Boom! Hok! A Monkey Language Is Deciphered

December 8, 2009 | Source: New York Times

The Campbell’s monkey of Tai Forest, Ivory Coast appear to exhibit the most complex example of “proto-syntax” in animal communication known to date, say researchers writing in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The monkeys can both vary the meaning of specific calls by adding suffixes and combine calls to generate a different meaning.