Several books chronicle attempts, most of them during the last 40 years, to teach animals to communicate with people in a human-designed language. These books have typically treated only one or two species, or even one or a few research projects. We have provided a more encompassing view of this field. We also want to reinforce what other authors, for example Jane Goodall, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Penny Patterson, Birute Galdikas, and Roger and Deborah Fouts, so passionately convey about our responsibility for our closest animal kin.

This book surveys what was known, or believed about animal language throughout history and prehistory, and summarizes current knowledge and the controversy around it. The authors identify and attempt to settle most of the problems in interpreting the animal behaviours that have been observed in studies of animal language ability.

Inhalt

1. A Chronology of Events in Animal Language Research.- 2. An Overview of Animal Language.- 3. Language Research with Nonhuman Animals: Methods and Problems.- 4. Early Reports about Language in Animals.- 5. Washoe, the First Signing Chimpanzee.- 6. Signs in Oklahoma and Ellensburg.- 7. Koko Fine Sign Gorilla.- 8. Chimpanzees can Write with Plastic Symbols.- 9. Lana Learns Lexigrams.- 10. A Cultural Approach to Language Learning.- 11. Chantek the Beautiful.- 12. Ai Project: A Retrospective of 25 Years Research on Chimpanzee Intelligence.- 13. Language Studies with Bottlenosed Dolphins.- 14. Alex: One Small Parrot.- 15. Evaluations of the Ape Language Research.- 16. Where do We Stand and Where Are We Going?.- Cast of Characters.- Human Adults.- Children.- Chimpanzees.- Bonobos.- Gorillas.- Orangutans.- Dolphins.- Horses.- Dogs.- Parrots.- Sea Lions.