Wildlife
Language is a way of communicating through sound, where specific meanings are used in certain circumstances. Many animals have a generic alarm call used for all dangers - this is not language. However, vervet monkeys have different calls for warning each other about snakes, eagles and leopards, and this is sophisticated enough to be considered a proto-language. Other animals with these 'proto-language' abilities are dolphins, apes and parrots.
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Communicate to intimidate
Showdown for Atlantic spotted dolphins.
Showdown for Atlantic spotted dolphins.
Smart squid
Caribbean reef squid use brain power for a quick change act.
Caribbean reef squid use brain power for a quick change act.
Talking raven
Iolo Williams looks into the varied calls of the raven on Anglesey in North Wales.
Iolo Williams investigates the amazing vocal range of the raven. Newborough forest on Anglesey is home to around 800 ravens - the largest colony in Britain.
Microcircuit masterpiece
A bee's brain the size of a sugar grain stores and communicates complex data.
Bees are one of evolution's masterpieces. Tens of thousands of neurons packed into a space the size of a grain of sugar, work to process vital information on which flowers can be visited at which time of day. But what's even more amazing is that the bees communicate information on time, place and quallity of flowers and their nectar to each other back in the hive. And they do it by dancing...
Communicating danger
Prairie dogs speak differently but have common words.
Prairie dogs speak differently but have common words.
Animal language is the modeling of human language in non human animal systems. While the term is widely used, researchers agree that animal languages are not as complex or expressive as human language.
Some researchers including the linguist Charles Hockett, who proposed a list of design features of Human Language, argue that there are significant differences separating human language from animal communication even at its most complex, and that the underlying principles are not related. Accordingly, Thomas A. Sebeok has proposed not to use the term 'language' in case of animal sign systems.
Others argue that an evolutionary continuum exists between the communication methods these animals use and human language. Examining this continuum could help explain how humanity evolved its incredibly sophisticated proficiency for language.
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Bonobo
Chimpanzee
Human
Black-tailed prairie dog
Gunnison's prairie dog
Short-beaked common dolphin