Re: Fwd: Baboons Suggest Language Origins

From: Lawrence H. de Bivort (debivort@umd5.umd.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 01 2000 - 04:41:03 GMT

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Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 23:41:03 -0500 (EST)
From: "Lawrence H. de Bivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu>
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Subject: Re: Fwd: Baboons Suggest Language Origins
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    >Feb. 28, 2000 -- Researchers have detected a message in the calls of
    >baboons lost in the wild: primates may lack a key psychological mechanism
    >necessary for language.

    SNIP

    >The mother baboons were concerned, he says, but couldn't comprehend that
    >answers might influence their infants by calming them or informing them
    >of
    >their mothers' whereabouts.

    No other interpretations possible? For example, might it not be the case
    that mother baboons coming to the rescue of their infants remain silent to
    avoid warning a potential aggressor of their approach? Guerilla fighter
    training would favor the mother baboon's tactics over that of the
    researcher who concluded the baboon simply 'didn't comprehend' the
    influence their own calls might have, and would have the mother signal her
    coming to the rescue.

    Lawrence de Bivort

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