The dolphins spontaneously began mimicking the computer-generated whistles when they played independently with the corresponding toy, like kids tossing a ball and naming it “ball, ball, ball,” Reiss told me.
At the time, The New York Times ran a front-page story heralding the discovery of a “rudimentary ‘language’” in vervet monkeys.
When other Japanese tits heard a recording of the vocalization, which Suzuki dubbed the “jar jar” call, they searched the ground, as if looking for a snake.
But then he played a recording of the “jar jar” call.
Like a word, the “jar jar” call had changed their perception.
Persons:
Reiss, ” Reiss, “, ”, Robert Seyfarth, Dorothy Cheney, ” Toshitaka Suzuki, Suzuki
Organizations:
New York Times, University of Tokyo
Locations:
Northern California, Kenya, East