ABSTRACT
The study of language acquisition in apes, with its comparative pedolinguistic approach beginning with the Hayes and the Gardners, has traditionally been concerned with the cognitive and the linguistic aspects. Moreover, there is no denying that the continued pursuit of language acquisition in apes along these lines has a lasting scientific value. The fact that apes have not been able to talk, then, is not because they do not have the kind of intelligence needed to talk, but because they do not have the right vocal apparatus. In sign language, interestingly enough, facial expressions are part and parcel of the grammar which is also highly context-sensitive. More and more linguists are becoming aware that, contrary to earlier assumptions, language is not a self-contained entity: the context plays a highly significant role in the communication system of humans, much more so than we have thus far realized.
