Will Monkeys talk...

Monkey talk:

Scans have pinpointed circuits in the monkey brain that could be precursors of those in humans for speech and language.

Read more: Monkey talk

Gusts think if monkeys really can talk, what will thy say will we learn something we humans newer new. It�s interesting if you think of it, talking to a monkeys what will you ask, what do you want to know�

Will they be intelligent in speech? Ore will thy gust say what we will learn them like a parrot.

Homo sapiens is not that much different to higher order primates. They can both express concrete thoughts and emotions, deal in abstract through the use of learned signs and symbols, and create whatever havoc they want in the world when they are not under appropriate supervision.

Higher order primates tend to communicate effectively and sometimes with more efficiency, with their mouths shut.

I bookmarked this thread Those pictures are too good!

MaskedAvatar, that's the funniest post i've seen since KrazyIvan gave his
very funny and accurate post regarding France's military history.
MA, you get my 1st WATS vote this month.
S.

funniest thing ive seen in a long time. great work! now just need one for Kerry...

LMAO at maskedavatars post..... always knew ther waz sumin famliair wit bush and a chimp.... but hmm... a talking chimp... now dat will b a site 2 c ...unless its like a parrot...

I was going to say, they do already. but masked killed any come backs in this thread. Nice

OMG!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU!

I have not laughed that hard in a while!

Can't stop laughing!

Bush and Dr. Zaeus '04!!!!!!!

[Edited on 4-5-2004 by Facefirst]

And I might add..I will now take it with personal insult when/IF someone ever calls me a monkey! Although I firmly believe, until proven otherwise, that a monkey would do no less damage than his/her(?) evil counterpart shown in the lovely slideshow presented by the man behind the mask.
Mags

No, no, no!

Higher order primates are MORE INTELLIGENT than homo sapiens monkey.

This is a compliment to you.

That was absolutely hysterical. I definitely spot some similarities there. Now, as for the topic, I think I recall something about some animals that are able to learn a very limited sign language. I'm not really sure about the mechanics of the issue, but think of it this way:

An animal that is trained is able to differentiate between vocal commands right? I mean I'm not saying my dog is brilliant but he can tell the difference between sit, lay down and come here. So I don't know if it's a problem of vocal recognition. As for how capable they are in that I don't know... I don't think they are capable of actually knowing what the words mean, only that they are different. Example: The dog knows that sit and lay down are two different commands and he has one action associated with each command. Does he actually know what they mean? If I tell him "be seated" will he know it means "sit"? I don't think so. There's obviously a difference in the brains of humans and animals (including monkeys).

I do have to wonder about those screeches they make though. Similarly to dolphins and those clicking noises, there has been debate that it is a kind of communication understood by others (as shown in your article). To answer the question of this thread, they might already be talking in a way different from the way we talk, we just don't know that. The question is do those screeches mean different things? Do the other monkeys know that? Are they just noises like a dog's bark, meaning the animal expressing a feeling but not in a recognizable manner? I guess we're still not sure of that. The article just seems to show that the monkeys know another monkey's voice anywhere.

[Edited on 5-4-2004 by Djarums]

Yeah i think dogs are pretty inteligent (If they are interacted with often)

My dog knows the difference between walk ect and goes to the draw to get the lead ect (Not actualy get it but knows where it is)

Also it rips up my feet telling me to put my shoes on lol

She knows quight a lot of commands/words (Or knows what they mean in a sence)

Originally posted by Djarums
I do have to wonder about those screeches they make though. Similarly to dolphins and those clicking noises, there has been debate that it is a kind of communication understood by others (as shown in your article). To answer the question of this thread, they might already be talking in a way different from the way we talk, we just don't know that. The question is do those screeches mean different things? Do the other monkeys know that? Are they just noises like a dog's bark, meaning the animal expressing a feeling but not in a recognizable manner? I guess we're still not sure of that. The article just seems to show that the monkeys know another monkey's voice anywhere.

