LINGUIS 101 1st Edition Lecture 24 Syntax part 4 Is human language special Many animals have communication systems not just humans Are humans really unique in having language What do we mean by language Design features of language Mode of communication o You have to have some way of decoding the signal some mean or mode of communicating the signal Ex sign language modality is visual Animals have a wider variety of modality than humans they use auditory elephants visual fireflies tactile touch dogs lick their pups to bond chemical skunks use their smell to deter predators Semanticity signals have meaning o That signal whatever it is is associated with a meaning Have to have these 2 to be a langue Interchangeability speakers can both send and receive messages o Humans can both produce and perceive the signals of their language o Some animals can Elephant or bat auditory communication o But some cannot Silkworm moth chemical mating signal only produced by females Whistling moth auditory mating signal only produced by males Culturaltransmission exposure to language is required for development o Most animal communication systems are entirely innate no learning or exposure to input required Cow birds raised by other species o Some animals require input possibly in critical period to acquire the communication system of their species like humans Killer whales chimps finches Arbitrariness form of single not directly related to its meaning o Much animal communication is iconic Dog rolling over to show submission o But some species have arbitrary signals Male western fence lizard dark blue indicates territorial ownership light blue indicates not his territory Discreteness decomposable messages o Most animal communication consists entirely of simplex morphemes which do not combine into larger units at all o A very few have combinatorial systems Bee dances pattern vivavity angle These 4 some animal languages have some don t of course all human languages have them Displacement can discuss things not present o Human language ability to discuss items not present in the current environment That plum pudding we made for Christmas in 1978 sure was delicious o Animal communication no animal has displayed this ability in the wild Productivity ability to produce infinite messages recursion o Humans can produce and understand sentences they have never heard before due in part to recursion in syntax o Animal communication systems are closed systems no recursion no productivity or creativity These 2 only human languages have Example primate communication Modality auditory signals plus facial expressions Lexicon small fixed set of alarm calls Syntax none Teaching animals human language There are many possible reasons why animals may not exhibit human like language in the wild Experimental evidence is needed to answer these questions
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