1) Bees communicate the location of food sources to other bees through two types of dances performed inside the hive - a round dance indicates nearby food less than 10 meters away, while a tail-wagging dance provides information on the direction and distance of more distant food sources over 10 meters away. 2) Researchers study animal communication systems to determine if they exhibit features of human language such as being semantic, arbitrary, discrete, displaced, and productive. While animals communicate information, their systems generally lack one or more of these features to be considered a full language. 3) Experiments on animal communication help us better understand animals and may provide insights into the nature and origins of human language. Bees, primates,

1. UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DEL ECUADOR
MAESTRÍA EN LINGÜÍSTICA Y DIDÁCTICA DE LAS
LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS
MODULE: PSYCHOLINGUISTICS
FACILITATOR: Lic. Boris Cadena Murga MSc.
STUDENTS: Esperanza Andrade
Milton Cáceres
ANIMAL LANGUAGE
OBJECTIVE. To analyze the system of communication of animals from the point of view
of human language by comparing the most important features, such as: system, arbitrary,
vocal, symbols, and processes.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
Animal language is a very complex thing. Many experiments are being done now to
decide whether animals have a language. These experiments are interesting because they
tell us more about animals . They are also interesting because they may help us learn
language, so the question arises. Do animals have a language?. Of course, the answer to this
question depends on how ”language” is defined. We may define language as any system
Natural animal communication
can include:-
Chemical signals (used by some very
simple creatures, including protozoa)
Smell (related to chemical signals,
eg. pheromones attract, skunk
secretions repel)
Touch
Movement
Posture (eg. dogs,
geese)
Facial gestures (eg.
dogs snarling)
Visual signals (eg.
feathers)
Sound (eg. very
many vertebrate and
invertebrate calls)

2. for exchanging information. If this definition is used, then bees, dolphins, and monkeys all
have a language. But language may be defined in other ways.
DEFINITIONS
1. Language is a system for exchanging information by making new combination of
symbols.
2. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used by human beings in the
process of communication
3. A human system of communication that uses arbitrary signals, such as voice
sounds, gestures, or written symbols. The study of language is called linguistics.
If these definitions are used, then bees and dolphins do not have a language. Just let us
analyze the first two terms: System an arbitrary to demonstrate this criterion
Language is a system because:
1. It is a tool, meant to communicate
2. It has a certain structure (grammar and syntax and spelling) one needs to know to use it
correctly.
Language as arbitrary
Languages are said to be arbitrary because there is no necessary or natural
relationship between the words of a given language and the concepts that they represent.
For example, there is nothing in the word "tree" that connects it to the concept of a tree;
which is why Spanish can use a totally different sign for the same concept: "árbol"; and so
on with other languages.
Although, some animals certainly seem to have a communication system. That
system may or may not be a language. For example, the bees has ways of telling other bees
about food. Bees have been studied by Karl Von Frisch who won a novel prize for his
work. He studied bees’ activities when they return to the home called a hive. When a bee
found some food, it returned to the hive and danced. The dance was the way the bee
communicated to other bees the fact that it had found food.

3. Bees do two kinds of dances to tell other bees of their discovery of food. First, there
is a round dance. In this dance, the bee moves in a circle inside the hive. The round dance is
used when food is close by. The food must not be more than ten meters away. If a bee
comes back and does a round dance, other bees know they must go out and look nearby for
food. The bees also smell the bee that has found the food. The smell tells them what kind of
flower to look for. After watching the round dance and smelling the bee that has found the
food, the other bees can find the food source.
A second kind of dance done by the bees is a tail-wagging dance. In this dance, the
bee wiggles the end of its body as it moves in a straight line. The tail- wagging dance is
used when the food is far away. The food must be more than ten meters away. The bees
know from the speed of the tail-wagging dance just how far away the food source is. The
line the bee dances on shows the direction that the bees must fly in to find the food. In the
tail-wagging dance, the bees also smell the bee that has found the food. The smell tells
them what kind of flower to look for. After watching the tail-wagging the tail-wagging
dance and smelling the bee that has found the food, the other bees know three things. They
know how far to fly, what direction to fly in, and what kind of flowers to look for.
WHAT KIND OF LANGUAGE SHOULD WE TEACH THESE ANIMALS?
We must avoid using features of human language that are physiologically difficult
or impossible for the animal manage.
For example, spoken human language is extremely difficult or impossible for most
animals because of the structure of their vocal organs. Apes, for example, can't produce a
large proportion of the vowels and would have difficulty with some of the consonants. This
may be due not only to the shapes of the vocal organs but also to the limitations of the
motor centres in the brain that control these organs. We might attempt, on the other hand, to
teach apes language that involves them using their hands (eg. sign language or the
manipulation of symbols).
Some birds, such as certain parrots and the Indian Hill Mynah, are able to mimic
human speech with great clarity. We could, therefore, attempt to teach such animals spoken
human language.
Dolphins cannot be taught either type of language but may be able to understand
sounds or gestures and to respond by pressing specially designed levers.
WHAT DO WE TEST FOR?
Animal communication systems generally lack one or (usually) more of the following
features:

4.  Semanticity
 Arbitrariness
 Discreteness
 Displacement
 Productivity
Most researchers attempting to teach language to animals are attempting to test for the
existence of these features in the "language" use of their subjects.
CONCLUSIONS
 Animals do communicate which involves information transfer from the sender to
a receiver.
 They can convey their needs, desires and reactions to the environment via some
sophisticated signaling of their own.
 The understanding of animal communication is essential for understanding the
animal world in general
QUESTIONS
Comprehension
1. Describe the bees’ communication system in general
2. Explain the difference between the bees’ round dance and their tail-wagging dance.
3. How are the two dances similar?
Discussion
1. Define language in your own words.
2. Do you think animals have languages? Why?
3. Do you know of other animals whose communication systems have been studied by
people?
References:
 Prasad S, Animal Behaviour (2004), CBS Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi
 Harjinder Singh, A textbook of Animal Behaviour (1995), 1st edition, Anmol
Publications Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi.
 Aubrey Manning and Marian Stamp Dawkins, An introduction to Animal
Behaviour, 5th edition, Cambridge university Press.
 www. nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep3.htm
 http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/episode/2011/01/08/january-8-2011/
 www. youtube.com/ waggledance.