It has been a while since we have discussed signal and (potentially) sign use in non-human apes, one of the topics that the former Centre for Cognitive Semiotics (2009-2014) in Lund was focusing on. Our colleague from Lund University Cognitive Science (LUCS) Tomas Persson will help us revive this topic! Please read or at least skim through the attached papers for the sake of discussion. If you are in the area, it is much better to come to H402! If not, the zoom link will be open from 15:00, as usual.

The seminar will be introduced by a short talk on some central developments in ape gesture research the last decade, reflecting a field where the models try to catch up with the complexity and variability of the phenomenon. This has entailed an increased focus on e.g. ontogeny, multimodality, flexibility, and motivations. As examples of these endeavors the seminar will then discuss two recent papers. 

Fröhlich, M., Sievers, C., Townsend, S. W., Gruber, T., & van Schaik, C. P. (2019). Multimodal communication and language origins: integrating gestures and vocalizations. Biological Reviews, 94(5), 1809-1829.
 
Warren, E., & Call, J. (2021). Inferential communication: bridging the gap between intentional and ostensive communication in non-human primates. Frontiers in Psychology, 12.

fpsyg-12-718251.pdf Biological Reviews - 2019 - Fr hlich - Multimodal communication and language origins integrating gestures and.pdf