The Similarity of Human Language and Animal Communication

Language is an ability so deeply rooted in the existence of human life that it is challenging to envisage a world without it. It has the power to influence the way humans think and is widely believed to be distinct to them. Examining human language and comparing it to animal communication may provide insight into the early stages of human language which may resemble the way animals communicate. Therefore, aids in the debate over whether human language is a capability found only in humans and divides them from other animals. In order to consider this, the true meaning of ‘language’ must be established.

Before discussing what makes a language, it must be defined. There are two fundamental interpretations of what language means: the ability to use words, and the ability to use these words to convey semanticity. Semanticity is a key feature in a set, that was originally composed of thirteen, proposed by linguist and anthropologist, Charles Hockett in the 1960s. They were viewed as the key components of a language and are what distinguishes human language from animal communication. These features are as follows:

1. Vocal-auditory channel
2. Broadcast transmission and directional reception
3. Rapid fading
4. Interchangeability
5. Total Feedback
6. Specialization
7. Semanticity
8. Arbitrariness
9. Discreteness
10. Displacement
11. Productivity
12. Traditional Transmission
13. Duality of patterning

These features refer to basic human language. Animal communication shares some of these features with human languages, such as rapid fading. There is still debated by modern linguists as to whether some animal communication systems possess all of these components, making them equal to human language.

Focusing on the relationship between animal communication and human language, there are major differences between the two, although, their foundations are similar. Perhaps the most evident similarity is the use of body language in both humans and animals. For instance, when a human is scared they cower, similarly to an animal. Research has also found that gestures that apes use to converse and those which human infants utilise have notable similarities.

Human beings have the ability to convey ideas about things that are not present which allows the speaker to talk about the past and the future. Charles Hockett refers to this as displacement:

“Man is apparently almost unique in being able to talk about things that are remote in space or time (or both) from where the talking goes on. This feature—'displacement'—seems to be definitely lacking in the vocal signalling of man's closest relatives, though it does occur in bee-dancing.”

It has been widely accepted that displacement is one of the features that distinguish humans from animals. Despite this, research has discovered animals that possess it. Since Hockett acknowledged the bee-dance in his book, it is only fitting that this is the first animal to be considered. When a foraging honeybee has found a source of food, it returns to the hive and begins to dance by waggling back and forth to convey the location of a food source. During this dance, the honeybee performs complex movements so that its fellow workers understand the precise location of the food source. Some sceptics argued that honeybees do not follow directions to a food source by the dance but by the scent left by the bee who discovered it.

However, recent experiments demonstrate that bees can find the location of food using the bee dance when no scent trail is present. Scholars created a robot honeybee to mimic the movements and patterns of the waggle dance to a group of bees. In a submission to Cornell University, one of the scholars, Tim Landgraf, detailed how the bees responded and followed the directions conveyed by the robot. The dance allows honeybees to successfully communicate with one another and allows them to alter it to suit their needs. Through research and experiments, it can be concluded that bees, if not other animals, do possess displacement in their communication system, thus disproving Hockett’s belief that displacement is one of the key features that separates humans from animals.

Another key feature of Hockett’s design theory is Cultural Transmission. This means that, although humans are born with innate language abilities, they learn how to communicate by interacting with other experienced speakers. In other words, the ability to speak and understand the language is transmitted from one generation to another and so on. A notable similarity between humans and animals in regard to Cultural Transmission is birdsongs. Research has found that there are huge resemblances between the way in which birds and human infants learn. The structure of the birdsongs actually has remarkably similar aspects to the human sound structure. Scientists in the University of Guelph conducted a 30 yearlong study which proved that the bird song of the Savannah sparrow has changed and evolved through that period. Ryan Norris, a biologist who ran this project, theorises that these changes are a result of cultural evolution, similarly to how teenagers in the 1960s would have spoken differently to teenagers nowadays. This proves that the ability to transfer skills through generations is present in animals, once again disproving Hockett’s theory that animals don’t possess this feature which has widely been believed to only exist in human language.

The final feature that will be considered is Semanticity. Semanticity is perhaps the fundamental aspect of communication. This implies that specific signals represent specific meanings. Vervet monkeys have separate alarm calls for different predators, evoking a different response. If a Vervet monkey alarms others that a leopard is near, then the monkeys run up a tree to escape. These alarm calls show semanticity as each Vervet monkey understands what the calls mean and how to react. There are other examples of semanticity in animals. Experiments show that Prairie Dogs are able to describe humans through their alarm calls. They can detail the colour of clothes the individual is wearing and also their general height and shape.

To conclude, countless research has proven that human language is remarkably similar to animal communication. Aspects, that for decades have been believed to be distinct to humans, are present in animal communication systems. Therefore, human language does not necessarily separate humans from animals, in fact, it actually shows a multitude of similarities between the two.

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