Language was long understood as a human-only affair. New research suggests that isn’t so. Credit...Illustration by Denise Nestor Supported by By Sonia Shah Can a mouse learn a new song? Such a ...

At the turn of the 20th century, a famous horse named Clever Hans toured Germany. The horse stunned crowds as his trainer demonstrated the animal's alleged ability to understand German, tell time and ...

In 2025 we will see AI and machine learning leveraged to make real progress in understanding animal communication, answering a question that has puzzled humans as long as we have existed: “What are ...

We’ve been wondering what goes on inside the minds of animals since antiquity. Dr. Doolittle’s talent was far from novel when it was first published in 1920; Greco-Roman literature is lousy with ...

Wild chimpanzees alter the meaning of single calls when embedding them into diverse call combinations, mirroring linguistic operations in human language. Human language, however, allows an infinite ...

Language is a defining characteristic of humanity, yet its origins remain a topic of intense debate. Some researchers argue that language emerged in our lineage around 100,000 years ago, while others ...

Imagine listening to chirping birds and being able to pull out your phone and decipher what they're saying to each other. Then picture yourself going on a safari in Africa and following a conversation ...

Sophie Cohen-Bodénès knew she was onto something when she saw the cuttlefish extend two arms upwards while twisting its six others together. It was making what she calls the “up” sign – and, ...

Humans' unique language capacity was present at least 135,000 years ago, according to a survey of genomic evidence. As such, language might have entered social use 100,000 years ago. It is a deep ...