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Both animals and humans have different ways to communicate, but at the same time there are a few ways in which we communicate very similarly. Human language does not set humans apart from other species because almost all species can communicate, and some in ways very similar to us. Animals can communicate with hand motions, and sign language, and there are also cases like Alex the parrot who can talk and understand what he is saying just like us.
Animals and humans are able to communicate nonverbally with sign language, hand motions, or body language. “Bees communicate the location of pollen to other bees in the hive by dancing” (Doc 2). Honey bees have two dances, a circular dance, and a tail wagging dance (Doc 2). Bees are able to tell other bees where to find pollen by making gestures or “dancing”, similar to how human can communicate with gestures and sign language. Chimps can't talk because they have a thin tongue and a high vocal box, however, humans have been able to communicate by teaching them sign language (Doc 6). Koko, a gorilla knows about one-thousand American sign language signs (Doc 6). Although Koko can't talk, she like deaf or nonverbal people, is able
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to communicate with others by using sign language. Even though animals can't speak in the exact same way their methods of communication are clearly similar to our own. We know how chimps and other animals communicate, but there is the case of Alex the parrot who is able to communicate in the same way humans do.
Most parrots can make sounds that resemble words to us, but there is little evidence they mean anything to the bird, “however, Alex seemed to be different” (Doc 4). Alex was able to say something and appeared to understand what he was saying. “Unlike any chimpanzee, Alex learned to speak words clearly” (Doc 4). Alex had the intelligence of a five year old child and knew about 150 words (Doc 4). Alex was a special case in animal communication due to his ability to communicate verbally and understand everything he was saying. Not all animals communicate verbally, but Alex was able to communicate in nearly the exact same way as a five year old human
child. Language doesn’t set humans apart from animals because almost all animals can communicate, and some communicate very similarly to how we communicate. Although we are different from animals who can not communicate with language, there are many cases where they can.alex the parrot and koko the gorilla are extraordinary creatures who were able to communicate just like us. and there are also other types of communication between animals they are like gestures and motions, which humans also use for communication. Humans “language” may be slightly different, but animals are also able to use different forms of it, and make their own language, so we aren’t really that different.
The Quaker parrot may be the answer for you if you are looking for a talking bird. It learns quite easily and the parrot does bond well with its owner. In fact he loves to be involved with people on a regular basis. When teaching a parrot to talk it is best if the teaching is done by just one member of the family but I am sure you will find the bird making sounds or words that other members of the family use as well.
Do non-human primates have communication, language, both, or neither? By definition, communication is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information (Snowdon). Communication is very closely related to social behavior since they are both referring to the ways animals interact with each other (Quiatt and Reynolds 1993). Conversely, language is defined as a system of communication using sounds or gestures that are put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules (Haviland et al. 2010). Non-human primates and human primates are similar in many ways, and communication is no exception. They both have various types of communication senses and styles. Human primate communication senses consist of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. Non-human primates mainly understand the world through sight, but smell, taste, and hearing are important as well (Quiatt and Reynolds 1993). Human primates are capable of speaking a language, while non-human primates use different vocal calls to communicate. In essence, the difference is simple, human primates have language while non-human primates do not. Even though non-human primates do not have language, they do have communication.
4. Due to lack of facial Muscles they cannot make facial changes that other primates use to communicate.
Rene Descartes views humans and animals on completely separate levels. He claims that animals do not possess intelligence and only act through their nature. While humans can perform a multitude of tasks by reasoning, animals can only carry out tasks where nature has given them the skills to do so. One of Descartes’ main arguments about an animal’s inability to reason is that they are unable to communicate. If animals are born with the same general organ structure as humans, what’s stopping them from communicating with us?
When we think of communication, we tend to think of speech, but there is a lot more to it than verbal communication. Gesturing, tone of voice and facial expressions are all parts of communication that are not verbal. We may not even always realize how much of communication is non-verbal, because we normally don’t think about it that way. However, it would be nearly impossible to communicate without non-verbal communication.
