did kanzi and panbanisha the bonobos understand english

Kanzi has been able to learn 348 lexigram symbols, while also having the knowledge of 3,000 English words. The researchers believed Panbanisha knew around 6,000 English words. However, Panbanisha did not like to show off the words that she had the knowledge of, whereas Kanzi did.

Full Answer

How old is Panbanisha the bonobo now?

The 26-year-old female bonobo had lived at the trust since 2005 and like her half brother, Kanzi, Panbanisha could communicate with humans via symbols and understood thousands of English words spoken by scientists caring for her.

What is Kanzi the bonobo famous for?

Kanzi (born October 28, 1980), also known by the lexigram (from the character 太), is a male bonobo who has been the subject of several studies on great ape language. According to Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, a primatologist who has studied the bonobo throughout her life, Kanzi has exhibited advanced linguistic aptitude.

Did Kanzi the bonobo really learn sign language?

New Scientist reported in August that: 'Kanzi the bonobo continues to impress. 'Not content with learning sign language or making up 'words' for things like banana or juice, he now seems capable of making stone tools on a par with the efforts of early humans.'

How the Great Ape Trust taught Kanzi and Panbanisha?

How the Great Ape Trust Taught Kanzi and Panbanisha to Understand They said that she had entered such an altered state of mind that she heard puppies speaking English and believed that people were hiding in bushes waiting to slash her tires.

What did Kanzi do in the Great Ape Project?

In this experiment, Kanzi was kept in a separate room of the Great Ape Project and shown some yogurt. Kanzi made some vocalizations that his sister could hear; his sister, Panbanisha, who could not see the yogurt, then pointed to the lexigram for yogurt, suggesting those vocalizations may have meaning.

How did Kanzi learn sign language?

Although Kanzi learned to communicate using a keyboard with lexigrams, Kanzi also picked up some American Sign Language from watching videos of Koko the gorilla, who communicated using sign language to her keeper Penny Patterson; Savage-Rumbaugh did not realize Kanzi could sign until he signed, "You, Gorilla, Question", to anthropologist Dawn Prince-Hughes, who had previously worked closely with gorillas. Based on trials performed at Yerkes Primate Research Center, Kanzi was able to identify symbols correctly 89–95% of the time.

How many words did Kanzi learn?

Within a short time, Kanzi had mastered the ten words that researchers had been struggling to teach his adoptive mother, and he has since learned more than two hundred more. When he hears a spoken word (through headphones, to filter out nonverbal clues), he points to the correct lexigram.

How old is Kanzi?

Kanzi (born October 28, 1980), also known by the lexigrams (from the character 太 ), is a male bonobo who has been the subject of several studies on great ape language. According to Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, a primatologist who has studied the bonobo throughout her life, Kanzi has exhibited advanced linguistic aptitude.

What did Savage-Rumbaugh observe in Kanzi?

Savage-Rumbaugh has observed Kanzi in communication to his sister. In this experiment, Kanzi was kept in a separate room of the Great Ape Project and shown some yogurt. Kanzi made some vocalizations that his sister could hear; his sister, Panbanisha, who could not see the yogurt, then pointed to the lexigram for yogurt, suggesting those vocalizations may have meaning.

What is Kanzi's articulatory equivalent?

Later, it was discovered that Kanzi was producing the articulatory equivalent of the symbols he was indicating, although in a very high pitch and with distortions. According to the research of Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Kanzi "can understand individual spoken words and how they are used in novel sentences".

How old was Kanzi when he was compared to Alia?

When he was eight years old, Kanzi was a subject of a research program in which his ability to respond to spoken requests was compared with that of a two-year-old human child called Alia. The study took nine months to complete.

What is the fate of the three apes?

These three apes' fate, for better or worse, is to live in a human environment as participants in communicative and cognitive science projects.

What does Patterson say about Koko?

This raises ethical issues, to say the least .

What does Koko do at the end of the clip?

