Jensvold Mary Lee, Dombrausky Kailie, Collins Emily
Friends of Washoe, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA.
Fauna Foundation, Carignan, QC J3L7M1, Canada.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Nov 11;13(22):3486. doi: 10.3390/ani13223486.
Adult chimpanzees Tatu and Loulis lived at the Fauna Foundation sanctuary. They had acquired signs of American Sign Language (ASL) while young and continued to use them as adults. Caregivers with proficiency in ASL maintained daily sign language records during interactions and passive observation. Sign checklists were records of daily vocabulary use. Sign logs were records of signed interactions with caregivers and other chimpanzees. This study reports sign use from eight years of these records. Tatu and Loulis used a majority of their base vocabularies consistently over the study period. They used signs that they had acquired decades earlier and new signs. Their utterances served a variety of communicative functions, including responses, conversational devices, requests, and descriptions. They signed to caregivers, other chimpanzees, including those who did not use signs, and to themselves privately. This indicates the importance of a stimulating and interactive environment to understand the scope of ape communication and, in particular, their use of sign language.
成年黑猩猩塔图（Tatu）和路易斯（Loulis）生活在动物基金会保护区。它们幼年时就学会了美国手语（ASL）的手势，并在成年后继续使用。熟练掌握美国手语的照顾者在互动和被动观察期间记录每日的手语情况。手语清单记录了每日词汇的使用情况。手语日志记录了与照顾者及其他黑猩猩的手语互动。本研究报告了这八年记录中的手语使用情况。在整个研究期间，塔图和路易斯始终如一地使用了大部分基本词汇。它们使用了几十年前学到的手势以及新的手势。它们的表达具有多种交际功能，包括回应、对话手段、请求和描述。它们会向照顾者、其他黑猩猩（包括那些不会使用手语的黑猩猩）以及私下里对自己打手语。这表明了一个刺激且互动的环境对于理解猿类交流范围，尤其是它们对手语的使用的重要性。
