Project Washoe and its sequel with Moja, Pili, Tafu, and Dar, simulated with infant chimpanzees the conditions in which the
language of human children develops gradually and-piecemeal into the language of human parents. This article traces patterns
of growth and development in the early utterances of children and chimpanzees. The evidence for continuous processes and variables
contradicts the yes-no, either-or Aristotelian logic of philosophical linguistics that has prevailed for so long. What the
children and chimpanzees actually say supports, instead, a view of common laws and continuity that is much more compatible
with modern natural science.
Key words Project Washoe - Cross-Forested Chimpanzees - Language origin
Project Washoe was originally supported by grants MH-12154 from the National Institute of Mental Health and GB-7432 from the
National Science Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge this support and the support that later sign language studies of chimpanzees
have received since then from NIH, NSF, the National Geographic Society, the Grant Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the
University of Nevada, and the UNR Foundation.