What Studying Primate Communication Tells Us About The Evolution of Human Language

Kanzi is a linguistic all-star among apes. From an early age, the captive bonobo learned over 400 symbols representing words, which he points to, in order to communicate with people. He understands even more spoken English and basic grammar, and followed verbal directions as well as a 2-year-old human during a study conducted in the late 80s.Having watched Kanzi clips more times than I care to admit, I’m ceaselessly amazed by his communication skills. But still, as the most linguisticall