Do animals use language in the same way that humans do? What cognitive abilities are linked to their use of language?

Many animal species do have complex and ingenious ways to signal danger and to communicate about basic needs such as food and sex. For example, in one species of firefly the female has learned to imitate the flashing signal of another species to lure the aliens into her territory. Then she eats them. But is this language in the human sense? Most psychologists agree that it is not.

What about the language abilities of animals with more brain power-specifically, our closest relatives, the great apes? Chimpanzees and Homo sapiens have 98 percent of their genetic material in common. Chimpanzee behavior includes many things that human beings do, such as hunting, toolmaking, embracing, back patting, kissing, and holding hands.

Some researchers believe apes can learn human language. One celebrity in this field is a chimp named Washoe (Gardner & Gardner, 1971). Apes do not have the vocal apparatus to speak, so researchers taught Washoe American Sign Language, which is one of the sign languages of the deaf. Washoe used sign language during everyday activities, such as meals, play, and car rides. In 2 years, Washoe learned 38 different signs, and by the age of 5 she had a vocabulary of 160 signs. Washoe also learned how to put signs together in novel ways, such as You drink and You me tickle. A number of other efforts to teach language to chimps have had similar results (Premack, 1986).

The debate about chimpanzees' ability to use language focuses on two key issues: Can apes understand the meaning of symbols-that is, can they comprehend that one thing stands for another? And can apes learn syntax-that is, can they learn the kinds of mechanics and rules that give human language its flexibility?

The first of these issues may have been settled by Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and her colleagues (1993). These researchers found strong evidence that the chimps Sherman and Austin can understand symbols. For example, if Sherman or Austin is sitting in a room and a symbol for an object is displayed on a screen, he will go into another room, find the object, and bring it back. If the object is not there, he will come back empty-handed (Cowley, 1988). Austin and Sherman can also play a game in which one chimp points to a symbol for food (such as M&Ms) and the other chimp selects the food from a tray. Then they both eat it.

Recent evidence concerning chimps' syntactic ability has come from study of rare pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus), also known as "bonobos." These chimps are friendlier and brighter than their cousins and show some remarkable language abilities. For example, star pupil Kanzi is very good at understanding spoken English and has been shown to comprehend over 600 sentences, such as Can you make the bunny eat the sweet potato? (Savage-Rumbaugh, Shanker, & Taylor, 1998). Kanzi also produces fairly complex sentences using a response board hooked to a speech synthesizer.

The debate over whether or not animals can use language to express thoughts is far from resolved. Researchers agree that animals can communicate with each other and that some can manipulate language-like symbols with syntax that resembles that of young children. At the same time, research has not yet proved that any animals can use language to express as many ideas as adult humans can or can use language as complexly as adult humans do.

1		What do you think really defines language? Is it something innately human or can it be considered a possibility for animals?
2		Given what you read, what do you think the connection between language and thought is?
3		What might be the implications and applications of the findings presented in the transcript?
4		What are your personal reactions and conclusions to the notion of animal language? Be sure to differentiate between language and communication.