Bonobos use a kind of syntax once thought to be unique to humans

The way bonobos combine vocal sounds to create new meanings suggests the evolutionary building blocks of human language are shared with our closest relatives A female bonobo at Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Lukas Bierhoff, Kokolopori Bonobo Research Project Bonobos combine their calls in a complex way that forms distinct phrases, a sign that this type of syntax is more evolutionarily ancient than previously thought. Human language, often described as the hallmark of our species, is made up of many different building blocks. One core block is syntax, where meaningful units are combined into longer sequences, like words into sentences. This is made possible through compositionality, where the meaning of the whole is derived from the meaning of the parts. Advertisement Compositionality in itself isn’t unique to humans. For example, chimpanzees combine calls to warn others of snakes. But, so far, only “trivial compositionality” has been identified i ... Read full article.