From John Davenport
Hal Hodson points out that the “speech” of great apes is limited to discrete sounds (10 January, p 39). They don’t have the vocal flexibility of gibbons, which are able to “sing” a greater degree of meaning into their sounds.
Perhaps the apes’ problem isn’t with their vocal cords but with their ears. If you are tone deaf then one woo-hoo sounds much like another. Has anyone ever tried singing to apes? Perhaps a musicologist could help investigate what the apes can distinguish.
Kenley, Surrey, UK
