The Meanings of Chimpanzee Gestures
The Meanings of Chimpanzee Gestures
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.066
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发表时间：
2014-07-21
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Byrne, Richard W.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hobaiter, Catherine;Byrne, Richard W.
黑猩猩对手势的使用在第一次详细的实地研究中得到了描述[1,2]，并且对特定手势的自然使用进行了分析[3-5]。然而，对圈养群体的系统研究揭示了令人信服的证据，即黑猩猩使用手势以灵活、目标导向和有意的方式进行交流[6-8]，这在所有圈养的类人猿[9-17]和野生黑猩猩[18,19]中都得到了复制。所有这些方面都与人类语言重叠，但在大多数动物的交流系统中显然是缺失的，包括类人猿的发声，在这方面的广泛研究已经产生了微弱的证据，证明有意使用（[20]，但见[21,22]）。关于类人猿手势的发现激发了人们对类人猿与人类语言成分可能存在共同祖先起源的兴趣[23-25]。特别有趣的是，考虑到语言起源的相关性，黑猩猩的手势意图是什么意思的问题；令人惊讶的是，有意信号用来实现什么的问题在很大程度上被忽视了。在这里，我们提出了第一个系统的研究意义在黑猩猩的手势交流。每个手势都有特定的含义，独立于信号者的身份，我们提供了部分“词典”；灵活性主要体现在使用多种手势来表达特定的意思。我们区分了一系列的含义，从与几个手势相关的简单请求到与更广泛的手势类型相关的更广泛的社会协商。在重要的社交谈判中，使用一系列的替代方案可能会增加沟通的微妙性。
Chimpanzees' use of gesture was described in the first detailed field study [1, 2], and natural use of specific gestures has been analyzed [3-5]. However, it was systematic work with captive groups that revealed compelling evidence that chimpanzees use gestures to communicate in a flexible, goal-oriented, and intentional fashion [6-8], replicated across all great ape species in captivity [9-17] and chimpanzees in the wild [18, 19]. All of these aspects overlap with human language but are apparently missing in most animal communication systems, including great ape vocalization, where extensive study has produced meager evidence for intentional use ([20], but see [21, 22]). Findings about great ape gestures spurred interest in a potential common ancestral origin with components of human language [23-25]. Of particular interest, given the relevance to language origins, is the question of what chimpanzees intend their gestures to mean; surprisingly, the matter of what the intentional signals are used to achieve has been largely neglected. Here we present the first systematic study of meaning in chimpanzee gestural communication. Individual gestures have specific meanings, independently of signaler identity, and we provide a partial "lexicon"; flexibility is predominantly in the use of multiple gestures for a specific meaning. We distinguish a range of meanings, from simple requests associated with just a few gestures to broader social negotiation associated with a wider range of gesture types. Access to a range of alternatives may increase communicative subtlety during important social negotiations.