What are the fundamental principles of human language, and which similarities exist to communication systems of other primates? Researchers around the world have been exploring these questions for many decades. A new study of the Osnabrück University now provides further insights: The research team examined the communication of common marmosets in northeastern Brazil, a primate species that, like humans, raises their offspring cooperatively. They found that these monkeys exhibit several fundamental characteristics of human conversational organization. The findings have now been published in the journal “Scientific Reports.”
“Our analyses showed that common marmosets do not exchange vocalizations randomly, but (#SP deleted word) communicate according to clear rules,” says lead author Dr. Filipa Abreu of the Osnabrück University and the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil. The study was led by Prof. Dr. Simone Pika of the Institute of Cognitive Science at Osnabrück University and conducted in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Nicola Schiel of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco and Prof. Dr. Antonio Souto of the Federal University of Pernambuco, in Recife, Brazil.
For the study, the team studied the behaviour of four neighboring groups and recorded 1,245 vocal interactions between the animals. They found that the common marmosets frequently engaged in longer “conversations” in which the animals took turns and often used the same call type as their interaction partner. Temporal gapes between individual vocalizations were usually only around 1.3 seconds . In addition, the calls and communication patterns used differed depending on whether the animals were communicating with members of their own group or with neighboring groups.
“The results suggest that these cooperative monkeys flexibly adapt their vocalizations to their interaction partners and group affiliation,” said Simone Pika. Thus, communicative interactions of common marmosets exhibit characteristics that have previously been associated primarily with human conversations.
While earlier studies have often focused primarily on individual call types or groups of animals living in captivity, the current study examined the entire vocal repertoire of common marmosets in their natural social interactions. This approach provides comprehensive insights into their communicative abilities and offers new avenues for research into the evolution of language.
Further information for the media:
Prof. Dr. Simone Pika, Osnabrück University
Institute for Cognitive Science
