To understand the origins and development of human language, scientists have been observing our closest relatives, the great apes , for years. Sometimes these observations are surprising.
Many of the behavioral characteristics of orangutans are reminiscent of humans
Any human language is made up of vowels and consonants, but most monkey calls are primarily vowels, loud sounds. So, where did our consonants come from?
To find out, scientists at the University of Warwick in the UK compared the vocal patterns of three orangutans living today - orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees. Unlike other primates, apes use vowels and consonants, but their proportions are unlike any human language.
For example, gorillas have consonants in some populations but not others, and chimpanzees have only one or two consonants that are rarely used. However, when researchers studied the vocal repertoire of orangutans, they were surprised: the monkeys liked to use consonants, clap, grunt, and grunt.
According to scientists, the vocal wealth of this type of orangutan is related to their special environment: While African monkeys spend much of their time on Earth with free use of all four legs, orangutans live in trees and must hold on to branches with at least one hand. In short, they use their mouths as a "fifth leg": deftly manipulating food with their lips, tongue and jaw.
It may be muscle control that causes orangutans to expand the vocal repertoire typical of primates. This suggests that our ancestors were turning to human forms of communication during their time living in the trees—long before they began walking the Earth.
The research was published in the journal Trends in Science.
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