Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The syntax and meaning of wild gibbon songs

Clarke, E.; Reichard, U.H.; Zuberbühler, K.

The syntax and meaning of wild gibbon songs Thumbnail


Authors

E. Clarke

U.H. Reichard

K. Zuberbühler



Abstract

Spoken language is a result of the human capacity to assemble simple vocal units into more complex utterances, the basic carriers of semantic information. Not much is known about the evolutionary origins of this behaviour. The vocal abilities of non-human primates are relatively unimpressive in comparison, with gibbon songs being a rare exception. These apes assemble a repertoire of call notes into elaborate songs, which function to repel conspecific intruders, advertise pair bonds, and attract mates. We conducted a series of field experiments with white-handed gibbons at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, which showed that this ape species uses songs also to protect themselves against predation. We compared the acoustic structure of predatory-induced songs with regular songs that were given as part of their daily routine. Predator-induced songs were identical to normal songs in the call note repertoire, but we found consistent differences in how the notes were assembled into songs. The responses of out-of-sight receivers demonstrated that these syntactic differences were meaningful to conspecifics. Our study provides the first evidence of referential signalling in a free-ranging ape species, based on a communication system that utilises combinatorial rules.

Citation

Clarke, E., Reichard, U., & Zuberbühler, K. (2006). The syntax and meaning of wild gibbon songs. PLoS ONE, 1(1), Article e73. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000073

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Dec 1, 2006
Deposit Date Oct 11, 2013
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal PLoS ONE
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 1
Issue 1
Article Number e73
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000073
Keywords Primates, Leopards, Acoustics, Monkeys, Speech signal processing, Animal signaling and communication, Apes, Predation.

Files

Published Journal Article (598 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
© 2006 Clarke et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.





You might also like



Downloadable Citations