life off-line

Animal
Communication
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L i n g u i s t s ’ i n t e re s t i n a n i m a l communication systems has been largely fueled by a desire to compare such systems with human language in order to show the differences between the two, and often, by implication, to show the superiority of human language over the communication systems of animals.
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Can animals understand human language? !3

As far as animal behaviour is concerned, the standard explanation is that the animal produces a particular behaviour in response to a particular sound-stimulus, but does not actually “understand” the meaning of the words uttered.
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What is
Communication is a process in which information is transmitted from a source – the sender – to a goal – the receiver. !5

The process involves five steps:

1- Encoding the information into a symbolic system. !6

2- Selecting a mode of communication. !

3- Delivering the symbols through a medium.
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4- Perceptual processing of the symbols by the receiver.
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Message

Message

Decoding

Encoding
Sounds

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Speaker

Hearer

NOTE
Nothing is communicated unless the receiver is able to decode the message.

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How do we know when communication has taken place?

A specific animal’s behaviour may be considered a communication if another animal’s behaviour apparently changes as a result.
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Cont.
Communication does not take place unless there is a response between the animals.

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Swans

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If swan A ruffles its tail feathers and swan B promptly dives, then it s e e m s re a s o n a b l e t o consider the question of what the ruffling of feathers by a swan “says” to another swan.
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The first observation can not be conclusive. If we observe time after time, and the response is always the same, then the hypothesis that the ruffling of the feathers by a swan is a communicative behaviour. !15

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Bees
The scientist Karl von Frisch spent decades of his life observing the behaviour of bees. !17

Bees
To study this behaviour, he organized the environment of his bees to elicit the same behaviour repeatedly and to evaluate the response of other bees. !18

Cont.
He established a new source of nectar and waited for a bee to discover it. After finding the nectar, the bee would return to the hive and go into a “dance”.
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Cont.
As an apparent result, other bees would then fly directly to the new source of nectar.

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Cont.
Frisch came to the conclusion that there was something about the bee’s dance that communicated the location of the source of the nectar.
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Cont.
The more general significance of
Frisch’s studies is that he showed that bees have a spontaneous nonhuman communication system that can be reliably translated.
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Cont.
Frisch found that the dance performed by many kinds of bees after they have found a rich source of food can convey a greet deal of information.
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The Round Dance
If the food source is very near, a bee returning back to the hive performs a round dance.
The dance tells other bees that there is a good source of food nearby. !25

The Round Dance

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The Waggle Dance
If the food is far away from the hive, the bee returning from a rich source of food goes into a waggle dance.
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The Waggle Dance

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Cont.
The dance, which proceeds as a repetitive figure eight, includes a straight portion.

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The angle that this straight portion makes with respect to the vertical is the same as the angle lying between the direction to the food source and a horizontal line in the direction of the sun.
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Thus, if the straight portion of the dance is exactly vertical, the food source lies in exactly the direction of the sun.

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Cont.
The straight portion of the dance is related to the distance of the food source; the faster the dance, the closer the food.
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Cont.
The dance even contains information about the quality of the food source. The higher the sugar concentration of the food, the longer and livelier the dance.
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Dolphins & Whales

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Dolphins and whales have the ability to make variety of sounds. They use whistles to locate objects and to navigate. But their sounds can not be explained. !38

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Chimpanzees and Language

You must refer to the book for this part from Page 16 - 20.

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Using plastic shapes as “words”

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Using kind a of typewriter console keyed to signs !42

Symbols on a keyboard

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Lana’s
Keyboard

A chimp makes the sign for a
"baby“.

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A chimp makes the sign for a
"toothbrush".

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