Animal communication

Question 1

Communication

Answer 1

conveying information (intentionally or not) by means of signs

Question 2

semiotics

Answer 2

The study of signs

Question 3

What are the two parts of a sign?

Answer 3

the signifier and the signified

Question 4

the signifier

Answer 4

a word, a scent, a gesture, a colour change, etc.

Question 5

the signified

Answer 5

the “meaning” interpreted from the sign

Question 6

two things that could be signified by the sign

Answer 6

extension or intention

Question 7

extension

Answer 7

real-world referent

Question 8

intention

Answer 8

the mental representation associated with the sign

Question 9

extension/intention example

Answer 9

Example: the word ‘tree’
• Signifier: , /tri/
• Extension: an actual tree (or the set of all actual trees)
• Intension: mental representation with properties like “has a trunk and branches,” “is a plant”, etc.

Question 10

A sign can be? Iconic

Answer 10

resembling its referent. baring teeth (like biting)

Question 11

A sign can be? indexical

Answer 11

pointing to its referent. animal tracks

Question 12

A sign can be? Symbolic

Answer 12

arbitrarily linked to its referent. words of human language

Question 13

signals

Answer 13

Signs that trigger a reaction in the receiver

Question 14

symptomatic

Answer 14

Signs that are not used intentionally for communication.

Signs may or may not be used intentionally for communication.

Question 15

graded

Answer 15

varying in degree only ex cat’s meowing varies with feelings of urgency

Question 16

discrete

Answer 16

varying in category

Question 17

An array of signs may be either?

Answer 17

graded or discrete

Question 18

Interchangeability

Answer 18

all members of the species can both send and receive messages.

Question 19

Feedback

Answer 19

users are aware of what they are transmitting.

Question 20

Specialization

Answer 20

the system is used only for communication.

Question 21

Semanticity

Answer 21

the system conveys information through fixed relationships among signifiers, referents, and meanings

Question 22

Arbitrariness

Answer 22

no natural/inherent connection between signifier and signified

Question 23

Discreteness

Answer 23

system consists of isolable, repeatable units

Question 24

Displacement

Answer 24

can refer to remote entities or events

Question 25

Productivity

Answer 25

new messages on any topic can be produced at any time

Question 26

Duality of patterning

Answer 26

meaningless units combine to form arbitrary meaning-bearing signs

Question 27

Tradition

Answer 27

some aspects of the system are acquired from other individuals

Question 28

Prevarication

Answer 28

users can talk nonsense or lie

Question 29

Learnability

Answer 29

users can learn other variants

Question 30

Reflexivity

Answer 30

the system can be used to discuss the system itself

Question 31

Design features of human language

Answer 31

Interchangeability
Feedback
Specialization
Semanticity
Arbitrariness
Discreteness
Displacement
Productivity
Duality of patterning
Tradition
Prevarication
Learnability
Reflexivity

Question 32

Human language vs Animal communication

Answer 32

• Animal studies provide little comparative evidence for the gradual evolution of human language.
• None of our close genetic relatives have anything like human language.

Question 33

stimulus-bound

Answer 33

Animal communication has this, triggered by exposure to a particular stimulus. Human language need not be linked to a present (or indeed any) stimulus.

Question 34

what does “the bee dance” reflect?

Answer 34

reflects the distance, direction, and quality of a food source
signs are partly symbolic; however, they are innate, and tightly limited in function

Question 35

critical period

Answer 35

In some species of songbirds (the chaffinch), appropriate input within a critical period is necessary for full development of a song

Question 36

dialect variations in animals

Answer 36

songbird species show dialect variation that depends on input, not genetics. also been found in dolphins (including orcas) and some primates.

Question 37

Individual variation

Answer 37

Birdsong shows individual variation in sound combinations. no evidence that the different combinations have different meanings.

Question 38

partly discrete and arbitrary communication

Answer 38

In some species (e.g. vervet monkeys, chickens, prairie dogs. experience necessary to refine the categories of stimuli that elicit the various responses

Question 39

vervet monkeys

Answer 39

different signs for different predators (snakes, eagles, etc). not concrete that these art a coincidence

Question 40

song birds

Answer 40

dialect variations but the vocal repertoire itself is fixed. no evidence that different ways of combining the same sounds have different meaning. signs produced may be symptomatic (unintentional).

Question 41

Higher apes

Answer 41

show little evidence of producing discrete signs. appear to have abstract concepts and a rich social organization, but their vocal repertoire does not seem to reflect this

Question 42

Can monkeys learn to speak?

Answer 42

lack a descended larynx and other physiological properties of the human vocal tract, so they have difficulty articulating human speech

Question 43

Washoe

Answer 43

A chimpanzee that learned to produce about 130 signs over three years, and was claimed to produce spontaneous combinations like BABY IN MY CUP

Question 44

dressage

Answer 44

picking up cues from trainers; or memorizing sequences without acquiring generative rules (apes)

Question 45

Kanzi

Answer 45

a pygmy chimpanzee that uses some word order rules, e.g. Agent-Action (MATATA BITE), Action-Patient (GRAB MATATA)—but only inconsistently. syntax may be uniquely human