Interview with Julia Hanna and Guest Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh

On July 6, 2018 Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh spoke with Julia Hanna and Aya Katz.

Recently, Koko the Gorilla passed away. In response, Geoffrey Pullum wrote a scathing  critique of Koko’s language skills.

https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/lingu…

Julia Hanna and Aya Katz wanted to discuss with Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh the merits of this kind of critique of ape language.

Since her research survived the funding cuts that followed the Clever Hans conference,  Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh is more experienced than any other ape language researcher,  and her breakthroughs have revolutionized the field. Dr. Savage-Rumbaugh has a lifetime of achievements in the field of ape language, working with  both chimpanzees and bonobos.  She is has generously agreed to share her personal experiences, her observations and her scientific conclusions with us in this interview.

Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh

Issues discussed include:

• The ability of non-human primates to keep other primates as pets in the wild as well as in captivity.
• Standards for proving a human has language and how they contrast with standards of proof for non-humans.
• AI and chat boxes, debate engines and what constitutes language.
• What it means to engage in a dialogue.
• The fact that there  has not  been any academic debate as to whether a human displaying some mastery of grammar and phonology, but not the ability to engage in dialogue, can be said to “have language.”
• Herbert Terrace’s teaching techniques for Nim Chimpsky and how they elicited imitation.
• Lana’s dialogues in Yerkish, an invented language.
• Language universals and whether they are based on brain morphology or information theory constraints.
• Irene Pepperberg and Alex the African Grey Parrot.
• Washoe and how language was elicited from her by the Gardners and Roger Fouts.
• The difference between training an ape to use language and allowing the ape to pick up the language in a real world context.
• How Kanzi the bonobo acquired language.
• What is the minimal language use that can be considered having “real” language.
• Whether the meaning of language can be negotiated.
• Whether bilinguals have to acquire language anew with each new language or they just build onto their already existing language structure.
• Whether the language of hunter-gatherers is materially different from that of modern humans living in industrialized society.
• The current state of the educational system where assessments and tests supercede teaching and learning.

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Livestream with Julia Hanna and Guest Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh