Listen to Dutch chimpanzees speaking in Scottish accent: 'first evidence' of animals modifying language (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by Theresa , Friday, February 06, 2015, 17:36

A study found that the chimps, moved from Scandinavia to Edinburgh Zoo, altered the grunt they used for the word "apples" to sound more like their counterparts.

The Dutch chimps initially used a squeaky high-pitched grunt, with the Scottish chimps using a lower one. Within three years, the Dutch group had dropped down to lower tones.

The research, carried out by the Universities of Zurich and York, suggested that chimps use grunts in a very similar way to how humans use words, which helps explain how human language evolved.

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