Research conducted on bonobos living in the Kokolopori Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has revealed that these primates combine vocalizations to form meaningful expressions. The study, carried out by scientists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland and Harvard University, analyzed the vocal sounds produced by bonobos to better understand how they communicate.
In the first phase of the research, scientists identified the meaning of each vocalization used by bonobos. This allowed them to create a sort of "bonobo dictionary."
Lead researcher Mélissa Berthet stated, "It was the first time we could decipher the entire vocal repertoire of an animal species. This is a crucial step toward understanding interspecies communication."
In the second phase, the researchers analyzed how bonobos combined these vocalizations. Using methods from linguistics, they found that the combinations weren't random but followed specific patterns.
Professor Simon Townsend from the University of Zurich noted that some combinations were structurally complex, similar to how in human language one phrase can modify another. "This suggests that this aspect of language may not be exclusive to humans," he said.
Harvard University's Professor Martin Surbeck, another researcher on the team, pointed out that humans and bonobos share a common ancestor from around 7 to 13 million years ago. "This means that the structural elements of language may have evolved long before humans appeared," he explained.
Experts believe this ability existed in bonobos long before humans and that human language may have inherited this evolutionary trait.
The study also deepens our understanding of the communication abilities of non-human animals. Scientists believe that the bonobos' capacity to generate complex meanings could represent one of the foundational elements in the evolution of language.
The results suggest that animals may possess far more advanced communication systems than previously thought.
