Human & Animal Communication

Question 1

Who developed the design features of language?

Answer 1

Charles Hockett (1960)

Question 2

What is interchangeability?

Answer 2

the concept that anyone can be a speaker or a listener of a language

Question 3

What is semanticity?

Answer 3

symbols/gestures have an accepted meaning

Question 4

What is arbitrariness?

Answer 4

there is no direct connection between a sign and the item if significance

Question 5

What is discreetness?

Answer 5

there are separate units of communication

Question 6

What is specialisation?

Answer 6

communication exists for its own sake

Question 7

What is displacement?

Answer 7

talking about things that are not present

Question 8

What is productivity?

Answer 8

creation of new messages from existing signs

Question 9

What is duality of patterning?

Answer 9

combination of discrete units to create new signs/meanings

Question 10

What is prevarication?

Answer 10

the ability to lie

Question 11

What is reflexivity?

Answer 11

being able to use language to talk about language

Question 12

What design features were added by Aitchison?

Answer 12

spontaneous usage
turn-taking
structure dependence

Question 13

What is spontaneous usage?

Answer 13

using language out of choice, not just in reposes to a stimulus

Question 14

What is turn-taking?

Answer 14

patterns of communication between interlocutors

Question 15

What is structure dependence?

Answer 15

reliance on grammar to convey messages

Question 16

How do honeybees communicate distance?

Answer 16

round dance; short
figure of 8 (sickle) dance; medium
waggle dance; long

Question 17

How do honeybees communicate direction and quality of source?

Answer 17

direction; in terms of angle to the sun

quality; liveliness of dance

Question 18

What design features do honeybees show?

Answer 18

arbitrariness; dance shapes about food source
displacement; food source not present
semanticity; dances have an accepted meaning

Question 19

What design features do honeybees not show?

Answer 19

interchangeability; only forager bees
productivity; can only describe in the horizontal plane
duality of patterning; cannot combine dances to create new meanings

Question 20

What design features do non-human primates generally not show?

Answer 20

spontaneity; symptomatic, usually in response to a stimulus

arbitrariness; largely indexical to point out a referent

Question 21

How do vervet monkeys communicate?

Answer 21

eagle alarm; look up/hide in bushes
leopard alarm; climb trees
snake alarm; look around on ground
show prevarication

Question 22

What abilities did Koko the gorilla show?

Answer 22

1000 ASL signs
2000 English words
novel thought communication; finger bracelet
prevarication

Question 23

What abilities did Kanzi the bonobo show?

Answer 23

spontaneous lexigram use
some ASL (by watching Koko)
telegraphic speech (using lexigrams)
novel sentences

Question 24

What abilities did Alex the parrot show?

Answer 24

spoke 150 English words
knowledge of shape, colour, material
maths skills
meta-awareness
prevarication

Question 25

What abilities did Buzz & Dorris the dolphins show?

Answer 25

communication of abstract ideas to each other

- left and right

Question 26

What do animal experiments tell us about their language abilities?

Answer 26

language training is possible
can only learn the the extent of a young child
cannot understand or use grammar

Question 27

What are the problems with animal experiments?

Answer 27

cannot predict what language will occur in the wild
animals only respond to their trainer
users of ASL said Koko’s signing was largely uninterpretable
arguable that they are seeking reward not communication