Scientist have been debating whether or not communication between animals is similar to humans. Many people think it is similar to humans and others don't. I think communication between animals is similar to humans, although it is more complex. Both forms of communication serves the same purpose. This can be proven by bacteria, honey bees, birds and chimpanzees.
Language is used to help living things refer to locations of things. Humans use words, symbols and syntax to communicate. “No other animal communication system puts together messages using syntax, except honeybees” (Doc 9). Honey bees use syntax to describe the location of pollen by “orienting their dance in relation to the position of the sun, and by calibrating the amount of the dances movement”(Doc 2). This use of syntax is like humans because the bees create new patterns of dance to explain locations. Although humans use more complex forms of communication, it is used to describe locations of things. Bacteria also use ways to communicate location. “Some classes of bacteria secrete distinctive organic molecules, for which they have specialized receptors. This apparatus allows the bacteria to detect the presence of others of the same species, a system known in the literature as quorum sensing” (Doc 1). Bacteria uses these secretions to tell others where they are and this allows them to group together for better survival. Humans also secrete pheromones that others can unconsciously smell. These are only a few ways animals use communication to help locate things.
Animals can also use sound to communicate like humans do. Birds are a good example of this. The type of sound they produce, indicates what they are trying to tell the other birds. “The birds have two types of sig...
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...gs” (Doc 8). Kanzi can use both human language with symbols and can also communicate with his sister in a way she understands.
This proves that animals communicate similarly like humans. Different species communication varies in how it is used and the complexity of it. Bacteria use the most basic form of communication known as quorum sensing. Honey bees use a more complex form by dancing to explain distances and locations. Birds are more complex with calls and songs telling each other of danger or mating calls. Some birds are smart enough to learn limited human language on top of their own to communicate their own needs. The species with the most complex form of language is chimpanzees. They are able to communicate with their own primitive form of language and learn other languages like our own. Different forms of animal communication is similar to that of humans.
During her presentation, Bonnie Bassler expends many different aspects of communication in a bacterial level and how successful communication is important to survival and efficient functioning. It is evident from her presentation that without a common language to communicate with, bacteria could not work as efficiently as they do, neither to immunize people nor create havoc in them. In her presentation, Bassler asserts the importance of the use of language in communication in bacteria, using rhetorical appeals – logical, ethical and emotional – and how it is consequently related to humans.
Do non-human primates have communication, language, both, or neither? By definition, communication is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information (Snowdon). Communication is very closely related to social behavior since they are both referring to the ways animals interact with each other (Quiatt and Reynolds 1993). Conversely, language is defined as a system of communication using sounds or gestures that are put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules (Haviland et al. 2010). Non-human primates and human primates are similar in many ways, and communication is no exception.
The Enlightenment period made a huge impact not only in American culture but worldwide, the Enlightenment period was between the 1700 and 1800’s. During the Enlightenment period many new things were created such as laws, art work, and the way music was formed. There were also many people who made a huge impact during the Enlightenment period some of them include; Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, Isaac Newton, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
9. Research on the language capabilities of apes clearly demonstrates that they have the capacity to:
Language is commonly held to be the province of humans, but other inhabitants of earth possess their own forms of communication. Birds, dolphins, and whales are some of those that have a language. Primates also use vocal communication with each other. Their utterances have varied uses and volumes, with each primate’s voice being distinct just as human voices are. These unique calls have given researchers insight into the social workings of primate groups. The very fact that primates have a language offers insight into the evolution of language and calls into question what the term human truly means.
