Apes don’t have language, but they do gesture.
They’ve even been observed using a special form of gesture with their young. Could it be primate baby-talk? What can we learn from our nearest relatives about how our language started?
Linguist Daniel Midgley swings in for this episode of Talk the Talk.
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We already knew that gorillas use gestures
http://phys.org/news153413952.html
but this new study sees them making simplified and repetitive signs to their young.
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-lowland-gorillas-gesture-baby-young.html
Original article (paywall):
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.22039/abstract
Here’s some info about Child-Directed Speech in humans:
http://www.speech-therapy-information-and-resources.com/child-directed-speech.html
Lip-smacking
http://scienceblog.com/55063/monkey-lip-smacks-provide-new-insights-into-the-evolution-of-human-speech/
