Sue Savage-Rumbaugh is a primatologist most famous for her work with two bonobos, Kanzi and Panbanisha, investigating their apparent use of "Great Ape language" using lexigrams and computer-based keyboards. Until recently based at Georgia State University's Language Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia, she has now moved to the Great Ape Trust of Des Moines, Iowa.
Savage-Rumbaugh's view of language - that it is not confined to humans and is learnable by other ape species - is very controversial within linguistics, psychology and other sciences of the brain and mind. For example, the cognitive scientist Steven Pinker strongly criticised the position of Savage-Rumbaugh and others in his award-winning The Language Instinct, arguing that Kanzi and other non-human primates failed to grasp the fundamentals of language.
Bibliography
- Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S. 1986. Ape Language: From Conditioned Response to Symbol. New York: Columbia University Press. ASIN B000OQ1WIY
- Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S., and Roger Lewin. 1996. Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind. Wiley. ISBN 047115959X
- Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S., Stuart G. Shanker, and Talbot J. Taylor. 2001. Apes, Language, and the Human Mind. Oxford. ISBN 019514712X
External links
- "Apes that write, start fires and play Pac-Man," Savage-Rumbaugh's lecture at TED
- Interview with Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
- Biographical Sketch
- My Hero Project
- Great Ape Trust of Iowa
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
