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Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2025

Author Spotlight: Investigating Vocal Information Representation in Small Primates and Its Alteration by Psychiatric Disorders Using Noninvasive EEG
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Author Spotlight: Investigating Vocal Information Representation in Small Primates and Its Alteration by Psychiatric Disorders Using Noninvasive EEG

Published on: July 26, 2024

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Extensive compositionality in the vocal system of bonobos.

M Berthet1,2,3, M Surbeck4,5, S W Townsend1,2,3,6

  • 1Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

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Summary

Bonobos exhibit nontrivial compositionality in their vocalizations, combining calls meaningfully like humans. This finding challenges previous assumptions about animal communication and language evolution.

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Area of Science:

  • Primate communication
  • Animal behavior
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Compositionality, the ability to combine meaningful units, is central to human language.
  • Previous research indicated animals may lack nontrivial compositionality, a key language feature.
  • This study explores bonobo vocalizations for evidence of compositionality.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence and nature of compositionality in wild bonobo vocal communication.
  • To determine if bonobos exhibit nontrivial compositionality, challenging existing theories.
  • To reveal parallels between bonobo vocal systems and human language.

Main Methods:

  • Employed methods from distributional semantics to analyze bonobo call combinations.
  • Examined the vocal repertoire of wild bonobos.
  • Assessed whether call combinations were trivial or nontrivial.

Main Results:

  • Every bonobo call type was found in at least one compositional combination.
  • Three specific compositional combinations demonstrated nontrivial compositionality.
  • Bonobo vocalizations show significant evidence of compositionality.

Conclusions:

  • Compositionality is a prominent feature of the bonobo vocal system.
  • Bonobos display stronger parallels with human language than previously understood.
  • Findings suggest nontrivial compositionality may not be unique to human language.