Posted on 11/03/2015 11:00:04 AM PST by SunkenCiv
If you live in a foreign country, it helps to learn the local lingo.
And this holds just as true for apes as it does for humans, scientists claim.
Chimpanzees that had lived for years in a Dutch safari park adopted a 'Scottish accent' after they moved to a new home in an Edinburgh Zoo alongside nine local chimps, the researchers argue.
The Dutch apes would make high pitched grunts when they saw apples.
The local Edinburgh chimps, by contrast, made a distinctive, lower-pitched grunt.
It's evidence, the scientists from the universities of York, Zurich and St Andrews said, that apes have 'accents' that vary from place to place -- just like us.
It took several years for the expat apes to pick up the local dialect, because the two groups did not mix much when they were first introduced in 2010.
Dr Katie Slocombe, of the University of York said: 'They weren't spending much quality time together and there weren't many friendships. So they didn't have any motivation to change their calling.'
But after three years, the two groups buried their initial distrust of each other and got on famously.
In what is billed as a breakthrough in the study of language, the scientists said the Dutch apes adopted the same style of grunting as that of their hosts.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Maybe their chimp voices get deeper as they get older.?
Meanwhile in Ferguson...
I took AIT at Fort Jackson South Carolina and was always amused to hear crows caw with a southern drawl.
The role that made Louis Prima immortal.
Even chimps know it is best to assimilate with the local population when moving into a new area.
I was the only ‘Yankee’ in my outfit and now people ask me where I’m from. I did’nt know I’d caught it from them.
Did the chimps also learn to like haggis?
>>> ..... because the two groups did not mix much when they were first introduced in 2010.
It is always those at the social bottom rung that reach out to the other group first.
Well, normally, I should say.
Keely Smith.
The monkeys didn’t even have to be trained to find and enjoy the city’s fine selection of brothels.
If you have the time, this is a side-splitting monologue by Scottish-American comedian Craig Ferguson about monkeys immigrating to Scotland, that then veers off into American politics, including trashing Bill Clinton. It is long, but the salient parts are from around 6:55 to 11:55:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frHCwm57ZTA
It’s not language. It’s imitating grunts. These people are desperate to “prove” that chimps are really just hairy people. See the noble savage syndrome.
Everyone knows, “Monkey see Monkey do”
Hey, that’s a universal favorite, doesn’t have to be learned. ;’)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
