30 I Can Read You Like a Book
these animals, the primate, has monkeys on the low end of the
spectrum and great apes toward the high end. Beyond them, sitting
at the tip of this communication chain, is the greatest of apes:
human beings.
Often when I teach or deliver a presentation, I get people who
reject evolution, so they challenge me: “So you believe we descended
from monkeys?”
I say, “No. We are monkeys—really fancy ones.” I often call
humans the shaved ape, which is a take-off on Desmond Morris’s
The Naked Ape. I think we are not “naked,” as much as “shaved,”
meaning that we try very hard to remove the animal from who we
are.
A version of another question usually comes up after that: “Is
human language an effective system of symbols? Most of my
students instantly say yes. My answer: no.
A very effective system of symbols would be one that conveyed
our thoughts precisely. Even with the most astute communicators,
spoken English can be confusing.
No reading aloud.
No reading allowed.
Homonyms, multiple meaning of words and connotations that
overtake the denotations of words (for example, terrific) all make
English a tough language to learn. The French Academy makes
rules to avert this kind of mess; we in the United States seem to
enjoy the creative exercise of fostering the mess.