Mother is from Gyeongsangdo, and father is from Jeollado. Which dialect will the baby speak? Usually, they follow the mother's speech, as they spend more time with her. The same has been shown to be true for chimpanzees.
Professor Simon Townsend and doctoral researcher Joseph Mine from the University of Zurich in Switzerland noted that "chimpanzees learn their communication methods from their mothers and maternal relatives, rather than their fathers or paternal relatives," in a study published on the 6th in the international journal "PLOS Biology."
Chimpanzees communicate with each other through sounds, gestures, postures, and expressions. There has been controversy over whether this communication behavior is innate from birth or learned later.
The research team observed 22 wild chimpanzees in Kibale National Park in Uganda. During this process, they recorded vocal signals such as grunts, barks, and whines, as well as non-vocal signals such as arm movements, gaze direction, and postures.
The analysis showed that chimpanzees exhibited communication styles similar to their mothers and maternal relatives, but did not show significant similarities with their fathers or paternal relatives. The research team explained, "Since chimpanzee mothers are the primary caregivers and fathers do not participate in caregiving, it is likely that these communication methods have been shaped through social learning."
The research team also noted that the observed chimpanzees were all over 10 years old and had begun to be independent from their mothers, yet the influence of their mothers remained.
Joseph Mine, the lead author of the paper, said, "Some chimpanzee mothers frequently combine vocal and visual signals, while others hardly use them at all, and their offspring also exhibit similar behavior patterns to their mothers."
Professor Simon Townsend stated, "Human non-verbal communication includes not only gestures and expressions but also subtle elements such as posture and gaze," adding that "this approach has contributed to confirming whether chimpanzees also learn these subtle signals."
Co-author Professor KT Slocombe from the University of York in the UK said, "It is very interesting to see offspring raised by mothers who frequently use non-verbal behaviors follow those behaviors," and further stated, "The next challenge will be to research whether mothers convey specific visual-auditory combined signals to their offspring."
References
PLOS Biology (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003270