Dr. Robert Cook's Home Page Created by Lauren Kosseff Research concerning the ability of primates to acquire language has profound implications for the understanding of the evolution of the human species. The acquisition of language in primates may shed light on the development of language in early humans. In this sense, research of primate language and primate tool use offer similar insight into our early ancestors.
Many people believe that language is a unique capacity of humans.
Doubters of the ability of primates to use language include renowned M.I.T. linguist Noam Chomsky and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker. Chomsky's Universal Grammar theory clearly defines language as a skill limited to humans, the sole possessors of the cognitive hardware which makes language possible. The question is totally meaningless. Chomsky and his followers theorize that the neural requirements for language developed in humans after the evolutionary split between humans and primates. They base their argument on the ease with which children acquire language in comparison to the difficulty exhibited by primates.