All animals have their own ways of communicating. For example, crabs wave their claws to show they’re healthy and ready to find a mate. Cuttlefish use special skin cells called chromatophores to change their skin patterns, which can help them hide or warn others. Honeybees do a special dance to tell other bees where to find food and how good it is. These are all amazing ways animals communicate, but do they actually have a language like humans do?
To figure out if animals have language, we can look at four important features: discreteness, grammar, productivity, and displacement.
Crabs and cuttlefish don’t really use these features. They don’t combine their signals in new ways, and they only talk about what’s happening right now, like “I’m healthy” or “I’m dangerous.” But some animals do show a few of these language traits.
For instance, bees use their waggle dance to show where food is located, which is an example of displacement because the food is outside the hive. Prairie dogs have alarm calls that describe predators in detail, like their size and speed. Great apes, like chimpanzees and gorillas, are also good at communicating. Some have learned a type of sign language. A chimpanzee named Washoe could combine signs to make new phrases, showing discreteness. Koko, a gorilla, knew over 1000 signs and could understand about 2000 English words. She once talked about a kitten that had died, showing displacement. However, these apes were using a human-made system, not one they developed naturally.
Dolphins use whistles to share information about age, location, names, and gender. They can understand some grammar when researchers use gestures to communicate with them, but they don’t use grammar naturally.
While these animal communication systems have some language-like features, none of them have all four. Even the impressive abilities of Washoe and Koko are still not as advanced as the language skills of most three-year-old humans.
Humans have a unique language system because we combine grammar and productivity with discreteness and displacement. Our brains can take a limited number of elements and create an infinite number of messages. We can understand and create complex sentences and even make up new words. We can talk about anything, including imaginary things and even tell lies.
Scientists are still learning about animal communication. It’s possible that human language and animal communication are not completely different but are part of a spectrum. After all, humans are animals too!
Imagine you are an animal that needs to communicate with others in your group. Design a communication system using gestures, sounds, or visual signals. Think about how you would express different messages like danger, food, or play. Present your system to the class and explain how it works.
Divide into two groups. One group will argue that animals have language, while the other will argue they do not. Use examples from the article, like bees, prairie dogs, and apes, to support your arguments. After the debate, discuss what you learned about animal communication.
Go on a “language feature hunt” in the article. Identify examples of discreteness, grammar, productivity, and displacement in animal communication. Create a chart to organize your findings and share it with the class.
In small groups, choose an animal from the article and role-play how it communicates. Use props or costumes to enhance your presentation. Afterward, discuss how your chosen animal’s communication compares to human language.
Work in pairs to invent a simple language using symbols or sounds. Include elements of discreteness, grammar, productivity, and displacement. Write a short story or message using your new language and present it to the class, explaining how it works.
Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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All animals communicate. Crabs wave their claws at each other to signal that they’re healthy and ready to mate. Cuttlefish use pigmented skin cells called chromatophores to create patterns on their skin that act as camouflage or warnings to rivals. Honeybees perform complex dances to let other bees know the location and quality of a food source. All of these animals have impressive communication systems, but do they have language?
To answer that question, we can look at four specific qualities that are often associated with language: discreteness, grammar, productivity, and displacement. Discreteness means that there is a set of individual units, such as sounds or words, that can be combined to communicate new ideas, like a set of refrigerator poetry magnets you can rearrange to create different phrases. Grammar provides a system of rules that tells you how to combine those individual units. Productivity is the ability to use language to create an infinite number of messages. Displacement is the ability to talk about things that aren’t right in front of you, such as past, future, or fictional events.
So, does animal communication exhibit any of these qualities? For crabs and cuttlefish, the answer is no. They don’t combine their signals in creative ways. Those signals also don’t have to be in a grammatical order, and they only communicate current conditions, like “I am healthy” or “I am poisonous.” However, some animals do display some of these properties. Bees use the moves, angle, duration, and intensity of their waggle dance to describe the location and richness of a food source. That source is outside the hive, so they exhibit the property of displacement.
They share that language trait with prairie dogs, which live in towns of thousands and are hunted by various predators. Their alarm calls indicate the predator’s size, shape, speed, and even details about human predators, such as what the person is wearing. Great apes, like chimpanzees and gorillas, are also great communicators. Some have even learned a modified sign language. A chimpanzee named Washoe demonstrated discreteness by combining multiple signs into original phrases, like “Please open. Hurry.” Koko, a female gorilla who understands more than 1000 signs and around 2000 words of spoken English, referred to a beloved kitten that had died. In doing so, she displayed displacement, though it’s worth noting that the apes in both of these examples were using a human communication system, not one that appeared naturally in the wild.
There are many other examples of sophisticated animal communication, such as in dolphins, which use whistles to identify age, location, names, and gender. They can also understand some grammar in a gestural language researchers use to communicate with them. However, grammar is not seen in the dolphin’s natural communication. While these communication systems may have some of the qualities of language we’ve identified, none display all four. Even Washoe and Koko’s impressive abilities are still outpaced by the language skills of most three-year-old humans.
Animal topics of conversation are usually limited. Bees talk about food, prairie dogs talk about predators, and crabs talk about themselves. Human language stands alone due to the powerful combination of grammar and productivity, on top of discreteness and displacement. The human brain can take a finite number of elements and create an infinite number of messages. We can craft and understand complex sentences, as well as words that have never been spoken before. We can use language to communicate about an endless range of subjects, talk about imaginary things, and even lie.
Research continues to reveal more about animal communication. It may turn out that human language and animal communication aren’t entirely different but exist on a continuum. After all, we are all animals.
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This version maintains the core content while ensuring clarity and appropriateness.
Animals – Living organisms that can move and consume organic material for energy. – In biology class, we learned that animals have different adaptations to survive in their environments.
Language – A system of communication used by a particular community or species. – Scientists study how dolphins use language to communicate with each other in the ocean.
Communication – The process of exchanging information or expressing thoughts and feelings. – Bees use a special dance as a form of communication to tell other bees where to find flowers.
Grammar – The set of rules that govern how words are used in a language. – Understanding the grammar of animal communication helps researchers decode the sounds made by different species.
Productivity – The ability to create new messages or ideas using a language. – Human language has high productivity, allowing us to express countless thoughts and ideas.
Discreteness – The property of language that allows complex messages to be broken down into smaller, distinct parts. – Discreteness in language means that words can be combined in different ways to create new meanings.
Displacement – The ability to talk about things that are not present in time or space. – Displacement allows humans to discuss past events and future plans, unlike most animals.
Bees – Insects known for their role in pollination and their complex social structures. – Bees communicate the location of food sources through a series of movements known as the waggle dance.
Dolphins – Intelligent marine mammals known for their playful behavior and advanced communication skills. – Dolphins use a variety of clicks and whistles to communicate with each other in the water.
Apes – Large primates that are closely related to humans and known for their intelligence. – Apes, like chimpanzees, have been observed using tools and learning sign language to communicate with humans.