Language is commonly held to be the province of humans, but other inhabitants of earth possess their own forms of communication. Birds, dolphins, and whales are some of those that have a language. Primates also use vocal communication with each other. Their utterances have varied uses and volumes, with each primate’s voice being distinct just as human voices are. These unique calls have given researchers insight into the social workings of primate groups. The very fact that primates have a language offers insight into the evolution of language and calls into question what the term human truly means.
The debate about whether or not apes can learn human language has been going on for many years. There is an overwhelming amount of research on the subject to support both sides. It should be understood however, that learning and understanding human language is not the same as speaking the language. Apes are unable to physically speak human language for several reasons. As noted on the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics website, “Unlike humans, apes lack the anatomical pre-requisites for verbal language production. The organs within the vocal tract, such as larynx muscles and vocal cords, cannot be moved as freely and coordinated as in humans, especially not at a comparable speed” (Bangle, “Questions and Answers”). With that said, I believe the research I found strongly supports that apes do have the capacity for learning and understanding human language. There have been numerous studies conducted in which apes have been taught to communicate using sign language. In the 1960’s a female chimpanzee named Washoe was taught the American Sign Language. Washoe was raised by researchers Allen and Beatrix Gardner and is believed to be the first chimpanzee to learn aspects of human language. The Gardners established Project Washoe to teach the chimpanzee American Sign Language. The National Geographic News reported that “For Washoe to be considered "reliable"
In 1977 Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard University, did something very bold. At a time when animals still were considered automatons, she set out to find what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. She brought a one-year-old African gray parrot she named Alex into her lab to teach him to reproduce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”
Nonverbal communication is rich in meaning. Everyone communicates through nonverbal gestures and motions. I realized that you can decipher a lot from an individual or individuals by just paying close attention to what they do, and that words are not really necessary. Watching two people interacting, I figured that they are really close by their space communication, eye language, and body movements.
There are many forms of non-verbal communication. These may include: writing, bodily motions, facial expression, smelling, whistle, drumming, touching etc. According to Salzmann, Stanlaw & Adachi (2015) “The term nonverbal communication, taken literally, refers to the transmission of signals by means other than spoke words.” The form of nonverbal communication I will be focused on is sign language. Sign language plays a major role in American communities for the deaf and the mute, so they may be able to communicate with their friends and families. In America they practice the American Sign Language or Ameslan Sign Language. This paper will focus on “The Development of Sign Language.”
Keegan (2010) says humans are not the only beings to respond to this kind of communication. An example: If you have a pet, especially a dog, it may follow directions and respond to hand and body movements more than your words. Dogs will even get confused if you say “sit” but give the hand ...
Apes communicate with their own “languages”; in the next few paragraphs we are going to talk about apes and how they converse with one another and with humans.
Non-verbal communication decodes messages using body language and facial expressions. Therefore, non-verbal communication is a type of language as its own that can be used universally. This includes, touching behavior, proximity, eye contact, gestures and many more. Furthermore, non-verbal communication can be misinterpreted as well because people from other countries has different ways of interpreting gesture...
...-human animals cannot speak English, and each species has their own ‘language’, there is no possible way to make them understand. In that case, how would this work?
There are different types of communication (verbal, nonverbal, paralinguistic). Verbal communication is communicating with words. For instance, an individual speaks to another at a business meeting regarding profit margins. Second, nonverbal communication is communicating without the use of words but through gesture, body language, facial expression and eye contact (Baron, Branscombe, Byrne). Also these physical expressions can provide powerful and valuable information about others’ current feelings and reactions without the need of words. Lastly paralinguistic is defined as the use of emotional expression, gestures, and the location of the body in relation to the other's body, eye contact, and level of voice instead of verbally expressing these cues (Triandis). Additionally, paralinguistic is also known as paralanguage as a way to modify or nuance meaning, or convey emotion, with the use of pitch, volume, and intonation (Triandis). For instance, as described by Triandis’ article Culture and Communication, “in Bulgaria and south India a nod means "no,” and a shake of the head, means "yes".” It’s interesting how Triandis describes the amount of difficulty it was to compre...