Teaching ASL to Gorillas and Chimps
Teaching ASL to Gorillas and ChimpsHave you ever considered the possibility that the next conversation that you hold in sign language may be with someone that's not quite human? Probably not, but it is possible. Ever since the late 60s and early 70s both chimpanzees and gorillas have been part of a study in which they are taught a modified form of American Sign Language as a means of communication. Although the studies were very similar in purpose and content, they were actually totally separate, conducted by different people at different times. It all began with the start of Washoe the chimpanzee's training in ASL in 1967, by Roger Fouts. Fouts is the main person responsible for teaching Washoe American Sign Language, and in doing so he became one of the first people in the world to communicate with a chimpanzee. At first, Fouts, along with a few graduate students from the University of Nevada, taught Washoe by pointing to an object such as an apple, then positioning her hands into that sign. They would repeat this until she gradually learned to do it without an instructor's aid. However, they quickly learned that the best way to teach Washoe was simply by having people sign in her presence, a
The way a Deaf person might have perceived that is that hearing people are going to teach chimpanzees your language to find out if they are smarter than you. Inevitably, they quickly discarded the complicated task of inventing a language, and among the several different sign languages ASL was accepted as the official language of the Deaf in the U. Which leads me to the question of whether or not they even paid attention to what the details of the study that was one of the bases for them deciding to use ASL were. According to the book Apes, Men, and Language the first time that they realized this was with the sign for toothbrush. Yet, even though I understand that point of view, I still completly in favor of the idea. nd over time she would pick up different words/signs. Many things were considered in choosing American Sign Language as humans medium of communication with primates. Koko is a lowland gorilla that was born in the San Francisco Zoo in 1971, and ever since she was barely one Penny Patterson has raised her. I got the impression that she had integrated sign language to a great degree into her life. , where the study was being conducted, and more importantly because ASL had been studied, and it's acquisitions with the Deaf had also been studied. These studies on chimpanzees and gorillas have not only proven that humans are not the only animals capable of understanding the concept of language, but has shed a new light on the vital connection between humans and primates. Penny Patterson, a graduate in psychology from Stanford University, founded it; she is also Koko's life-companion and teacher. org) Especially since, it is only through the gain of this knowledge that humans can even start to take the necessary steps to improve the treatment of captive gorillas and protect wild, free-living gorillas from extinction.
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