| Talk to the animals?Yes.And what's more,
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| | chimpanzees and bonobos are as capable of
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| they talk to us!If you've ever shared
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| | understanding questions and simple
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| your life with animals, you'll know that
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| | sentences as a two-and-a-half year old
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| they understand most of what you say to
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| | child.KANZIKanzi, a bonobo ape, and his
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| them. You mention that you're going for a
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| | foster mother, Matata, arrived at the LRC
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| walk and the dog is standing at the gate,
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| | when Kanzi was 6 months of age. He
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| ready. You say that you're going visiting
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| | accompanied his mother during her daily
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| and that dogs aren't invited and you find
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| | lexigram training tasks and spent most of
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| out where the expression 'hang-dog look'
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| | his time ignoring them or trying to
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| came from -- the ears droop, the head
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| | disrupt them in any way he could. Like
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| sinks and Pooch drags himself off to
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| | any youngster, he liked the lights on the
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| sulk.It's dinner time, you tell the cat
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| | keyboard and often tried to chase the
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| that she's got fish for tea and you're
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| | symbols as they appeared on the
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| overwhelmed with affection; you tell her
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| | projectors above the keyboard.When Kanzi
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| that tonight's the night she has a tin of
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| | was 2 1/2 years old, Matata was sent back
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| cat food and watch her turn her back and
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| | to breed and Kanzi was separated from her
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| ignore you.So, we know that they know
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| | for the first time. After fretting for
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| what we're saying, but are we clever
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| | her for three days, Kanzi then settled
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| enough to understand what they are saying
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| | and began to play with the keyboard. Lab
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| to us?A cat has a very large vocabulary
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| | notes record that he, "correctly
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| -- every syllable in miaow can be
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| | employ(ed) nearly all of the 10 lexigrams
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| lengthened, shortened, used alone or in
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| | that were on his mother's keyboard at
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| combination with one or more of the
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| | that time. He didn't need to be taught
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| others; it can be loud or barely audible;
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| | these lexigrams, as he already knew
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| it can be confident, angry, intimate or
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| | them."Prior to the separation, however,
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| pitiful, depending on what the cat is
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| | Kanzi had given no evidence that he had
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| trying to tell us.HOW ANIMALS TEACH US TO
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| | even been attending to them, much less
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| UNDERSTAND THEIR LANGUAGECats teach us
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| | that he understood any sort of semantic
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| how to understand them in much the same
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| | connection between lexigrams and objects
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| way we teach babies to understand their
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| | in his world. Even more striking than the
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| language. Every human baby makes the same
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| | fact that Kanzi knew the lexigrams, was
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| pre-speech sounds; the gurgles, clucks,
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| | the fact that he also knew the spoken
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| hums and bubbles are common to every
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| | English words which the lexigrams
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| society. When we hear a sound that is
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| | represented. He couldn't speak the words,
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| similar to a word used in our language,
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| | but when he heard them, he could locate
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| we repeat it to the baby and then make a
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| | the lexigram, or printed symbol, that
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| great fuss when the baby repeats it to
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| | corresponded with the word."One of the
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| us, and so each child learns the language
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| | most fascinating aspects of all this was
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| of its own society.When your cat wants to
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| | that Kanzi had learnt to understand the
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| go outside, she will try a series of
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| | lexigrams simply by being exposed to
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| different sounds until you learn to
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| | their use. From that point, all
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| recognise one of them, then she will
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| | reward-based learning was discarded in
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| always use that particular sound to tell
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| | favour of letting Kanzi learn through
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| you she wants to go out. So, a short m'ia
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| | conversation.He was given plenty of help
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| means "I'd like to go outside;" a loud
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| | to learn with gestures, with pictures,
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| m'ia means "I'd like to go outside NOW;"
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| | with video tape and with activities that
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| a long miiaoowww means she can't find
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| | showed the words in action. Most of the
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| you; a pitiful little m'ow means she's
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| | conversations centered around travel,
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| cold and she'd like a cuddle.She will
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| | finding food and playing and his
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| patiently teach you her 'words' until she
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| | vocabulary steadily increased until today
