74 



GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES 



by extending one arm towards the person or thing 

 desired. It sometimes serves the purpose of beckon- 

 ing ; but in this act there is no motion of the hand. 

 These signs are similar in character to those used 

 by men, and appear to be innate. 



It must not be inferred from this small list of 

 words and signs that there is nothing left to learn. 

 So far we have only taken the first step as it were 

 in the study of the speech of apes. As we grow 

 more familiar with their sounds, it becomes less 

 difficult to understand them. I have not been dis- 

 appointed in what I hoped to learn from these 

 animals. The total number of words in the speech 

 of all simians that I have learned up to this time is 

 about one hundred. I have given no attention of 

 late to the small monkeys, but I shall resume the 

 task at some future day, as it forms a part of the 

 work I have assumed, but all of that is described in 

 a work already published. 



In conclusion, I will say that the sounds uttered 

 by these apes have all the characteristics of true 

 speech. The speaker is conscious of the meaning 

 of the sound used, and uses it with the definite pur- 

 pose of conveying an idea to the one addressed ; the 

 sound is always addressed to some definite one, and 

 the speaker usually looks at the one addressed ; he 

 regulates the pitch and volume of the voice to suit 

 the condition under which it is used ; he knows the 

 value of sound as a medium of thought. These 

 and many other facts show that they are truly 

 speech. 



