Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
188
The Speech of Monkeys
·
R. L. Garner
56
[Sidenote:
SIGN
COMMON
TO
MAN
AND
SIMIAN]
A
little
more
than
a
year
ago,
my
attention
was
called
to
this
sign
by
the
children
who
own
the
little
Capuchin,
Jack,
in
Charlestown.
A
number
of
times
they
said
to
him
in
my
presence,
"Jack,
you
must
go
to
bed."
At
which
he
would
shake
his
little
black
head,
as
if
he
really
did
not
wish
to
comply.
I
watched
this
with
great
interest;
but
it
was
my
belief
at
that
time
that
he
had
been
trained
to
do
this,
and
that
the
sign
did
not
really
signify
to
him
anything
at
all.
The
children,
however,
declared
to
me
that
he
really
meant
"no."
To
believe
that
he
meant
this
would
presuppose
that
he
understood
the
combination
of
words
quoted;
and
this
was
beyond
the
limits
of
my
faith,
although
it
was
certain
that
a
repetition
of
the
sentence
always
elicited
from
him
the
same
sign,
which
indicated
that
he
recognised
it
as
the
same
sentence
or
combination
of
sounds,
and
gave
it
the
same
reply
each
time.
I
concluded
that
he
had
been
taught
to
associate
this
sign
with
some
sound--for
instance,
"bed"
or
"go";
but
since
that
time
I
have
found
the
sign
to
be
almost
universal
with
this
species
of
monkey,
and
they
use
the
sign
to
express
negation.
I
have
seen
them
use
the
sign
in
response
to
certain
things
which
were
wholly
new
to
them,
but
where
the
idea
was
clear
to
them
and
they
desired
to
express
dissent.
The
fact
that
this
sign
is
common
to
both
man
and
Simian,
I
regard
as
more
than
a
mere
coincidence;
and
I
believe
that
in
this
sign
I
have
found
the
psycho-physical
basis
of
expression.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
