Blog Prompt 3
Due Sept. 4, 2009
Write between 300-600 words in formal standard English on one of the following subjects. Feel free to cite the texts, or the clips that we watched, as you make your points.
1. Which of the five properties of language described in Yule do you believe to be the most important in differentiating between human and animal communication?
2. Many people believe the animals that we live with -- our pets -- understand us and communicate with us. Do you believe that a domestic animal is capable of more or less communicative power than what is described in this chapter? You might consider issues of tone, gesture, or behavior -- Yule does not give much attention to these aspects of communication.
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The property that separates human and animal communication is the human ability to use duality in language. When “human language is organized at two levels or layers simultaneously (Yule, 12)”this is known as duality. Chimpanzees like Washoe have proved that animals can grasp language to an extent, showing a limited language through use of American Sign Language. Specific animals have proved that elements of human language are not restricted merely to humans. All animals from generation to generation shall experience cultural transmission, or the passing of language between generations. The gorilla Koco proved that animals could be productive in their language by taking an experience, emotion that was unknown and new to her and relating it back to language. Even the common worker bee uses displacement when communicating to other bees the location of nectar.
ReplyDelete“Among other creatures, each communicative signal appears to be a single fixed form that cannot be broken down into separate parts (Yule, 12).” Yule goes on to say that while your pet may be able to say woof, meow, or chirp there is not a distinct meaning for each of the sounds that animal made. If animals used duality their language usage could be related to that of a human Childs language, having a hungry cry/ bark or a sleepy cry/ meow.
The five characteristics of human language combined are what make it such a unique communication, and what make it so difficult for animals to understand it. It has although been proven that animals like Kanzi con “perform linguistically on a level comparable to a human child (Yule, 16).” What sets the language of Kanzi and human language apart is the human ability to understand, and use duality, using distinct sounds as well as meanings. Communication signals in animals appear to be single leveled and unvarying. The cat’s meow may mean that the cat is hungry or it may be that the cat just wants to go out; if it was using duality one might hear different variations of meow to signal what the cat wants.