Scientists have translated the language used by a species of monkeys, consisting of words the animals use to warn each other of different degrees of danger.
According to the Scientific American, primatologists led by Philippe Schlenker, a linguist at France’s National Center for Scientific Research and professor at New York University, went to the Ivory Coast’s Tai Forest in 2009 to stage attacks intended for Campbell’s monkeys.
They made models of leopards and played recordings of eagles screeching on a loudspeaker.
Repeated most by the monkeys were these five noises: Krak, Hok, Krak-oo, Hok-oo and Boom.
“Krak” signified that a leopard was nearby and “Hok” warned of an incoming eagle.
The team also concluded that the “oo” meant there was only moderate danger on either the ground or in the air, such as an environmental disturbance.
“Boom” simply meant that the danger had entirely subsided.
But then the researchers went to Sierra Leone’s Tiwai Island and found Campbell’s monkeys to also be saying “Krak” even though there are no leopards on the island.
They eventually determined that “Krak” was being used as a general warning for all predators, be they winged or ground-based.
“Hok” seemed to have the same purpose, just not used as frequently.
The team could not figure out if “Hok” meant something different for the island monkeys, but it seemed to be interchangeable with “Krak” because all serious predators come from the air, therefore they have no reason to specify between a ground or aerial attack.
One could compare the differences in contextual meanings to that of Americans and citizens of the UK.
When an American asks for “tape,” any other American would know that he or she meant Scotch, masking or Duct tape.
An Irishman, on the other hand, might say “sticky tape” when requesting the same thing in order to distinguish between measuring tape.
The findings of Schlenker’s team suggest human linguistic rules can be applied to wild monkeys and that their methods of communication may be an actual language after all.
More complicated experiments are expected to take place before the professor’s “Krak” theory can be solidified.
Read more: http://elitedaily.com/news/world/monkey-translations-english/889217/
Scientists Successfully Translate Monkey"s Sounds Into English
campbell monkey, communication, monkeys, science, translation
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