Question: Is it true humans are trying to teach chimps sign language, and if so, how would this help us?

Kevin Mahon answered on 15 Jun 2012:

This is partially true – researchers have taught chimps to use signs but it isn’t language exactly (they can convey emotions, recall events but there isn’t grammar or much sentence structure etc).

I think it is useful as it gives us an insight into what the animals may be feeling and makes it easier to interpret their behaviour! It should be stressed that the signing is quite basic/primitive and not a sophisricated means of having a long converstation!