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In the 1970s, a chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky became the subject of a scientific experiment aimed at finding out whether animals could learn human language. The study, conducted by Columbia University in the United States, involved raising him in a family setting and teaching him American Sign Language.
During the project, the animal learned more than 120 signs and began combining them to communicate. However, later analysis of his responses led researchers to question whether he had actually acquired the language skills they hoped to demonstrate.
The story of Nim Chimpsky, the chimpanzee raised like a human at Columbia University
The project began in 1973 under the direction of psychologist Herbert S. Terrace, who wanted to determine whether a primate could learn to communicate using a system of human signs.
The chimpanzee was born in November of that year and was brought to New York when he was about a week old. His name, Nim Chimpsky, was chosen as an ironic reference to linguist Noam Chomsky, who argued that language was a distinctively human ability.
According to an explanation in Columbia News, the animal was first raised by a human family and later lived with his trainers in an environment designed to encourage his learning.
How did they teach more than 120 signs to Nim Chimpsky the chimpanzee?
Researchers used American Sign Language (ASL), a visual communication system that allows words and concepts to be expressed through hand movements.
Nim received daily training to learn signs related to objects, actions and needs. These included expressions equivalent to eat, drink, play, hug and give me more.
Over time, the chimpanzee came to use 128 signs and produced combinations of two or more signs. Some of his sequences seemed like short phrases, which initially led Terrace to believe he may have been developing a linguistic structure.
The project sought to determine whether those combinations were spontaneous and whether they followed rules similar to those humans use to build sentences.
Why did scientists question the results of the experiment?
In 1979, Terrace and his colleagues published a study in the scientific journal Science titled Can an Ape Create a Sentence?
To produce the paper, they analyzed more than 19,000 Nim expressions containing two or more signs. Although some combinations appeared to show a degree of regularity, the analysis of the recordings revealed a problem.
The researchers observed that, on many occasions, the trainers made a sign before Nim repeated it. That suggested the chimpanzee may have been copying his teachers’ cues to get rewards, rather than creating spontaneous messages.
The research concluded that there was not enough evidence to say Nim had learned to form sentences with human grammatical structure.
What happened to Nim Chimpsky when the project ended?
In 1977, after about four years of training, the experiment came to an end. Nim was moved back to the Oklahoma Institute of Primate Studies.
He was later sold to a biomedical research laboratory. His situation raised concern among animal welfare groups and, eventually, he was moved to Black Beauty Ranch, a sanctuary in Texas.
He spent his final years there. Nim died on March 10, 2000, at age 26, of a heart attack, according to The Washington Post.