Chimpanzee emitting a raspberry call. These calls show highly flexible usage in communities without role models but stable, settled usage in communities with role models, showing the formation of a signal convention. Image: Antoine Valet/Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

The old adage “monkey see, monkey do,” appears to have a bit of truth to it. Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) likely watch adults making different vocalization to learn how and when to use those sounds themselves, particularly when they purse their lips to blow “raspberries.” The findings detailed in a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS ) show that the primates’ sounds are not instinctual and set in stone, as previously believed.

Humans learn what words mean from the world around us, and different communities will use different sounds for the same thing.…