Animals and Human Language (Unit 02)

 Communication:
Communicative vs. Informative (Signals)
Communicative (Signals): To convey a message intentionally. E.g. all the things you say for communicating.
Informative (Signals): Unintentional messages. E.g. if you sneeze the person you are talking to can understand that you have a
cold. If you have a strange accent the person you are talking to can understand you are from some other part of the country.
 Glossolalia: Glossolalia, also called speaking in tongues, (from Greek glōssa, “tongue,” and lalia, “talking”), utterances
approximating words and speech, usually produced during states of intense religious experience.

 Properties/Features of Human Language:

1. Displacement
2. Arbitrariness
3. Productivity
4. Cultural Transmission
5. Discreteness
6. Duality
7. Vocal Auditory Channel
8. Reciprocity/ Interchangeability
9. Rapid Fade
10. Total Feedback

1. Displacement: Humans can refer to past and future time. This property of human language is called displacement.
It allows language users to talk about things not present in the immediate environment. Displacement allows us to
talk about things and places (e.g. angels, Santa Claus, Superman, heaven, hell etc.).
2. Arbitrariness: There is no “natural” connection between a linguistic form and its meaning. The connection is quite
arbitrary. Examples: Urdu word:‫کتا‬, ‫ کٽا پ‬English word: dog, book. The linguistic form has no natural or “iconic”
relationship with that hairy four-legged barking object out in the world. This aspect of the relationship between
words and objects is described as arbitrariness.
3. Productivity: This property of human language is also called ‘Creativity’ or ‘Open-endedness’. This aspect of
language is linked to the fact that the potential number of utterances in any human language is infinite. They can
produce novel utterances whenever they want to. A person can utter a sentence which has never been said before,
in the most unlikely circumstances, and still be understood. It is also the ability to vary a message to reflect
differences in the circumstances concerned. For example: ‘I am hungry’ can be expressed as ‘Let’s go to the café’ or
‘Do you have something to eat’ etc.
4. Cultural Transmission: It is also called ‘traditional transmission’. Humans acquire a language in a culture with
other speakers and not from parental genes. This process whereby language is passed on from one generation to the
next is called cultural transmission. Humans are born with an innate predisposition to acquire language, yet it is clear
that they are not born with the ability to produce utterances in a specific language. A human child being brought up
in isolation or amongst animals would not acquire human language at all. Also, a Chinese child brought up in America
would acquire English and not Chinese as the first language.
5. Discreteness: Discreteness means that the sounds used in language are meaningfully distinct. For example:
Difference between ‘b’ and ‘p’ sounds (the occurrence of one is different from other). Like: ‘back’ and ‘pack’. Each
sound in the language is treated as discrete.
6. Duality/Double Articulation: Language is organized at two levels. This property is called Duality. Physical Level: At
this level we can produce individual sounds/phonemes. Meaning Level: At this level we can produce sounds in a
combination which gives a distinct meaning. For Example: Phoneme Level: /n/, /b/, /i/ and Meaning Level: bin, nib.
Due to this duality of levels, we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words)
which are distinct in meaning.
Other Properties:
7. Vocal Auditory Channel: Human linguistic communication is typically generated via the vocal organs and
perceived via the ears. In other words, humans use sound signals for communicating. Linguistic communication,
however, can also be transmitted without sound, via writing or via the sign language of the deaf.
8. Reciprocity/Interchangeability: Any human that can transmit/produce information or messages can also receive
such information vice versa.
9. Rapid Fade: Linguistic signals are produced and disappear quickly.
10. Total Feedback: The speaker of a language hears everything of linguistic relevance, what he himself says.
  Properties/Features of Animal Language:
1. Displacement
2. Arbitrariness
3. Productivity
4. Cultural Transmission
5. Discreteness
6. Duality
7. Vocal Auditory Channel
8. Reciprocity/ Interchangeability
9. Rapid Fade
10. Total Feedback

1. Displacement: There is no displacement in animal communication. Exception: (Bee Dancing) bee

communication has displacement in an extremely limited form. A bee can show the others the source of
the food.
2. Arbitrariness: Animal communication is non-arbitrary. It is because of the fact that the set of signals
used in animal communication is finite. Each variety of animal communication consists of a fixed and
limited set of vocal or gestural forms.
3. Productivity: Animal communication is not productive. Animal have fixed reference. Each signal refers to
something, but these signals cannot be manipulated. For Example: Cicadas have four signals and Vervet
monkeys have thirty-six vocal calls. Communication of animal has a fixed set of signals for communicating.
This lack of productivity in animal communication is called fixed reference.
4. Cultural Transmission: Animals get communication signals naturally. The surroundings are not
important at all in animal communication. A kitten will produce meow and not moo if it is raised among
cows.
5. Discreteness: Bee dancing is continuous rather than discreet. Vocal gestures; the way a person changes
the pitch of his voice, like raising voice in anger, also shows a continuous scale.
6. Duality: Animals do not possess the two levels of sound signals. If it were so, a dog may have been able
to produce ‘oowf’ and ‘foow’, each with different meanings, arising from the first level of sound, ‘w’, ‘oo’
and ‘f’, ‘woof’.
Other Properties:
7. Vocal Auditory Channel: There are other systems of communication that use other channels. For
example: gestures and the dancing of bees. However, many other species, for example dolphins, use the
vocal auditory channel.
8. Reciprocity/ Interchangeability: Animal communication may not show reciprocity/interchangeability.
Showing the source of nectar, only the worker bee can exhibit the bee dance.
9. Rapid Fade: Animal signals also fade away quickly. However, animal tracks and spoors remain there for
some time. Same is the case with the writing or the written records of things.
10. Total Feedback: In some cases, animals do not have total feedback in their communication.