The Speech of Monkeys

GRAMMAR AND RHETORIC

In the more refined tongues of human speech, we go beyond that code of laws called grammar and amplify them into rhetoric. This branch of the science of speech could find no place among the lower types, as the words are few from which they may select; and so exact and arbitrary is the meaning of each one, and so uniform the relations, that no great variety of expression can be made with such a limited vocabulary. Their eloquence is in their brevity of speech. But while the types of speech used by the lower primates occupy a plane so low in the scale, they are as truly speech as the vocal organs that produce the sounds are truly vocal organs. Life is life, in what form soever it is found. It is not less real in the mollusc than in the man. The same is true of emotion, of thought, of expression, and of speech. Life, emotion, thought, expression, and speech began in embryo, and have developed co-ordinately with all the faculties possessed by man. They are as dependent upon each other as matter is on force, and as inseparable as light from energy. Speech is the physical manifestation of which thought is the ultimate force; it is a spoke in the chariot-wheels of consciousness; it is the body of which thought is the soul.

CHAPTER XX

Life and Consciousness – Consciousness and Emotion – Emotion and Thought – Thought and Expression – Expression and Speech – The Vocal Organs and Sound – Speech in City and Country – Music, Passions, and Taste – Life and Reason.

At the beginning of life there is a consciousness which is not more feeble than is the life with which it is associated; and as that spark of life kindles into a flame, so that spark of consciousness kindles into the "ego," and nowhere can a line be drawn at which it may be said "here consciousness first intercepted life." But as the living form develops organs and members, through the agency of the vital force, whatever that may be, so consciousness develops into desires, emotion and thought. Where shall the line be drawn which separates these attributes? Standing in the centre, we look around and see the horizon touching the plain on every side, and this appears to us as a great circle, the centre of which is always occupied by the observer, and from our standpoint we imagine that everything between us and that horizon must be that distance from the centre; but as we move our point of view from place to place, we move the circle with us, and yet we cannot find the boundary line which marks this circle at any time. In a manner not unlike this we pass from centre to centre of the circles of life, and carry with us the circle, so that at no one point do we ever appear to be much closer to the horizon than we were at any other point.

LIFE AND CONSCIOUSNESS

The classification of genera and species is in a great degree arbitrary; but much less so than are these abstract characters of life and mind. There is nowhere a line at which emotion stops and thought begins; there is nowhere a line at which thought stops and expression begins; there is nowhere a line at which expression stops and speech begins. These blend into each other so that only by comparing the extremes can we discern a difference.

The tenets of metaphysics have heretofore been made to harmonise with the tenets of theology, and hence it is that we have learned to follow the laws laid down by others and not to think for ourselves. It has been as much a heresy to gainsay the dogmas of science as those of religion until recently; and even now the tender-footed doctors guard their theories with a vigilance and jealousy worthy of the angel that guarded the gates of Eden.

CONSCIOUSNESS AND EMOTION

Why should it be thought strange that monkeys talk? They see, hear, love, hate, think, and act by the same means and to the same end as man does. They experience pain and pleasure, to express which they cry and laugh just as man does. If the voluntary sounds they make do not mean something, why may those creatures not as well be dumb? If they do mean something, why may we not determine what that meaning is? It is true that their language is quite meagre and suited only to a low plane of life, but it may be the cytula from which all human speech proceeds, or it may be the inferior fruit borne upon the same great tree of speech. The organs of sensation in these creatures are modelled by the same design as those of man, are adapted to the same uses, and discharge the same functions. Then why should the vocal powers alone be abnormal, except in a degree measured by the difference of place which they occupy in the scale of Nature?

Social intercourse among men has been the chief means of developing human speech, and we find a true index to its condition in the social status of the different races of mankind; and by coming closer home, we find that even in different communities of the same race and within the limits of the same nation, a difference in the accuracy and volume of speech, which is measured by the difference of social culture. We find in rural districts, sparsely peopled and remote from the great centres of population, that speech is less polished and the number of words used greatly reduced in comparison to the same language used in the great cities and more populous communities, where, by reason of contact with each other and the constant use of speech, the vocal powers are much more developed and the command of language very much improved. This same law of development, inversely applied, would lead us in a direct line down through Nature, rank by rank, and we would find it a reliable unit of measure throughout the whole perspective of development. The faculties of music, taste, and reason are measured by a like unit. It is difficult to trace the musical powers of animals, since music does not contribute to the comfort or development of types and only affords pleasure to the intellectual being, and hence is only an accomplishment obeying no rule of normal growth.

