THE SPEECH OF CHIMPANZEES 69 



half closed utters the sound of U," as in the 

 German, and to represent this sound a period is 

 inserted between the two curved lines, thus, (.). 

 When the aperture is contracted still more it pro- 

 duces the sound of **A" broad, and to represent 

 this a colon is placed between the lines, thus, (:). 

 When the aperture is restricted to a still smaller 

 compass the sound of U " short is uttered, and to 

 represent this an apostrophe is placed between the 

 lines, thus, ('). When the vocal cords are brought 

 to a greater tension, and the aperture is almost 

 closed, it utters the short sound of E." To 

 represent this sound a hyphen is inserted between 

 the lines, thus, (-). These are the main vowel sounds 

 of all animals, although in man they are sometimes 

 modified, and to them is added the sound of E " 

 long, while in the ape the long sounds of O " and 

 *' E " are rarely, if ever, heard. 



From this vowel basis all other sounds may be 

 deduced, and by the use of diacritics to indicate the 

 movement of the organs of speech, the consonant 

 elements may be easily expressed. 



A single parenthesis, with the concave side to the 

 left, will represent the initial sound of " W," which 

 seldom, but sometimes, occurs in the sounds of 

 animals. When used, it is placed on the left side of 

 the leading symbol, thus, )(), and this symbol, as it 

 stands, should be pronounced nearly like U-O," 

 but with the first letter suppressed, and almost in- 

 audible. Turning the concave side to the right, and 

 placing it on the right side of the symbol, it repre- 



