What makes human different from other species?

1. 1SYEDA ANEEKA BATOOL
KAZMI

2. ‘Man is the only animal that can communicate
by means of abstract symbols. Yet this ability
shares many features with communication in
other animals, and has arisen from these more
primitive systems.’

3.  Design features characterize language
 Distinguish language from other communication systems
 System must have all 9 features to be language

8. A
Some
Gryllidae and
Tettigoniidae
B
Bee Dancing
C
Stickleback
Courtship
D
Western
Meadowlark
Song
E
Gibbon
Calls
F
Paralinguistic
Phenomena
G
Language
H
Instrum-
ental
Music
1 The Vocal Auditory Channel Auditory, Not
Vocal
NO NO YES YES YES YES Auditory,
Not Vocal
2 Broadcast Transmission And
Directional Reaction
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
3 Rapid Fading YES,
REPEATED
? ? YES YES,
REPEATE
D
YES YES YES
4 Interchangeability LIMITED LIMITED NO ? YES LARGELY YES YES ?
5 Total Feedback YES ? NO YES YES YES YES YES
6 Specialization YES? ? IN PART YES? YES YES YES YES
7 Semanticity NO? YES NO IN PART? YES YES? YES NOT IN
GENERA
L
8 Arbitrariness ? NO IF SEMANTIC
YES
YES IN PART YES
9 Discreteness YES? NO ? ? YES LARGELY NO YES IN PART
10 Displacement YES ALWAYS ? NO IN PART YES
OFTEN
11 Productivity NO YES NO ? NO YES YES
12 Traditional Transmission NO PROBABLY
NO
NO ? ? YES YES YES
13 Duality of Patterning ? (TRIVAL) NO ? NO NO YES

9. Mode of communication
Semanticity
Pragmatic function
Interchangeability
Cultural transmission
Arbitrariness
Discreteness
Displacement
Productivity
Common to all(?)
communication systems
Not found in all
communication systems

11. 11
 Can animals speak human-like languages? NO
 Terrace argues  researchers over-interpreted their results
 Animals produce a particular behavior in response to a particular stimulus or
‘noise’, but do not actually understand what the words mean.