Yerkish

Yerkish is a constructed language with 256 abstract symbols for nouns and verbs . Researchers use these symbols to try to establish linguistic contact with primates. The Yerkish keyboard is connected to a computer that stores every utterance the animal makes. Primatologists Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and Duane Rumbaugh studied how the monkeys Lana, Washoe and Sarah communicate with people using the keyboard. The Yerkish sign language was developed by the psychology professor Ernst von Glasersfeld (1917-2010) in 1970 together with Pedro Pisani at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta for experiments with the chimpanzee Lana.

The bonobo (dwarf chimpanzee) Kanzi learned the use of Yerkish during the first 2 years of his life by observing the training of his foster mother Matata. Due to his early contact with the language, Kanzi has so far had the best understanding of sign language.

Web links

• The Yerkish Language for Non-Human Primates ( Memento from May 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Ernst von Glasersfeld, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia (English, PDF, 2 MiB)