New research suggests wild chimpanzees have developed a far more nuanced communication system than previously realized, using several mechanisms that combine their vocalizations to create new meaning.

Researchers have found two important building blocks of human speech in wild chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives. A pair of studies finds that chimp communication includes both rhythmic ...

Wild chimpanzees alter the meaning of single calls when embedding them into diverse call combinations, mirroring linguistic operations in human language. Human language, however, allows an infinite ...

Chimpanzees Asanti and Akuna vocalizing. A new study shows that wild chimpanzees use a variety of call combinations to expand messaging. Credit: Liran Samuni, Taï Chimpanzee Project Chimpanzees Asanti ...

Humans are known to invent private hand gestures. Chimps in the wild do, too, a new study suggests. By Brandon Keim Parents and their children, or people who know each other well, often share some ...

The way that human adults talk to young children is unique among primates, a new study found. That might be one secret to our species’ grasp of language. By Carl Zimmer If you’ve ever cooed at a baby, ...