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216 PILLAR 2 Development and LearningAP Photo/Gary StewartLearning Language? Washoe could communicate with humans (and other chimpanzees) using a vocabulary of nearly 200 signs.THINKING LIKE A PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENTIST (continued)Maybe Gua didn%u2019t learn to talk because chimpanzees%u2019 vocal structure differs from that in humans. To get around this problem, later researchers, most notably Allen and Beatrix Gardner, launched a project to teach chimpanzees American Sign Language (ASL), which is used by deaf humans to communicate.12 The Gardners%u2019 first student was the now-famous Washoe, who soon acquired a vocabulary of 132 signs. Roger Fouts, who with Deborah Fouts would later become the leading spokesperson for chimpanzees, was one of the Gardners%u2019 assistants in the late 1960s, charged with making baby Washoe%u2019s life %u201cas stimulating and linguistic%u201d as possible. In 1970, Washoe %u2014 and the research program that grew up around her%u2014became Roger Fouts%u2019s primary responsibility. He and Deborah Fouts set up a program in which many of the people caring for Washoe and other chimpanzees were themselves deaf and used ASL as their first language. Washoe continued to thrive, and by the late 1990s, she had increased her vocabulary to almost 200 signs, where it remained until her death in 2007.13 She sometimes used amazing creativity to combine these signs to describe items. And perhaps most amazing of all, Washoe taught signs to her adopted son, Loulis, who picked up 55 signs while under her care. Here is a sample conversation between Loulis and his chimpanzee playmate, Dar:14Loulis asked for a water balloon from Dar by holding his hand toward the balloon and signing, %u201cHurry, hurry.%u201d1. When Dar moved away, Loulis signed, %u201cWant.%u201d2. When Dar moved away again, Loulis signed, %u201cHurry, hurry. Gimme.%u201d3. Dar gave the balloon to Loulis, and the two chimpanzees separated.Nobody doubts that these accomplishments are remarkable. But do they constitute language? The answer depends on how you define language. Even with a loose definition, psychologists are skeptical that any chimpanzee%u2019s communication skills can come close to matching those of even a very young human. One trained chimpanzee used 16 signs to ask for an orange: %u201cGive orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you.%u201d15The idea comes across, but hardly with the type of efficiency one would hope for. A great deal of effort produces limited results with chimpanzees, whereas humans master language almost effortlessly. As amazing as these communicating chimpanzees are, their very limitations help illustrate how astounding human language ability is.THINK ABOUT. . . Psychological Science1. What method did Winthrop and Luella Kellogg use to determine whether the chimpanzee Gua was capable of learning language?2. Why do you suppose Allen and Beatrix Gardner chose to teach their chimpanzees ASL instead of spoken English?3. How do you think true language differs from communication?%u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.