What do monkeys, ChatGPT, and we have in common? According to Quentin Gallot, a PhD candidate at the University of Neuchâtel and researcher at NCCR Evolving Language, they all possess extraordinary predictive abilities that manifest in similarities in their communication systems.
On March 18, 2025, the famous bonobo Kanzi died at age 44. But who was Kanzi? Dive into his fascinating life story and hear about our researchers’ encounter with him!
Bonobos create complex and meaningful combinations of calls resembling the word combinations of humans. In this study, researchers at the University of Zurich and Harvard University challenge long-held assumptions about what makes human communication unique and suggest that key aspects of language are evolutionary ancient.
Exploring the past, present and future of language
The Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Evolving Language is a nationwide interdisciplinary research consortium bringing together research groups from the humanities, from language and computer science, the social sciences, and the natural sciences at an unprecedented level. Together, we aim at solving one of humanity’s great mysteries: What is language? How did our species develop the capacity for linguistic expression, for processing language in the brain, and for consistently passing down new variations to the next generation? How will our capacity for language change in the face of digital communication and neuroengineering?
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> All publicationsFrei, N., Willinger, D., Haller, P., Fraga-González, G., Pamplona, G. S. P., Haugg, A., … Brem, S. (2025). Towards a mechanistic understanding of reading difficulties: Deviant audiovisual learning dynamics and network connectivity in children with poor reading skills. The Journal of Neuroscience, e1119242025. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.1119-24.2025
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Evolving Language is led by Balthasar Bickel (Department of Comparative Language Science, UZH), Daphné Bavelier (Cognitive Neuroscience group, UNIGE) and Klaus Zuberbühler (Institute of Biology, UNINE). Over 40 research groups across Switzerland are taking part in this NCCR, from 9 different institutions as well as partners in industry (Google AI, Sonova) and public organisations. The project has 3 leading houses: the University of Zurich, the University of Geneva and the University of Neuchâtel.
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Swiss Data Science Center
Wyss Center
Citizen Science Zürich
Fondation Campus Biotech
Zoo Basel
Neurocenter Science Zurich
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Sonova
Google Research
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