THE FACULTY OF REASON

As the use of the natural sense of taste makes possible the choice of nourishment, and all forms of life are thus sustained, the natural taste becomes an important factor of their comfort, and upon this physical basis rests, perhaps, the whole superstructure of ethics. The first idea of ownership is doubtless found in the possession of food; and this right of property is protected by the unwritten laws of incipient life. The faculty of reason, which man has arrogated to himself, is only limited by that dim line which bounds the vital sphere and sheds its rays through all the kingdom of life, from that point where the vital spark first lights the monad, through all the labyrinths of change, to man in the full pride of his divinity, standing upon the threshold of the angelic state. It is not by the exercise of reason that water flows down hill, or that matter obeys the law of gravity; but in the exercise of autonomy, however feeble may be the motive, reason guides the act. The power of this faculty is measured by the development of others, and there is no point between the two extremes at which reason intercepts life. The degree in which all the powers of sense and faculty are developed determines the horizon of the thing which possesses them. The aggregation of powers to act constitutes life; and the aggregation of powers to guide the action constitutes reason.

ALL MAMMALS REASON

Leaving the realm of metaphysics and returning to the order of primates, to which we shall confine our present work, I shall resume by repeating that not only do primates have the faculty of speech, but the whole family of mammals have some form of speech which is in keeping with their conditions of life. In addition to this declaration, I assert that all mammals reason by the same means and to the same ends, but not to the same degree. The reason which controls the conduct of a man is just the same in kind as that which prompts the ape. The latter cannot carry the process to such a great extent, but microsophic pedants have not shown in what respect the methods differ only in degree. That same faculty which guided man to tame the winds of commerce, taught the nautilus to lift its tentacles and embrace the passing breeze. Yet we are told that reason guides the man and instinct guides the nautilus. These are but two names for light; the one is dawn, the other noon, but both are light. I cannot see in what respect the light of a lamp differs from that of a bonfire except in volume; they are the products of the same forces in Nature, acting through the same media, and, becoming causes, produce the same effects. That psychic spark which dimly glows in the animal bursts into a blaze of effulgence in man. The one differs from the other just as a single ray of sunlight differs from the glaring light of noon. EFFECTS OF ONE GREAT CAUSE If man could disabuse his mind of that contempt for things below his plane of life, and hush the siren voice of self-conceit, his better senses might be touched by the eloquence of truth. But while the vassals of his empty pride control his mind, the plainest facts appeal to him in vain, and all the cogency of proof is lost. He is unwilling to forego that vain belief that he is Nature's idol, and that he is a duplicate of Deity. Held in check by the strong reins of theology and tradition, he has not dared to controvert those dogmas which bear the stamp of error on their face; he dares not turn away from the idols of his own conceit and read the rubrics written in the fossil rocks; he dares not take those proofs which none can counterfeit, and whose authority is not gainsaid; he dares not lay aside the yoke which galls the neck of patience, or breathe the air unblest by some mysterious rite performed in fear. By such restraints his ears are closed against those voices which appeal to him from without the temple gates of his belief. In what respect would man be less god-like if it be shown that monkeys talk? To elevate the humbler ranks could not degrade mankind. Whether man is the work of Deity or was evolved by laws of change from primal matter; whether he was made in one specific act or is the last amendment to a million prior types; whether he is the creature of design or accident, the authorship of his being and that of all the forms which roam the broad empire of life must be the same. We are all the effects of one Great Cause, whatever that may be, and that which gave to man the power of speech imparted it to apes; and I can see no reason why Nature should have drawn a line about this faculty, and made the rest a common heritage.

CHAPTER XXI

Certain Marks which Characterise the Sounds of Monkeys as Speech – Sounds accompanied by Gestures – Certain Acts follow certain Sounds – They acquire new Sounds – Their Speech addressed to certain Individuals – Deliberation and Premeditation – They remember and anticipate Results – Thought and Reason.

As a result of my experience with monkeys, I shall here sum up the chief points in which their speech is found to coincide with that of man, and note those features which distinctly characterise the sounds as a form of speech.

