ENHS Nature Trails Dec. 97 Article 2

President's Column: Do Animals Use Language to Communicate?
by Nathan Tublitz

One hallmark of western civilization is the assertion that humans are the pinnacle of life on earth. Initially proclaimed by the ancient Greek philosophers, this human-centered statement has provided the sole justification for the long-standing assumption that we are entitled to dominate all other creatures sharing our earthy sphere. After all, we are unique in so many ways - we think, dream, create, enjoy pleasures, and express moods. We even have the capacity to feel guilty. But within that list of qualities is one feature exemplifying our uniqueness as a species and which has long been used as the rallying cry by those who wish to completely set us apart from our non-human brethren; that feature is language. As Margaret Mead showed us, every human society, no matter how simple or advanced, uses language as a communication medium. Whether the society is hooked up to the Internet or hunts for its food using spears, the dominant form of social communication is language, and this is nearly always manifested verbally. The innate drive to use language as a communication tool is so strongly hardwired genetically that those who have lost the ability to speak have created several complex languages with unique syntactical and structural features. Because of its complexity, language obviously must be the sole domain of humans. Or is it?

Animals clearly utilize many forms of communication to transmit information to both other members of their species and to other species. Coloration is frequently used throughout the animal kingdom as a means to transmit information between individuals. The mating plumage of birds, wing patterning of butterflies, stripes on coral snakes, eye bars on fish, or the brilliantly colored genitalia of some male baboons are all examples of this form of communication. Body posture is another well established method of sending signals to others. We humans use it frequently to deliver a variety of non-verbal messages to spouses, family members, friends and even to strangers. Non-human primates also employ this communication mode routinely as do many other organisms. One needs look no further than man's best friend, the dog, to find body postural signals used in every day situations. Animals also use odors, low frequency vibrations, surface waves, touch, and even electric fields as channels to send and receive information from other organisms.

Arguably the most frequently used communication mode is sound. Sound is used by many species because it can transmit highly detailed information about immediate conditions faster than by other modes, such as odors or surface waves. Many species use sound to attract mates, to fend off predators, to warn neighbors or family members about imminent danger, or for other social communication needs. However, in spite of the near universal usage by throughout the animal kingdom of sound as a communication medium, sound itself does not define language.

Communication using true language has traditionally provided a well defined separation of humans from other animals. By true language, I mean both the use of symbols for abstract ideas and the understanding of syntax, so that symbols convey different messages depending on their relative positions. This strict definition rules out many complex types of communication such as the mating songs of many birds and the waggle dance of honey bees to communicate specific food locations. Yet there are several examples of communication which suggest that animals may have the capacity for language acquisition and usage.

The most prominent example is sign language acquisition by primates, most notably by chimpanzees. Numerous investigations since the 1950s have explored the potential of chimpanzees to learn language. Early studies tried to teach chimps English but these attempts failed primarily because chimps lack the motor ability to make most human sounds. Further studies used other modalities to demonstrate that apes were indeed capable of assimilating many aspects of language. The most prominent of these was the work of the Gardners in the 1970s who taught over 100 American Sign Language words to their chimp Washoe.. Subsequent work demonstrated that chimps can be taught to use signs for nouns, verbs, and pronouns to converse about their immediate situation but failed to unambiguously demonstrate that primates could produce sentences. Two other examples of complex signaling that may have a language-like complexity are the songs of whales and the coloration patterns of cephalopods. Whale songs, which can last upwards of 30 minutes, can be broken up into units, phrases, themes, songs, and song sessions. Similarly, cephalopods are able to produce complex strings of coloration patterns used for display, prey capture, mating, and camouflage purposes.

To date, however, none of these animal examples have met the strict definition of language. One possible reason is that the definition of language is skewed by the obvious and understandable attempt to provide a justification for the uniqueness of mankind . Yet it is clear that some organisms exhibit a unusually rich repertoire of communication skills, which, when properly investigated, may reveal a level of complexity equivalent to that of human language. But for now, the concept of animal language must remain an intriguing hypothesis.

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