Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind is an incredible account of an exceptional bonobo who at the age of 14 understood spoken English, Savage-Rumbaugh the lead scientist, applied the philosophical approaches in the study of ape-language which furthered the understanding of speech regarding the human species. In this book, Kanzi has shown that symbolic language is not only unique to human species but also species of the common ancestry during evolution. His ability to recognize speech shows how humans are similar and linked to this ape species with just little distinction as human have gone further ahead into verbal communication. This adaptation of the Kanzi, the bonobo depicts similarity and differences in the language ability which in turn helps in understanding of speech evolution.
Kanzi, the bonobo, acquired his language skills naturalistically. Growing up, Kanzi accompanied his adoptive mother Matata to learning sessions where she was taught language through keyboard lexigrams but was less participative in these sessions himself. He was an observer rather than the trainee. At two and a half years Kanzi at times when Matata was not in attendance, he was observed using lexigrams like a pro, and this pushed to the conclusion that Kanzi’s language skills were extraordinary. He mastered the basic words researchers had struggled to teach Matata in a short time. Apart from learning through a keyboard with lexigrams, Kanzi also learned through American Sign Language by watching gorilla videos in which the gorilla communicated with the keeper through signs.
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From the book, humans can understand the process of evolution by analyzing the language capabilities of the bonobos. When the bonobo was coached alongside a human child, the chimpanzee was able to compete favorably indicating both the apes and the humans have similar abilities to learn language skills when they are young. Although some symbols were primarily taught to Kanzi at Georgia State University where he grew up, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh says he can decode some of the words that are not included in the symbols keyboard. Although the bonobos cannot communicate vocally, they are some forms of utterances which accompany gestures alongside symbols used to communicate this shows that human have natural capabilities of language, it is just that the two evolved differently where human evolved to a more complex language form which their anatomy adapted to spoken language.
Languages in humans, unlike ape, have developed linguistic reference at the inception of language at an earlier age in their lives. Human children begin by comprehending language, unlike apes who begin by understanding the relations between symbols and objects. Apes have not fully mastered sign language but instead learn some gestures and utterances as in the case of Kanzi at the age of six he had learnt vocabulary of close to 200 symbols. Apes, unlike humans, also cannot communicate vocally. Apes cannot produce reasonable and decodable voice notes but rather communicate through keyboards or gestures. However, apes can learn to differentiate speech sounds just like humans. Kanzi and a human child were able to comprehend simple sentences. Furthermore, Kanzi was able to grasp what Matata could not, indicating that young bonobos, just like human children, learn languages more easily than adults. Teaching the bonobos seemed hard with Matata but was much easier with Kanzi.
“ The ape at the brink of the human mind” (title from the cover page) I chose this quotation because it describes Kanzi. From the line, one can tell that Kanzi is similar to humans. Throughout the book, the author points out all the instances where Kanzi has capabilities of a human being, for example, being able to communicate and learning to light fire, and learning to make sharp blades from stones.
Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of Human Mind provides interesting descriptions of the similarities between apes and humans. The content is organized so that the reader can understand the evolution of language. Kanzi was able to master his language capabilities through keyboards marked geometric symbols and could expand on this knowledge to understand spoken English. Apart from language, this book also shows the relationship between human activities and the ancient ape's activities. When Kanzi is given stones and instructions, he manages to make stone blades that are sharp enough to cut through animal skins. The book also juxtaposes the learning capabilities of adults as compared to children to illustrate how earlier exposure to language in human give them a better chance of learning it. Kanzi was able to learn better than his mother Matata.
Reference
SuevSavage-Rumbaugh, Roger Lewin. (1996). Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
