Animal communication: Flashcards
Language is not just. . .
Cognitive, biological, and adaptive but, it is complex.
- Inherently social
- Cultural resource
- Communicative (arbitrariness, and indexicality)
What are the two ways to try to understand how human language operates, and what it means?
- How are meanings in language created (culture, history, geography, beliefs).
- Is language inherently human?
What are the ways anthropologists can analyse animal communication?
- Do animals have language?
- Do animals have the capacity for language?
How do animals communicate?
Scent, Posture, colour, and facial expressions
What is Hocketts design feautures?
Hocketts was a linguist
- 13 characteristics of language which from communication systems
- If a system does not have one of these features it is not a language
What are the five main characteristics of Hocketts’ design features?
- Arbitraniess
- Transmission
- Producitivity
- Displacement
- Reflexity
What is arbitrariness?
The connection of a word and its meaning is arbitrary rather than inherent.
- Animals communicate through “Icons and indexicality” (it points to something through language and social interaction).
What are examples of arbitrariness?
a. Dancing bees (they communicate the distance, and food quality by little dances)
b. East Asian Vervet monkets have
three different calls (3 different predators, different responses)
- Eagle: hide in the middle of the tree
- Snake: stand up on your behind legs
- Leopard: hide high up in the tree
What is transmission?
Hockett argued that at least some aspect of language should be learned from others (ex: how vervet monkeys make mistakes).
What is productivity?
Humans can come up with an infinite number of novel sentences, and others will still understand them
- But Hockket argued animals do not have the ability to create new signals or signs
What is displacement?
Human can talk about things that arent present (talk about future events, present, past, creative, and abstract comments).
- Animal systems are focused on “here and now”
What is reflexivity?
Language can be used to talk about language
- Metalanguage: “Dogs don’t bark about barking”
Who were washo and koko:
Washoe was taught ASL in the 1970s
- She learned over 130 signs with her teachers claimed she used without being prompted
They also claimed she demonstrated productivity (can create meaning from past, present, and ideas) (water-bird example)
Nim Chomsky:
A chimpanzee raised as a human child learned sign language quite rapidly (shows that if animals are taught human language, they have the environment to learn effectively)
Gua and Vicky:
- Gua was raise together with Donald, the child of the scholars raising her
VS. - Vicky was raised as a human child and her “parents” would shape her lips for her to pronounce certain words.