“We’ve shown how the gibbons’ distinctive song uses the same vocal mechanics as soprano singers, revealing a fundamental similarity with humans,” explains Takeshi Nishimura, an associate professor with the Primate Research Institute at Japan’s Kyoto University.

Scientists had previously believed that human speech was possible, in part, due to suspected evolutionary changes in the larynx, tongue, and vocal tract. But Nishimura’s new findings suggest that humans may not have vocal anatomy and ability as unique as previously thought.

We share voice-box physiology with gibbons, and likely other primates, but we also share the way we manipulate sound, Nishimura explains. With both humans and gibbons, the origin of the sound—the larynx—is independent from the vocal tools (or training) used to