Final answer:
The ability of apes to use language is debated mainly around their innate capacity versus learned behavior, and their grasp of grammar and syntax compared to humans. Understanding brain evolution and the tool use-language connection also contributes to this debate.
Step-by-step explanation:
Debates on Apes' Ability to Use Language:
The question of whether apes can use language is a topic of ongoing debate within the field of biology and animal cognition. Two main points of contention are:
- The innate capacity of apes for language-like communication versus what they have learned from human interaction. Considering apes' use of gestures or tokens, it is debated whether their language abilities are due to an intrinsic ability to develop protolanguage or a result of being taught symbolic systems by humans.
- The extent to which apes can master grammar and syntax, which are crucial for language. This involves rules governing the structure of communication in terms of sequence and meaning. While apes can use signs and gestures in structured ways, it remains controversial how similar this is to human language, which is open-ended and allows for infinite recombination of units to produce new meanings.
Further discussions also involve how the brain structures related to language may have evolved, as well as the relationship between advances in tool use and the development of language.