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| feels confident that you can meet all her
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| | he can use over 200 words and can
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| needs. (The poster that states "dogs have
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| | understand more than 500.SIGN
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| masters; cats have staff" has a great
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| | LANGUAGEAfter observing how chimpanzees
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| deal of truth in it!)BODY LANGUAGEAnimals
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| | communicated in the wild using signals,
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| use body language and signals, as well as
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| | psychologists, Beatrice and Robert
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| sounds, to communicate. Just watch a
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| | Gardner conducted a series of experiments
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| child who's been in trouble go to the
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| | in the 1960s, to teach young chimps
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| family dog for comfort. Pooch sits
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| | Ameslan, the American sign language where
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| quietly, gazing into the child's eyes,
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| | each gesture represents a word, rather
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| his face a picture of concern and
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| | than a syllable or sound.The young female
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| sympathy. He doesn't have to say
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| | chimps learnt hundreds of words and were
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| anything, he just presses gently against
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| | even able to use these words to invent
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| the child and offers moral support by
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| | their own phrases to suit different
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| simply being there.HOW WE TEACH ANIMALS
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| | situations. One chimp, Lucy, was given
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| TO UNDERSTAND OUR LANGUAGESince we can be
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| | her first taste of a hot radish and
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| taught to understand animals, researchers
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| | signed that it was, "... cry hurt
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| have tried to teach animals how to
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| | food."Hearing impaired people who
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| understand our language, too.Research
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| | observed the chimps were able to
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| into the language capabilities of
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| | understand them without difficulty and
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| primates at Georgia State University,
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| | the Gardners were hopeful of being able
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| Atlanta began in 1971 when the Lana fund
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| | to extend their communication with the
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| was set up "to produce a language analog
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| | chimps.THE LAST WORDHowever, funding for
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| of human language in non-human primates"
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| | the project gradually dried up and the
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| and was linked to finding different ways
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| | chimps were sold for medical
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| to teach language to children with
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| | research.Shortly before the facility
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| disabilities.The first experiments
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| | closed down, two handlers who had worked
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| centred around Lana, a female chimp born
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| | on the project made one last visit. They
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| in October 1970 (and named after the
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| | signed to the chimps, "What do you
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| project - LANguage) and were simple tasks
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| | want?"One after another, the chimps
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| that resulted in food being released when
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| | signed back, "Key."The danger in learning
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| certain keys on the computer-based
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| | to understand what animals have to say is
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| keyboard were pressed.However, Lana soon
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| | that we may not like what we
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| began to string together stock sentences
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| | hear.Jennifer Stewart has a degree in
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| into meaningful and new sentences of her
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| | English and History and taught senior
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| own creation, such as "You give Lana
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| | High School for over twenty years. During
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| banana which is black?" when asking for
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| | that time, she was Head of Department,
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| an overly ripe banana.According to
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| | responsible for devising and implementing
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| University records, "Lana was the first
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| | teaching programs, and for supervising
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| ape to demonstrate that chimpanzees could
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| | young teachers. After leaving full-time
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| form syntactically adequate sentences,
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| | teaching, she wrote (and now markets)
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| the first to show that they were capable
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| | writing courses for students and adults
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| of recognizing written symbols, and the
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| | who want to improve their writing skills.
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| first to demonstrate that they could
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| | Visit her website at and subscribe to
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| read. She could take partially completed
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| | free, weekly Writing Tips:
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| sentences, read them and complete them
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| | mailto:Jennifer also offers professional
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| appropriately."Recent research, conducted
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| | writing services - copy writing, editing
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| by Georgia State University Psychology
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| | and proof reading for your web pages,
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| Professor, Duane Rumbaugh, Ph.D., of the
| |
| | press releases, technical booklets,
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| Language Research Centre, shows that when
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| | newsletters, business proposals, reports
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| reared in the proper environment,
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| | or any other writing projects.
|