[Edited on 5-4-2004 by Djarums]

You also have to take into consideration the amazing sounds that Whales make as well as birds ....we really don't understand what a "whale song" is for.

If you lock 24 monkeys in a room with a typewriter, eventually Djarums will be the 500,000th poster at ATS. Congratulations on getting the milestone!

Stephen Pinker really does offer interesting reading on the language instinct, and looks as much like a monkey as George W Bush does.

Brain centers are one thing, but making meaningful sounds come from the vocal chords through movement of teeth and tongue and lips and mouth position is another. Some homos sapiens learn to do it, some don't - it's a fact of life and individual differences. Refer back to 2nd post on this thread.

Reinforcement through repetition is one of the major factors in learning language. It transfers associations between concepts and words and muscular movements from the sensory register to the long term memory through a process called rehearsal. There is a critcial pereiod of 30 seconds over which this needs to occur for the learning to be effective. Monkeys don't need or have the words component, that's pretty much all that's missing from their language development. Humans from all walks of life can dip out also - through indolence, never working their brains, or excess coc aine consumption while their brain is developing into young adulthood, for example.

Thanks MA! Nice to see you back, by the way.

You do bring up an interesting point and I have to ask (though I pray no one has tested this)... What would happen if a human being were raised isolated from all other humans. In his adulthood, restored into humanity, would he be able to learn to talk or does that seem to be something that only develops in early childhood?

Facefirst, you're right, I think studies had been done on the songs of humpback whales and what possible significance they could have. Also of note: A Star Trek movie had humpback songs as an intelligible form of communication that ended up telling an alien being to leave earth. Interesting that whale songs had been looked into when that movie came out (I'm assuming late 80's or thereabouts).

I think Djarums has a point here. It works by associating a sound with an action, and actually that's how we humans as babies learn to talk. So I think the difference in the brain is the reason why they don't, so far at least, talk.

Now we never know how it could evolve...

Maybe their brain has the necessary structure but they don't use it. We use on average about 10% of our brain capacity. Who know what exactly we could do if using it 100%? Probably wonders!

Originally posted by Djarums
Thanks MA! Nice to see you back, by the way.

You do bring up an interesting point and I have to ask (though I pray no one has tested this)... What would happen if a human being were raised isolated from all other humans. In his adulthood, restored into humanity, would he be able to learn to talk or does that seem to be something that only develops in early childhood?

Facefirst, you're right, I think studies had been done on the songs of humpback whales and what possible significance they could have. Also of note: A Star Trek movie had humpback songs as an intelligible form of communication that ended up telling an alien being to leave earth. Interesting that whale songs had been looked into when that movie came out (I'm assuming late 80's or thereabouts).

As to your first point, there have been a few alleged cases of "feral" humans. Most of the time, they could not adapt to modern ways when taken out of the wild.

I forgot about that Star Trek movie. I remember seeing it in the theater and thinking that was a great plot. ie. we had extraterrestial intelligence right in front of us the whole time.......and we killed it off. Brilliant.

Studies have been done regarding animal sounds being possible intelligent, coherent communication. The latest that has not gotten alot of attention is a group of endangered monkeys in South America that seem to have a rudimentary lanquage. I heard a slight mention last year in the mainstream media, but I can't seem to find much more since.

I will look for some links....... links....lol!.....as in missing!

yes you lost folks monkeys will talk!@ they already communicate with their owners. i saw a documentary on a monkey who had its mother and family slaughtered by poachers. then to tell about it through sign language. if anyone saw this (which im positive they did, cuz this monnkey is everyhwere) post on this thread please..

excellent. if monkeys could speak i would ask them, "what does a banana mean to you."

Originally posted by kode
excellent. if monkeys could speak i would ask them, "what does a banana mean to you."

Maybe you really don't want to hear the answer :p

When sitting on a bus, a girl comes on and sits in front of you. In her grocery bags you can see carrots, bannana's, cucumbers, zuchinis and a tube of HyperGlide Lubricant.

Would you dare to ask the question?