Chimpanzee gestural exchanges share temporal structure with human language

Gal Badihi; Kirsty E Graham; Charlotte Grund; Alexandra Safryghin; Adrian Soldati; Ed Donnellan; Chie Hashimoto; Joseph G Mine; Alex K Piel; Fiona Stewart; Katie E Slocombe; Claudia Wilke; Simon W Townsend; Klaus Zuberbühler; Chiara Zulberti; Catherine Hobaiter

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.009

Chimpanzee gestural exchanges share temporal structure with human language

Gal Badihi, Kirsty E Graham, Charlotte Grund, Alexandra Safryghin, Adrian Soldati, Ed Donnellan, Chie Hashimoto, Joseph G Mine, Alex K Piel, Fiona Stewart, Katie E Slocombe, Claudia Wilke, Simon W Townsend, Klaus Zuberbühler, Chiara Zulberti, Catherine Hobaiter

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

Abstract

Humans regularly engage in efficient communicative conversations, which serve to socially align individuals 1. In conversations, we take fast-paced turns using a human-universal structure of deploying and receiving signals which shows consistent timing across cultures 2. We report here that chimpanzees also engage in rapid signal-to-signal turn-taking during face-to-face gestural exchanges with a similar average latency between turns to that of human conversation. This correspondence between human and chimpanzee face-to-face communication points to shared underlying rules in communication. These structures could be derived from shared ancestral mechanisms or convergent strategies that enhance coordinated interactions or manage competition for communicative 'space'.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	R673-R674
Journal	Current Biology
Volume	34
Issue number	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.009
Publication status	Published - 22 Jul 2024

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Animals
Pan troglodytes/psychology
Humans
Gestures
Language
Animal Communication
Female
Male

Access to Document

10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.009Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

Badihi, G., Graham, K. E., Grund, C., Safryghin, A., Soldati, A., Donnellan, E., Hashimoto, C., Mine, J. G., Piel, A. K., Stewart, F., Slocombe, K. E., Wilke, C., Townsend, S. W., Zuberbühler, K., Zulberti, C., & Hobaiter, C. (2024). Chimpanzee gestural exchanges share temporal structure with human language. Current Biology, 34(14), R673-R674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.009

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abstract = "Humans regularly engage in efficient communicative conversations, which serve to socially align individuals 1. In conversations, we take fast-paced turns using a human-universal structure of deploying and receiving signals which shows consistent timing across cultures 2. We report here that chimpanzees also engage in rapid signal-to-signal turn-taking during face-to-face gestural exchanges with a similar average latency between turns to that of human conversation. This correspondence between human and chimpanzee face-to-face communication points to shared underlying rules in communication. These structures could be derived from shared ancestral mechanisms or convergent strategies that enhance coordinated interactions or manage competition for communicative 'space'. ",

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Badihi, G, Graham, KE, Grund, C, Safryghin, A, Soldati, A, Donnellan, E, Hashimoto, C, Mine, JG, Piel, AK, Stewart, F, Slocombe, KE , Wilke, C, Townsend, SW, Zuberbühler, K, Zulberti, C & Hobaiter, C 2024, 'Chimpanzee gestural exchanges share temporal structure with human language', Current Biology, vol. 34, no. 14, pp. R673-R674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.009

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AU - Graham, Kirsty E

AU - Grund, Charlotte

AU - Safryghin, Alexandra

AU - Soldati, Adrian

AU - Donnellan, Ed

AU - Hashimoto, Chie

AU - Mine, Joseph G

AU - Piel, Alex K

AU - Stewart, Fiona

AU - Slocombe, Katie E

AU - Wilke, Claudia

AU - Townsend, Simon W

AU - Zuberbühler, Klaus

AU - Zulberti, Chiara

AU - Hobaiter, Catherine

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AB - Humans regularly engage in efficient communicative conversations, which serve to socially align individuals 1. In conversations, we take fast-paced turns using a human-universal structure of deploying and receiving signals which shows consistent timing across cultures 2. We report here that chimpanzees also engage in rapid signal-to-signal turn-taking during face-to-face gestural exchanges with a similar average latency between turns to that of human conversation. This correspondence between human and chimpanzee face-to-face communication points to shared underlying rules in communication. These structures could be derived from shared ancestral mechanisms or convergent strategies that enhance coordinated interactions or manage competition for communicative 'space'.

KW - Animals

KW - Pan troglodytes/psychology

KW - Humans

KW - Gestures

KW - Language

KW - Animal Communication

KW - Female

KW - Male

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DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.009

M3 - Comment/debate

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