title: Meaning in great ape communication: summarising the debate.
abstract: Does non-human great ape communication have meaning in the same way as human words (and some other human behaviours)? I recently argued that the answer to this question is most likely to be in the negative (Scott-Phillips in Anim Cogn 18(3):801-805, 2015a). Here, I (1) briefly respond to criticism of this view; (2) describe exactly what sort of empirical study could settle the matter; and (3) discuss what the best working hypotheses should be, in the absence of definitive empirical studies.
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Anthropology Research Group, Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. t.c.scott-phillips@durham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Scott-Phillips
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D005868:Gestures; D015186:Hominidae / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant
keywords: Communication; Intentionality; Language; Meaning; Pragmatics; Primates