SOUNDS OF MONKEYS AS SPEECH

The sounds which monkeys make are voluntary, deliberate, and articulate. They are always addressed to some certain individual with the evident purpose of having them understood. The monkey indicates by his own acts and the manner of delivery that he is conscious of the meaning which he desires to convey through the medium of the sounds. They wait for and expect an answer, and if they do not receive one they frequently repeat the sounds. They usually look at the person addressed, and do not utter these sounds when alone or as a mere pastime, but only at such times as some one is present to hear them, either some person or another monkey. They understand the sounds made by other monkeys of their own kind, and usually respond to them with a like sound. They understand these sounds when imitated by a human being, by a whistle, a phonograph, or other mechanical devices, and this indicates that they are guided by the sounds alone, and not by any signs, gestures, or psychic influence. The same sound is interpreted to mean the same thing, and obeyed in the same manner by different monkeys of the same species. Different sounds are accompanied by different gestures, and produce different results under the same conditions. They make their sounds with the vocal organs, and modulate them with the teeth, tongue and lips, in the same manner that man controls his vocal sounds. The fundamental sounds appear to be pure vowels, but faint traces of consonants are found in many words, especially those of low pitch; and since I have been able to develop certain consonant sounds from a vowel basis, the conclusion forces itself upon me that the consonant elements of human speech are developed from a vowel basis. This opinion is further confirmed by the fact that the sounds produced by the types of the animal kingdom lower than the monkey, appear to be more like the sounds of pipe instruments; and as we rise in the scale, the vocal organs appear to become somewhat more complex, and capable of varying these sounds so as to give the effect of consonants, which very much extends the vocal scope. The present state of the speech of monkeys appears to have been reached by development from a lower form. EACH RACE HAS ITS PECULIAR TONGUE Each race or kind of monkey has its own peculiar tongue, slightly shaded into dialects, and the radical sounds do not appear to have the same meaning in different tongues. The phonetic character of their speech is equally as high as that of children in a like state of mental development; and seems to obey the same laws of phonetic growth, change, and decay as human speech. It appears to me that their speech is capable of communicating the ideas that they are capable of conceiving, and, measured by their mental, moral, and social status, is as well developed as the speech of man, measured by the same units. Strange monkeys of the same species seem to understand each other at sight, whereas two monkeys of different species do not understand each other until they have been together for some time. Each one learns to understand the speech of the other; but, as a rule, he does not try to speak it. When he deigns an answer, it is usually in his own tongue. The more fixed and pronounced the social and gregarious instincts are in any species, the higher the type of its speech. They often utter certain sounds under certain conditions in a whisper, which indicates they are conscious of the effect which will result from the use of speech. Monkeys reason from cause to effect, communicate to others the conclusion deduced therefrom, and act in accordance therewith. If their sounds convey a fixed idea on a given subject from one mind to another, what more does human speech accomplish? If one sound communicates that idea clearly, what more could volumes do? If their sounds discharge all the functions of speech, in what respect are they not speech?

CANNOT THINK WITHOUT WORDS

It is as reasonable to attribute meaning to their sounds as to attribute motives to their actions; and the fact that they ascribe a meaning to the sounds of human speech, would show that they are aware that ideas can be conveyed by sounds. If they can interpret certain sounds of human speech, they can ascribe a meaning to their own. They think, and speech is but the natural exponent of thought; it is the audible expression of thought, and signs are the visible expression of the same; born of the same cause, acts to the same end, and discharges the same functions in the economy of life. To reason is to think methodically; and if it be true that man cannot think without words, the same must be true of monkeys. I do not mean, however, to claim that such is a fact with regard to man thinking; but if such can be shown to be a fact, it will decide the question as to the invention of human speech, as it was necessary for man to think in order to invent; and, by the same rule, he could not think a word which did not exist, and therefore could not have invented it. But I beg to be allowed to stand aside and let Prof. Max Müller and Prof. Whitney, the great giants of comparative philology, settle this question between themselves; and I shall abide by the verdict which may be finally reached.

But theories are useless things when the facts are known; and since I have actually learned from a monkey a certain sound having a certain value and meaning a certain thing, and by repeating that sound to a monkey of the same species have met with uniform results, have understood him, and been understood by him, no argument could be so potent as to cause me to believe that this was accident. I am aware that coincidents occur; but when they become the rule instead of the exception, they are no longer mere coincidents, but are the normal state of things.

THOUGHT AND REASON

In conclusion, I would say that since the sounds uttered by monkeys perform all that speech performs, is made of the same material, produced by the same means, acts to the same ends, and through the same media, it is as near an approach to speech as the mental operations by which it is produced are an approach to thought. If it can be shown that these mental feats are not thought, the same process of reasoning could show that these sounds are not speech. If man derived his other faculties from such an ancestry, may not his speech have been acquired from such a source? If the prototype of man has survived through all the vicissitudes of time, may not his speech likewise have survived? If the races of mankind are the progeny of the Simian stock, may not their languages be the progeny of the Simian tongue?

CHAPTER XXII

The Phonograph as an aid to Science – Vowels the basis of Phonation – Consonants developed from a Vowel basis – Vowels are Compound – The Analysis of Vowels by the Phonograph – Current Theories of Sound – Augmentation of Sounds – Sound Waves and Sound Units – Consonants among the Lower Races.

