Monkeys show language recognition

July 8, 2:59 PMScience News ExaminerMeg Marquardt

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Credit: Raimond Spekking (source)

 One of the fluffiest breeds of monkey, Cotton-top tamarin monkeys, has apparently displayed a high level of intelligence related to language skills. A study reported in Royal Society Biology Letters states that the monkeys can tell the difference between prefixes and suffixes.

Prefixes and suffixes are essential to language. They are involved in tense—walk-ing as opposed to walk-ed. They tell indicate time—pre-1900s or post-1900s. Sticking on a prefix or suffix onto a word (or affix) entirely changes the meaning of a word. Recognizing their purpose is an important step to understanding language.

Not that the scientists are suggesting that the monkeys actually understand language. In fact, stating that they can tell a ‘difference’ between suffixes and prefixes may be a bit of a leap. It may be more that they can recognize change.

Researchers used a nonsense syllable, shoy, and a mix of stems like bi, ka, nu, etc. At first, monkeys would listen to a mix of female and male speakers saying a word, like shoy-bi, multiple times. “During the test, the researchers would then suddenly vary that to "bi-shoy," turning what was once a suffix into a prefix. When this happened, the monkeys would turn their heads toward the individual playing back the recordings, a response previously determined to indicate their acknowledgement that the familiar sound ordering pattern had been violated.” [Discovery]

It is undoubtedly acknowledgement of change. Scientists equate the reaction to a human saying, “huh?” when presented with a situation that breaches a set pattern of speech. But, again, stating that it is proof that monkeys can tell the difference between prefixes and suffixes may be a stretch. For instance, what would a reaction be to a change in the middle of a word as opposed to beginning and end? Is it an actual acknowledgement of a specific portion of a word, or a simple acknowledgement of a change? And, another extrapolation, would it occur with other ‘languages,’ such as alterations in a bird’s tweet or a dog’s bark?

But such questions are undoubtedly beyond the scope of an initial study. The fact that the recognition of alteration happens with no training, that it is spontaneous, is indeed intriguing. And, regardless of what they are really understanding, the indication that monkeys are paying enough attention to the vocalization of humans to note the change is interesting in itself.

Ansgar Endress, lead author, takes the concept a step farther. He stated, "Our results suggest a fairly pedestrian mechanism: human infants, like monkeys, might be particularly prone to track what occurs in the first and last position of words and other linguistic units. Hence, they might use these mechanisms of memory organization for learning affixation rules." [Discovery]

An interesting comparison, though one that not all are completely sold on. Thomas Bever, a professor at the University of Arizona, stated, “The authors' claim that this is evolutionary background for how human children learn suffixes in inflected languages is ambitious, but intriguing." [Discovery] Proving such a claim would be an even more ambitious undertaking. However, the study is a fascinating insight into the evolution of speaking-and shows just how little is known about how other animals perceive and interpret language.