gibbons

[Janina Fenigsen]

I would like to thank all of you who have contributed their thoughts,
references, and other input to my gibbon query.

I should also mention (confess?) that my use of "discourse" in the
message reflected more the degree of sleep deprivation at the time of
writing than a deliberate challenge to the established discourse on the
(gibbon)topic. I am glad to see that slip to have initiated a lively and
interesting exchange.

My student's preliminary observations suggest that perhaps there is more
going on pragmatically in gibbon communication than some of us are used
to assuming. Whether "discourse" is appropriate to capture these levels
of complexity is another matter.

About (distinctive) differences between primate and human communication:
our capacity for metapragmatic communication seems a good candidate, if
any, for drawing such distinctions. It is hard to imagine a chimpanzee
uttering, "what did she say"? in response to the "snake,snake" call of
another.

Again many thanks for all the contributions, see you at the meetings.

janina