An application to translate chimp language may be available in the near future! Chimpanzees can learn to pronounce 'apple' in two chimp languages – a finding that calls into question how unique our own language ability is. Katie Slocombe of the University of York, UK, and her team recorded vocalisations by a group of adult chimps from the Netherlands before and after their relocation to Edinburgh Zoo. Three years after the move, the Dutch chimps has picked up the pronunciation of their Scottish hosts. The peak frequencies of the Dutch chimps' loud calls fell from 932 to 708 hertz to match closely with the low-toned pronunciations of the Scottish apes. The change was gradual and coincided with the growing friendship of the two groups. This means that, like us, chimps can learn foreign language to fit in with new neighbours. The finding also challenges the prevailing theory that chimp words for objects are fixed because they result from excited, involuntary outbursts. The general assumption was that animals do not have control over the sounds they make, whereas we learn the labels for things socially, which is what separates us from animals, states Slocombe. But this may be wrong, it seems. "It is the first time call structure has been dissociated from emotional outbursts," she says.