Old videos of chimpanzees suggest they are capable of speech
phys.org
phys.org
Also this provides no evidence that he understands language just because he says a word. Parrots can speak much better than this but they do not understand language. I think the fact that they can learn sign language is much more significant.
Isn't that untrue, and there are parrots that have been trained to understand and follow simple instructions (e.g. move a specific object from a collection to a specific destination out of several)?
What do cats and dogs think of us and our fumbling attempts to communicate with them?