Extensive compositionality in the vocal system of bonobos

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Berthet, M.; Surbeck, M.; Townsend, S. W.
• 署名单位: University of Zurich; University of Zurich; University of Zurich; Harvard University; Max Planck Society; University of Warwick
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10523
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adv1170
• 发表日期: 2025-04-04
• 页码: 104-108
• 关键词: pan-paniscus; call combinations; wild chimpanzees; COMMUNICATION; reliability; repertoire

摘要

Compositionality, the capacity to combine meaningful elements into larger meaningful structures, is a hallmark of human language. Compositionality can be trivial (the combination's meaning is the sum of the meaning of its parts) or nontrivial (one element modifies the meaning of the other element). Recent studies have suggested that animals lack nontrivial compositionality, representing a key discontinuity with language. In this work, using methods borrowed from distributional semantics, we investigated compositionality in wild bonobos and found that not only does each call type of their repertoire occur in at least one compositional combination, but three of these compositional combinations also exhibit nontrivial compositionality. These findings suggest that compositionality is a prominent feature of the bonobo vocal system, revealing stronger parallels with human language than previously thought.