The application of the phonograph to my special work is really the discovery of a new field of usefulness for that wonderful instrument, which, up to this time, has held the place of a toy more than that of a scientific apparatus of the very highest importance in the study of acoustics and philology. In many ways the use of this machine is so hampered by the avarice of men as to lessen its value as an aid to scientific research, and the Letters Patent under which it is protected preclude all competition and prevent improvements. However, I have been able, even with the poor machines in general use, to discover some of the most important facts upon which are based the laws of phonation. I shall here attempt to give in detail but a few of these experiments, as they are yet crude, and in some cases the deductions therefrom not positively certain. VOICES OF MEN AND MONKEYS From the various records that I have made of the voices of men and monkeys, I am prepared to say that the difference is not so great as is commonly supposed, and that I have converted each one into the other. I would not be understood to say that I have done this with all their sounds, nor that the monkey's sounds were converted into human speech, but the fundamental sounds of each were changed into those of the other. I find that human laughter coincides in nearly every point with that of monkeys. They differ in volume and pitch. By the aid of the phonograph I have been able to analyse the vowel sounds of human speech, which I find to be compound, and some of them contain as many as three distinct syllables of unlike sounds. From the vowel basis I have succeeded in developing certain consonant elements, both initial and final, from which I have deduced the belief that the most complex sounds of consonants are developed from the simple vowel basis, somewhat like chemical compounds result from the union of simple elements. Without describing in detail the results, I shall mention some simple experiments which have given me some very strange phenomena. I dictate to the phonograph a vowel in different keys while the cylinder rotates at a given rate of speed. I then adjust the speed to a certain higher or lower rate and follow the results. By reversing the motion of the cylinder the sounds are reduced to their fundamental state. By this means we eliminate all familiar intonation, and disassociate it from any meaning which will sway the mind, and in this way it can be studied to advantage. THE SOUND WAVES At a given rate of speed I have taken the record of certain sounds made by a monkey, and by reducing the rate of speed from two hundred revolutions per minute to forty, it can be seen that I increased the intervals between what is called the sound waves and magnified the wave itself fivefold, at the same time reducing the pitch in like degree, and by this means I could detect the slightest shades of modulation. I may remind you here that in this process all parts of the sound are magnified alike in all directions, so that instead of obtaining five times the length, as it were, of the sound unit or interval, we obtain the cube of five times the normal length of every unit of the sound. The slightest variation of tension in the vocal chords may be detected, and every part of the sound compared to every other part.

Having thus augmented the quantity of sound, by increasing alike the sound unit and interval, it can be recorded on another cylinder and multiplied again as long as the vibrations can produce sound. From the constant relation of parts and their uniform augmentations under this treatment, it has suggested to my mind the idea that all sounds have definite geometrical outlines, and as we change the magnitude without changing the form of the sound, I shall describe this constancy of form by the term contour.

In a few instances I have been able, by reducing the record of certain sounds from a high pitch to a lower one, to imitate the sound thus reduced with my own vocal organs, then by restoring this record of my voice to its normal speed have obtained almost a perfect imitation of the sound. This effect, however, does not always follow, and in many instances my best imitations have not developed the original at all. But this presents a new problem in acoustics. I must here take occasion to say that the difference of pitch, quality, &c., in sounds does not appear to me to depend alone upon the length of the sound unit, but there seems to be a difference of ultimate form and mode of propagation which have much to do with the contour of the developed sound.

THE SOUND FORCE

By mode of propagation I mean the organs brought into use for the purpose of producing the sound, the apertures through which the sound force passes, and the auxiliaries by which it is moulded into certain shapes. By ultimate form I mean the geometrical shape of the sound force when first converted into sound. That there is such a thing as form has been clearly demonstrated by the phoneidoscope. Prof. John B. De Mott has very kindly aided me in reducing certain sounds to a visible condition. I had conceived an idea before this that if the path described by the energy which produced sound could be made visible, that it would be found to have the form of a convolute spiral, that these spirals recede from the centre or point of propagation in every direction like the radii of a sphere, and that that aspect of sound which we call waves, is simply the point at which these spirals intercept each other, which of necessity would be of uniform distance from the centre, increasing at each successive point throughout the entire sound-sphere or space through which the sound passes in all directions from the centre to infinity. I shall refrain from discussing this point till such a time as I can show at greater length my reasons for this belief. I may add here that I have made records of the human voice with which I have deceived the monkeys, and I have made records of the monkey's voice with which I have deceived the very elect of linguists and musicians. Some critic once remarked to me that the sound made by a monkey was not really laughter, but only a kind of good-natured growling. This may be correct, but the same is true of human laughter, as the one may be converted into the other, and a good-natured growl expresses the emotion which is felt by man as well as monkey.

The phonograph shows that they are identical in sound and form, besides the fact that they are the outburst of the same passion, actuated by the same cause and executed by the same muscles, so that their identity, mentally, physically, and mechanically, is the same.