Patterson, at the end of the clip, affirms her interpretation that Koko grasped all of the options presented to her. The idea is that Koko, by pointing to one of the four diagrammed choices, can and should help make decisions that involve the reproductive activities and the welfare of other gorillas.

Does Savage-Rumbaugh use speech?

Savage-Rumbaugh may not refer here to Kanzi using speech, but instead to his communicating with lexigrams. This point is unclear to me because in the book Kanzi's Primal Language and elsewhere, Savage-Rumbaugh and co-authors do suggest that Kanzi can utter some words. The medium of communication isn't the point, though; it's that one of Savage-Rumbaugh's goals for Kanzi is to have him talk knowledgeably with the media.

Do apes understand English?

I do believe — especially having met Kanzi and Panbanisha "in person" — that these language apes do comprehend some English. In Iowa, the Trust bonobos are encouraged to do many unusual things; this clip of Panbanisha cooking over a lit burner on the stove and using a large knife shows that she grasps some of Sue Savage-Rumbaugh's instructions. (The wisdom of the ape-fire-knife nexus is another matter.)

How do Kanzi and Panbanisha use language?

Kanzi and Panbanisha understand thousands of words. They use sentences, talk on the phone, and they like to gossip. In short, they use language in many of the same ways humans do.

How do Kanzi and Panbanisha communicate with researchers?

Kanzi and Panbanisha communicate with researchers by pointing to symbols on lexigram panels like this one. Great Ape Trust. Savage-Rumbaugh says Kanzi used the keyboard more than 300 times on the first day he was separated from Matata. He asked her for food.

How do bonobos extend their social ties?

At the Great Ape Trust, the bonobos have found ways to extend their social ties with humans — like talking on the phone. Straddling Two Worlds. Savage-Rumbaugh says that talking on the phone helps Kanzi and Panbanisha cope with their odd status as creatures who socialize with humans, but are not human themselves.

Why does Kanzi want to share?

Fields says that because Kanzi was raised among humans, he has a powerful desire to communicate with the humans in his world. "He wants to share," Fields says. "He wants to do things with people. He wants people to know how smart he is. He wants people to know what he can do.

What does Panbanisha mean in Swahili?

Panbanisha, which means "cleave together for the purpose of contrast," in Swahili, is seen here with a symbols board she uses to communicate. Panbanisha was born at Georgia State University's Language Research Center in 1985.

Where was Panbanisha born?

Panbanisha was born at Georgia State University's Language Research Center in 1985. Two bonobo chimpanzees in Iowa are changing how scientists think about the nature of human language. Kanzi and Panbanisha understand thousands of words. They use sentences, talk on the phone, and they like to gossip.

What did Savage-Rumbaugh decide?

Savage-Rumbaugh made a decision; She would stop trying to teach words and sentences to apes. She would give Kanzi a reason to talk, and something to talk about.

What does it mean when Bonobos Kanzi and Panbanisha extend their index fingers?

Reared in a culture where pointing has meaning, bonobos Kanzi and Panbanisha extend their index fingers to summon a human researcher. Credit: Copyright Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh

Why does Kanzi point to lexigrams?

Kanzi, shown with Great Ape Trust researcher Liz Rubert-Pugh, routinely points to lexigram symbols to express his thoughts. He also points in response to conversation, as a human would, a topic addressed in a paper on pointing behavior by Great Ape Trust scientists. Credit: Great Ape Trust

Why don't apes point?

Tomasello, co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, asserted in "Why Apes Don't Point" that though captive apes may appear to point, the genetic and cognitive differences between apes and humans are so great that there is no specific intent behind the gesture.

Do apes have finger pointing?

Pedersen et al. argued that an ape that was not reared in a culture where index finger pointing was common, including most captive apes, would not be expected to exhibit that gesture. The scientists also noted that although pointing isn't a behavior that wild bonobos and other great apes acquire on their own, it does not mean that they are genetically or cognitively incapable of learning the behavior.

Overview

Biography

Examples of behavior and abilities

Language

See also

Further reading

External links