Yerkishn.adj.
/ˈjəːkɪʃ/ A sign language for chimpanzees based on geometric symbols, chiefly devised by E. C. von Glasersfeld for experimental purposes and first published in 1973. Also attributive or as adj.
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the mind > language > a language > [noun] > sign language
hand language1625
arthrology1641
chirology1656
dactylology1656
finger-talk1656
finger language1669
hand alphabet1680
semiology1694
finger alphabet1751
finger talking1823
sign language1824
finger speech1826
indigitation1826
manual alphabet1876
dactylography1884
signing1891
American Sign Language1900
sign1930
British Sign Language1961
ASL1965
Ameslan1972
Yerkish1973
the mind > language > a language > [adjective] > sign or gestural
oral1877
kinesic1952
Yerkish1973
1973 D. M. Rumbaugh et al. in Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation Sept. 385/2 The study program..included the design of the language system (Yerkish).
1973 D. M. Rumbaugh et al. in Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation Sept. 387/2 Each correlator links two items that are expressed in the Yerkish phrase or sentence.
1973 Science 16 Nov. 731 Each Yerkish word, or ‘lexigram’, is a distinctive geometric white symbol on a colored background.
1974 E. C. von Glasersfeld in Amer. Jrnl. Computational Ling. (microfiche 12) The Yerkish language for nonhuman primates.
1974 N.Y. Times 29 May 52/3 Lana's [sc. a chimpanzee's] computerized language, called Yerkish in honor of the primate center's founder, Dr. Robert M. Yerkes.
1977 E. C. von Glasersfeld in D. M. Rumbaugh Language Learning by Chimpanzee v. 114 The grammar of Yerkish had to be kept as simple as possible for several reasons.
1980 Times 3 July 16/3 ‘Yerkish’, an artificial language especially developed by Professor D. M. Rumbaugh at the Yerkes Primate Research Centre, Emory University, near Atlanta, United States, for a chimpanzee called Lana.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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n.adj.1973