The similarities between chimps and humans have been examined for many years now. With a surprising 98.8 percent of our DNA matching, it is no wonder that scientists can find several similarities. However, recent findings have shown that there may be even more similarities than we previously thought. A new scientific paper claims that chimps are now capable of mimicking human speech. Now, before people go bananas, these chimps are not mimicking entire sentences or conversations; rather, they are mimicking words. Watch this video of a Chimpanzee uttering the word "mama" to his handler.
Chimps Say Mama: Old Videos New News
While the video above might be from 16 years ago, the information in it is still relevant today. Scientists are revisiting this footage with a keener eye. In the clip, you can see a handler talking to the chimp and encouraging it to say the word mama. While there can be some debate about its response and what it sounds like, there is no denying the lip movement.
You can see that as the chimp mimics the word "mama," it pushes its lips together to form the M sound. It also correctly mimics the two syllables in the word and the inflection that his handler is using with him. The chimp's hard work is rewarded with a delicious red twizzle.
Chimps Are Capable Of Mimicking Human Speech: Since The 1960s?
While John the chimp was incredibly impressive, he was not the first chimp to seemingly utter the words "mama." In the 1960s there was another video of a chimp mimicking human speech. Watch that clip below.
In the video titled, Italians Unveil Talking Chimp, people are amazed by a chimp called Renata. Apparently, this chimp had an incredible IQ that had scientists very interested in her. In this clip, Renata receives a physical cue that lets her know it is time for her to speak. As her trainer gently touches under her chin, Renata utters the word "mama."
While the methods for getting the chimps to mimic human speech differ slightly between the videos, the result is the same. In both cases, the chimps are capable of mimicking human speech, at least in the beginning stages. According to scientists, " Renata's "m"s were consistent with complete labial closure."
Scientists Are Going Bananas
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Naturally, scientists are excited by these findings. However, while this is exciting, they don't want to get ahead of themselves. The same scientific paper claims, "Low front vowels are among the first to be produced by developing human infants and require little deliberate independent recruitment of lingual musculature." So, while the chimps are mimicking human speech, it is in the very beginning stages.
However, the paper also does point out that "Great ape language projects have been misrepresented literature." It goes on to further point out that "absence of evidence should not be taken as evidence of absence." This means that just because you have never heard a chimp mimic human speech, do not assume they can't.
With these videos and new research coming out, there is so much more to learn about chimpanzees' neural capabilities. While people are already aware that chimpanzees can gesture to one another to communicate, they may soon be using a different form of communication.
