Non-Human Primate Communication May Follow Grammar Patterns Once Thought Uniquely Human

The vocalisations of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), the olive colobus monkey (Procolobus verus) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus) all appear to contain patterns that resemble complex elements of human grammar. Researchers used mathematical models to analyse clips of these primate communications and identified some elements similar to supra-regular recursion — a grammatical structure that requires a listener to process a word or statement nested within a wider sentence without context. This level of complexity was thought to be unique to humans.