VERY IMPRESSIVE, MISS, BUT HOW FAST CAN YOU TYPE?

The monkeys who can speak in sentences (Roger Highfield, The Telegraph, May 18th, 2006)

The first evidence that monkeys string "words" together to say more complicated things, as humans do, is published today by scientists.

Simple vocal languages use a different sound for every different meaning. But there is a limit to the range of sounds that can be made and easily distinguished. So for complicated messages it is more efficient to combine basic sounds in different ways to convey different meanings.

A team at the University of St Andrews reports today in the journal Nature that male putty-nosed monkeys (Cercopithecus nictitans) in West Africa can combine different sounds to construct new messages, a remarkable discovery.

During three years of observations of the monkeys in the Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria, Dr Kate Arnold and Dr Klaus Zuberbühler found that the creatures use their two main call types - "pyows" and "hacks" - to warn each other against predators.

They also noticed that a particular sequence of calls appeared to mean something else entirely when strung together, depending on the circumstances. A string of pyows warns against a loitering leopard, while a burst of hacks indicates a hovering crowned eagle. But a sentence made up of several pyows followed by a few hacks tells the group to move to safer terrain.[...]

"These calls were not produced randomly and a number of distinct patterns emerged," she said. "The pyow-hack sequence means something like 'let's go' whereas the pyows by themselves have multiple functions and the hacks are generally used as alarm calls."

Boy, St Andrew’s is sure on a roll this month. It’s too early to confirm yet, but the full study is expected to show five pyows followed by three hacks means “Hey, let’s build a cathedral!”