Children’s Thinking Chapter 7 – Animal Communication and Human Language – Cognitive
Development Study Guide
*Learning outcome #1*: Understand how the study of animal communication informs us about
the nature and sophistication of human communication. - ✔✔• Animal communication: Why
study it?
--> To evaluate the claim that language is an
innate, species-specific ability (Chomsky, LAD).
--> To observe how other species cooperate and convey information.
--> To study the evolution of language.
--> To understand the nature of human language.
Do animals have languages? - ✔✔• Rico, a 9-year-old border collie, was able to learn 200
words.
--> HOWEVER . . .
↪ Rico could only FETCH those 200 different objects. When a child learns a word, more is
expected than the ability to fetch the object that it identifies.
• Essential characteristics of human languages:
(1) *Semanticity or reference*: The ability to refer to things.
--> Vervet monkeys have a system of four different alarm calls: (a) snake; (b) eagle; (c) lions and
leopards; (d) hyena or Masai tribesman.
--> HOWEVER . . .
↪ It may be that they are not ~intentionally~ using alarm calls referentially . . . they could
simply be the reaction of the utterer to a threat. For example, vervets will continue making the
call even if all of their group has seen the danger and escaped. At the same time, alarm calls do
not seem to be just automatic reactions because it is more likely that birds and mammals will
give such calls when they are close to others of their species compared to when they are alone.
↪ Alarm calls lack displacement and creativity/ productivity.
, (2) *Displacement*: The ability to refer to things that are far removed in time or space.
--> When a bee discovers a source of food it is able to communicate the source of the food to
the other bees in its hive. It communicates this message through two major types of dances: (a)
the round dance; (b) the tail-wagging or waggle dance.
↪ The round dance is used if the nectar is within 10 metres of the hive.
↪ The tail-wagging or waggle dance is used if the nectar is over 100 metres from the hive. Tells
the other bees which direction they should fly with respect to the position of the sun.
--> HOWEVER . ..
↪ The degree of displacement is much less than that of human languages. Bees cannot
communicate about the food sources they visited the day before, nor food sources that are
farther
*Learning outcome #2*: Be able to discuss the details of the communication patterns of vervet
monkeys and honeybees. - ✔✔
*Learning outcome #3*: Know that attempts to teach apes to speak have been conducted for a
hundred years and why those based on behavioural training were inconclusive. - ✔✔The first
rounds in the chimp language wars
• William Furness (1909):
--> Attempted to teach two young orangutans and two chimpanzees to speak.
--> One of the orangutans learned to produce 'papa' and 'cup'.
• Winthrop and Luella Kellogg (1931):
--> Took a 7-month-old chimpanzee, Gua, into their home and brought it up alongside their own
son, Donald.
--> Let Gua pick up language in the same way a child learns.
--> Gua was initially more advanced than Donald. However, at 19 months, Donald started to
learn new words quickly . . . Gua did not.
Development Study Guide
*Learning outcome #1*: Understand how the study of animal communication informs us about
the nature and sophistication of human communication. - ✔✔• Animal communication: Why
study it?
--> To evaluate the claim that language is an
innate, species-specific ability (Chomsky, LAD).
--> To observe how other species cooperate and convey information.
--> To study the evolution of language.
--> To understand the nature of human language.
Do animals have languages? - ✔✔• Rico, a 9-year-old border collie, was able to learn 200
words.
--> HOWEVER . . .
↪ Rico could only FETCH those 200 different objects. When a child learns a word, more is
expected than the ability to fetch the object that it identifies.
• Essential characteristics of human languages:
(1) *Semanticity or reference*: The ability to refer to things.
--> Vervet monkeys have a system of four different alarm calls: (a) snake; (b) eagle; (c) lions and
leopards; (d) hyena or Masai tribesman.
--> HOWEVER . . .
↪ It may be that they are not ~intentionally~ using alarm calls referentially . . . they could
simply be the reaction of the utterer to a threat. For example, vervets will continue making the
call even if all of their group has seen the danger and escaped. At the same time, alarm calls do
not seem to be just automatic reactions because it is more likely that birds and mammals will
give such calls when they are close to others of their species compared to when they are alone.
↪ Alarm calls lack displacement and creativity/ productivity.
, (2) *Displacement*: The ability to refer to things that are far removed in time or space.
--> When a bee discovers a source of food it is able to communicate the source of the food to
the other bees in its hive. It communicates this message through two major types of dances: (a)
the round dance; (b) the tail-wagging or waggle dance.
↪ The round dance is used if the nectar is within 10 metres of the hive.
↪ The tail-wagging or waggle dance is used if the nectar is over 100 metres from the hive. Tells
the other bees which direction they should fly with respect to the position of the sun.
--> HOWEVER . ..
↪ The degree of displacement is much less than that of human languages. Bees cannot
communicate about the food sources they visited the day before, nor food sources that are
farther
*Learning outcome #2*: Be able to discuss the details of the communication patterns of vervet
monkeys and honeybees. - ✔✔
*Learning outcome #3*: Know that attempts to teach apes to speak have been conducted for a
hundred years and why those based on behavioural training were inconclusive. - ✔✔The first
rounds in the chimp language wars
• William Furness (1909):
--> Attempted to teach two young orangutans and two chimpanzees to speak.
--> One of the orangutans learned to produce 'papa' and 'cup'.
• Winthrop and Luella Kellogg (1931):
--> Took a 7-month-old chimpanzee, Gua, into their home and brought it up alongside their own
son, Donald.
--> Let Gua pick up language in the same way a child learns.
--> Gua was initially more advanced than Donald. However, at 19 months, Donald started to
learn new words quickly . . . Gua did not.
