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According to wiki :)
"Washoe (c. September 1965[1] – October 30,
2007) was a (captive) chimpanzee who was the first non-human to learn to
communicate using American Sign Language, as part of a research
experiment on animal language acquisition. Washoe learned approximately
350 words of ASL. She also taught her adopted daughter Loulis some
American Sign
Language"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washoe_%28chimpanzee%29
In the wild
I doubt that a chimp taught ASL would spread the skill throughout the
troop. I doubt that if a whole wild troop were taught ASL that it would
survive down the chimp generations. There is no advantage to a chimp in
learning ASL unless it is linked to a system of rewards
However... We do know that
chimps discover & pass on life skills in the wild - including tool
use that varies from troop to troop. If we taught a chimp a novel
technique that increased food availability in the wild... I bet the
whole troop would catch on quickly & that new skill would be
preserved down the generations
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Off topic:
Here is a quote from the above wiki
link that I find very touching
One of Washoe's caretakers, was pregnant
and missed work for many weeks after she miscarried. Roger Fouts
recounts the following situation:
"People who should be there for her
and aren't are often given the cold shoulder--her way of informing them
that she's miffed at them. Washoe greeted Kat [the caretaker] in just
this way when she finally returned to work with the chimps. Kat made her
apologies to Washoe, then decided to tell her the truth, signing "MY
BABY DIED". Washoe stared at her, then looked down. She finally peered
into Kat's eyes again and carefully signed "CRY", touching her cheek and
drawing her finger down the path a tear would make on a human.
(Chimpanzees don't shed tears)
Kat later remarked that that one sign
told her more about Washoe and her mental capabilities than all her
longer, grammatically perfect sentences"
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Michael
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