While human beings generally consider themselves superior to animals due to our sophisticated use of language, there are several species of animal who use language that includes many properties linguists consider necessary to classify a system of communication as a language. Opinion between linguists varies considerably on what constitutes a language, but generally it is agreed that "A language consists of symbols that convey meaning, plus rules for combining those symbols, that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages." (Weiten, 2008, p. 318.) While animal forms of communication may not be at the same level of complexity as human language, evidence shows that several methods of animal communication have many of the same attributes as human language and their methods suit their purposes for finding food, warning each other of predators and assisting in mating rituals. It is flawed reasoning to assume that because human language contains elements that are absent in animal communication that our language is superior to theirs. With this logic one could argue that bats are superior to humans due to their use of sonar locating, which is a biological impossibility for humans. While useful and necessary for bats, sonar is an ability that is not practical for humans and therefore is not a skill that has evolved in the human species. It is more likely that animal language is exactly as complex as is necessary for any given species and will evolve in the same way human language has to support the survival of each specie's specific needs. Nevertheless, several animal species have communication systems that include many of the same elements of human language. Two such animals are the Gunnison's prairie dog and the humpback wha...
Gorillas are generally quiet. They are not actually capable of making the same sounds as human beings. They make about 15-25 different special noises. Hooting can carry a mile through the forest and is usually exchanged between rival silverbacks. A hooting sound is used for an alarm o...
While visiting the Grand Canyons, you couldn’t honestly tell me that you didn’t scream into the canyon just to hear your echo come back to you. Don’t be ashamed, we all do it. Many kinds of animals actually use their echo to find out where they are in a closed area or to find out if there are any other animals close by. One classic example is the bat.
In 1977 Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard University, did something very bold. At a time when animals still were considered automatons, she set out to find what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. She brought a one-year-old African gray parrot she named Alex into her lab to teach him to reproduce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”
Since, until we have proof to the contrary, human intelligence is more developed than animal, it would seem easier for us to learn animal language than for animals to learn our speech. Moreover, once a human scientist has decoded an animal language, he is able to understand all the members of his own species, present and future” (Borgese 4). Another point that has influenced some linguists to believe that animal language is not a language is the fact that animal language is not as complex as human language, however, one linguist gives evidence to support that animal language is complex, “Complex forms of communication are found among socialized, communal insects, such as ants, bees, wasps, and termites, and among social animals, such as antelopes, wild horses, wolves and beavers” (Brown 18). The way that Vinson Brown views the complexity of animal language is that all animals in a socialized setting are capable and have a complex system of language ability already in place. The way that other linguists view the complexity or lack thereof with animal language is because of the fact that the animals are unable to form thoughts and feelings to convey to others; their movements are meant for the basic emotions as discussed with the
Leatherwood and Reeves studied four dolphins and found aberrant whistles occurred when these dolphins were put in stressful event of stranding and isolation. This study showed that when a dolphin is in a stressful situation they will tend to quaver or have breaks in their whistles, they also found that the whistles would get faster when stressed (Leatherwood & Reeves, 1990, p.223). The aberrant whistles can communicate to other dolphins that they are in danger. Certain types of whistles can differ over the different species of dolphins, geographic locations, social groups, populations, and even individuals of a different gender or age. Some dolphins do not use whistles, so these dolphins have to rely on echolocation or burst pulsed sounds as their form of communication.
We also use several different types of language. We have body language that can be used to express emotions. There is also sign language which can be used to create gestures that symbolize words such as come or stop. Written language is used in our daily lives through writing. For example, written language is what we use in this course to stay in touch. Even animals have their own form of language. They use chirps, grunts,whistles and many other sounds to
Another way some ants can communicate with one another is by sound.
Irene Pepperberg did and experiment to try and show how smart animals are. She bought herself a bird and tried to teach it to talk like we do because she thought, “if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world,” and that’s just what she taught him. She taught him how to speak like humans and he developed the concept of speaking and replying correctly. She
Along with these interesting facts, scientists have discovered the giraffe’s different techniques for communication. Chemical communication is a powerful tool, particularly for ensuring reproduction, marking territory, and alerting prey against predators. A male giraffe, for instance, determines the best time to mate by nudging the female until she urinates and then checking the odor to determine if she is fertile. Communication is important among giraffes because it helps them to gather for good, care for their young, and mate. Most commonly, animal communication occurs between animals of the same species.