Clever little monkeys that can learn the local accent

EVER marvelled at how some people can effortlessly change their accents to blend in wherever they are?

Well, it seems the skill may have been handed down to us from monkeys.

One species has been found to copy the local lingo soon after joining a different colony, a study found.

Scientists logged the calls of common marmosets before and after they moved to a new group with a different accent.

Within six weeks they adapted their calls to the new dialect.

Researchers found the Brazilian animal learns accents by social interaction rather than getting them from genetic or environmental factors. The study by the University of Zurich suggested monkeys could be adapting calls to signal allegiance to the new group and increase mating chances.

Doctoral student Yvonne Zurcher said: ‘We could clearly show that the dialects of common marmosets are learned socially. If their dialects were genetically determined, moving to a new place wouldn’t cause any change in calls.

‘The changes can’t be explained by differences in the environment either.’

Marmosets raise their offspring with the help of the entire group, which is believed to be linked to their ‘language skills’ – making the species useful for understanding the origins of language.

The study in the journal PLOS ONE showed marmosets share a surprising amount of features with human language. It is thought this may be linked to their social system.

‘Dialects are learned socially’