1 Animal Languages
Animal "Languages"
From: Fromkin, Victoria, et al. 2007. An Introduction to Language. 8th Edition. Boston:
Cengage.
Is language the exclusive property of the human species? The idea of talking animals is as old and as widespread among human societies as language itself. All cultures have legends in which some animal plays a speaking role. All over West Africa, children listen to folktales in which a
"spider-man" is the hero. "Coyote" is a favorite figure in many Native American tales, and many an animal takes the stage in Aesop's famous fables. The fictional Doctor Doolittle's forte was communicating with all manner of animals, from giant snails to tiny sparrows.
If language is viewed only as a system of communication, then many species communicate.
Humans also use systems other than language to relate to each other and to send and receive
"messages," like so-called body language. The question is whether the communication systems used by other species are at all like human linguistic knowledge, which is acquired by children with no instruction, and which is used creatively rather than in response to internal or external stimuli. "Talking" Parrots
Most humans who acquire language use speech sounds to express meanings, but such sounds are not a necessary aspect of language, as evidenced by the sign languages. The use of speech sounds is therefore not a basic part of what we have been calling language. The chirping of birds, the squeaking of dolphins, and the dancing of bees may potentially represent systems similar to human languages. If animal communication systems are not like human language, it is not because of a lack of speech.
Conversely, when animals vocally imitate human utterances, it does not mean they possess language. Language is a system that relates sounds or gestures to meanings. Talking birds such as parrots and mynahs are capable of faithfully reproducing words and phrases of human language that they have heard, but their utterances carry no
From: Fromkin, Victoria, et al. 2007. An Introduction to Language. 8th Edition. Boston:
Cengage.
Is language the exclusive property of the human species? The idea of talking animals is as old and as widespread among human societies as language itself. All cultures have legends in which some animal plays a speaking role. All over West Africa, children listen to folktales in which a
"spider-man" is the hero. "Coyote" is a favorite figure in many Native American tales, and many an animal takes the stage in Aesop's famous fables. The fictional Doctor Doolittle's forte was communicating with all manner of animals, from giant snails to tiny sparrows.
If language is viewed only as a system of communication, then many species communicate.
Humans also use systems other than language to relate to each other and to send and receive
"messages," like so-called body language. The question is whether the communication systems used by other species are at all like human linguistic knowledge, which is acquired by children with no instruction, and which is used creatively rather than in response to internal or external stimuli. "Talking" Parrots
Most humans who acquire language use speech sounds to express meanings, but such sounds are not a necessary aspect of language, as evidenced by the sign languages. The use of speech sounds is therefore not a basic part of what we have been calling language. The chirping of birds, the squeaking of dolphins, and the dancing of bees may potentially represent systems similar to human languages. If animal communication systems are not like human language, it is not because of a lack of speech.
Conversely, when animals vocally imitate human utterances, it does not mean they possess language. Language is a system that relates sounds or gestures to meanings. Talking birds such as parrots and mynahs are capable of faithfully reproducing words and phrases of human language that they have heard, but their utterances carry no