Great ape gestures
Language gives us meanings for different signals - words and gestures. We can combine signals in different ways to mean different things. Everyone who knows that language will understand what we are trying to communicate.
Researchers want to find out if some of the great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans) use language in the same way that we do.
Try making the great ape gestures from the Wild Minds Lab below! What might they mean?
You can find videos of these gestures, and many more at:
The Great Ape DictionaryHow would you communicate these without words:
- I am your friend
- I don't like that food
- I want to play
- I am tired