Primate Use of Sign Language
Sign language and computer keyboards are used in primate language research because non-human primate vocal cords cannot close fully, and they have less control of the tongue and lower jaw. However, primates do possess the manual dexterity required for keyboard operation.
Many researchers into animal language have presented the results of the studies described below as evidence of linguistic abilities in animals. Many of their conclusions have been disputed.
It is now generally accepted that Apes can learn to sign and are able to communicate with humans. However, it is disputed as to whether they can form syntax to manipulate such signs.
Read more about this topic: Great Ape Language
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A sign of rigour: so I say to thee,
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—John Donne (1572–1631)
“Syntax is the study of the principles and processes by which sentences are constructed in particular languages. Syntactic investigation of a given language has as its goal the construction of a grammar that can be viewed as a device of some sort for producing the sentences of the language under analysis.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)