SPOKANE, Wash. Washoe, a female chimpanzee believed to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the research institute where she was kept. Washoe, who first ...

Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience. Click here to subscribe today or Login. Washoe, who had a vocabulary of 250 words, dies in Washington at age 72. Washoe is shown ...

Human communication is a complex weave of words and gestures — a mix of vocal and visual signals. "People use vocal and visual communication in a very rich and combined way," says Joseph Mine, a ...

Researchers have found two important building blocks of human speech in wild chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives. A pair of studies finds that chimp communication includes both rhythmic ...

Humans are known to invent private hand gestures. Chimps in the wild do, too, a new study suggests. By Brandon Keim Parents and their children, or people who know each other well, often share some ...

Could chimpanzees hold a key to the evolution of human language? A recent study reveals complex vocal combinations in our closest relatives. Researchers recorded thousands of vocalizations from wild ...

Language has always been the strangest feature of the human race, but an extraordinary discovery in Kibale National Park, ...