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Talk to the hand
A study of chimpanzees and bonobos brings us closer to understanding how language may have begun to develop: gestures, apparently, came first. Half of the gestures Dr Pollick and Dr de Waal regularly observed seemed to have completely different meanings in the two species. Moreover, even within a single group, the meaning of a gesture could vary with context, almost as tone of voice can vary the meaning of a human's spoken word. If a chimpanzee is involved in a fight, for example, "reach out side" means he is requesting support. If he makes this gesture to an acquaintance who is eating, he is asking to share the meal. (SUZANNE)
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