Researchers have found two important building blocks of human speech in wild chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives. A pair of studies finds that chimp communication includes both rhythmic ...

Grunts, barks, screams and pants ring through Taï National Park in Cȏte d’Ivoire. Chimpanzees there combine these different calls like linguistic Legos to relay complex meanings when communicating, ...

New research suggests wild chimpanzees have developed a far more nuanced communication system than previously realized, using several mechanisms that combine their vocalizations to create new meaning.

Humans don’t just recognize each other’s voices—our brains also light up for the calls of chimpanzees, hinting at ancient communication roots shared with our closest primate relatives. Researchers ...

From Spanish and Swahili to Finnish and Filipino, over 7,000 languages are spoken across the world today. Humans are unique in that we are the only species known to use language. However, new research ...

Could chimpanzees hold a key to the evolution of human language? A recent study reveals complex vocal combinations in our closest relatives. Researchers recorded thousands of vocalizations from wild ...

Humans are known to invent private hand gestures. Chimps in the wild do, too, a new study suggests. By Brandon Keim Parents and their children, or people who know each other well, often share some ...

New research on the rhythmic drumming and complex calls of chimpanzees could point scientists to the origins of language. Chimpanzees drum and make calls to communicate. Two new studies have found ...

Kayla Kolff received funding from the DFG, German Research Foundation. This project is part of a project that was funded by an EUConsolidator grant (772000, TurnTaking) to SP of the European Research ...

If you liked this story, share it with other people. A new study from Côte d’Ivoire highlights the urgent need to integrate chimpanzee cultural preservation with conservation. The study documents the ...

Two new studies hint at the evolutionary roots of human language. The studies found that chimps use rhythmic structures and complex call combinations to communicate. This next story could not be ...