relationship.

Recently, though, researchers have observed that chimps are starting to use vocalization as their way of communication in a much complex way, reminiscent of how humans’ ancestors started the building blocks of languages. Let’s find out how they are doing it, and if we are really seeing evolution in real time!

Chimpanzees Combine Sounds to Convey Complex Meanings

The way our languages evolve is through simple vocalization and gestures at the beginning. Then we learned how to associate meaning with a specific sound, creating words. After that comes the different combination of those words, which only humans are capable of, forming different phrases, until it becomes a full sentence.

The exact beginning of human language still needs more research to be understood, but the timeline above is how it is generally perceived to have started and evolved. Now, chimpanzees have been observed to mimic that same beginning, where they are learning how to combine vocalizations into sequences that now might convey a specific meaning.

In a study published in Science Advances, the researchers found 12 distinct call types and 16 two-call combinations from the 53 wild chimpanzees that they are studying in Côte d’Ivoire. These combinations are theorized to work like human language, where the order of the call and their sequence will change the meaning of the vocalization, similar to human sentences or phrases.

Read more: Nature

Evidence of Vocal Learning and Mimicry

Evolution vs. Evidence: Are We Really 98% Chimp? #science #chemistry #abiogenesis #evolution

Beyond combinations of calls that are similar to how human language structure forms at the start of our evolution, chimpanzees have also been observed to be capable of repeating some syllables from our language. Words like “mama” have been recorded to be uttered by a couple of chimpanzees.

These findings suggest that chimps are also capable of syllabic vocalization, which was previously claimed to be impossible due to their lack of brain circuitry that allows humans to do it. It also means that with the right environment and stimuli, chimpanzees might be able to learn more complex vocal patterns.

Gestural Communication Mirrors Human Conversation

Aside from the recent studies, it has also been known for a while now that chimpanzees are capable of gestural communication that mirrors human conversation. Primates gesture a specific hand signal to each other, but will pause and wait for a reply, creating a back-and-forth interaction, which suggests a foundational element of communication.

There is also a strong theory that human language began with gestural communication. This means that our ancestors are thought to have used hand gestures together with some form of vocalization to express a specific meaning or idea. This is what seems to be happening in the current world’s chimpanzees, which looks like a human ancestor’s starting point of communication.

Read more: NBC

Implications for Understanding Language Evolution

So, what does everything about chimpanzees’ way of communication tell us? We have found out that they use hand signals, they can vocalize ideas, and they can form combinations of vocalization to form complex language. These findings, as we compare them to other theories, closely resemble how human ancestors evolved with their languages, to become what it is today.

It could imply that we are wrong to think that complex language is a specific feature formed with the evolution of modern humans; instead, it might be a natural product of the evolution of any intelligent being. If other animals learned to do what chimpanzees are doing, it could support this theory.

Could We Teach a Chimp to Talk?

Author's Final Thoughts

The discovery of complex vocal and gestural communication in chimpanzees showcases that we really are 98% genetically close to them. They are mimicking how our ancestors started, so is it valid to ask if they are currently evolving into humans?

As more research is done, we will move closer to finding out how linguistic abilities started and how they will change in the future, not only for chimpanzees, but for us humans too.

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