Chapter 1. Animal Language

Short Description

Whether or not animals truly have language ability has been a topic of debate in psychology for many decades.

Long Description

Whether or not animals truly have language ability has been a topic of debate in psychology for many decades. The clip begins with some examples of non-verbal animal communication, such as the warning flash of a white-tailed deer, and the intricate "dances" of bees that indicate the location of a food source. A psychologist argues that there is no clear division between human language and that of other species, but rather that the differences are a matter of degree. One of the difficulties in evaluating animal language is that most species lack vocal cords. Research efforts with animals, therefore, focus on non-verbal methods of communication. The clip then shows research efforts to teach human language to dolphins. Some of these dolphins have been able to learn up to sixty words and to process these words in 2000 sentences. Bonobos also have been shown to be capable of language processing. In the clip, we see a bonobo communicating with a researcher via a symbol board.

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