Abstract
The chimpanzee's use of American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with humans and with each other has been empirically demonstrated in several reports, but this is the first research to experimentally examine their use of sign language in a nonsocial fashion: private signing. This experiment examined the private signing behavior of five signing chimpanzees, using a remote videotaping technique with no human present. It was found that all five chimpanzees signed to themselves for a total of 368 instances. These instances of private signing were classified into nine different functional categories as has been done in the analysis of private speech and signing in hearing and deaf human children. Similar to humans, a few of the categories accounted for the majority of the instances of private signing. These findings empirically demonstrate a behavior similar to private speech and signing in humans.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
