The discovery that apes can "talk" using hand gestures may shed more light on language development.
But these are not the only animals with communication skills - in the animal kingdom, it is all about getting your message out there.
And in a bid to understand how one of the most complex communication systems of all - human language - came about, scientists are also studying animals that, like us, use sound to communicate.
Surprisingly, they have discovered our closest relatives, despite their signing prowess, do not have much of a vocal repertoire.
Dr Klaus Zuberbuhler, an expert in primate communication from the University of St Andrews, UK, says: "Most of the non-human primate species only have a fairly limited number of sounds that they can generate."
Combining sounds
But while primate "vocabulary" is restricted, scientists have found many species can attach meanings to some sounds to convey information. Vervet monkeys, for example, have three distinct alarm calls that trigger three distinct response calls
But these are not the only animals with communication skills - in the animal kingdom, it is all about getting your message out there.
And in a bid to understand how one of the most complex communication systems of all - human language - came about, scientists are also studying animals that, like us, use sound to communicate.
Surprisingly, they have discovered our closest relatives, despite their signing prowess, do not have much of a vocal repertoire.
Dr Klaus Zuberbuhler, an expert in primate communication from the University of St Andrews, UK, says: "Most of the non-human primate species only have a fairly limited number of sounds that they can generate."
Combining sounds
But while primate "vocabulary" is restricted, scientists have found many species can attach meanings to some sounds to convey information. Vervet monkeys, for example, have three distinct alarm calls that trigger three distinct response calls
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