TAILIEUCHUNG - Lecture Introduction to linguistics: Language - Is language restricted to humans?
In this chapter, students will be able to understand: Vocal-auditory channel, arbitrariness, semanticity, displacement, duality or double-articulation, creativit, cultural transmission, discreetness, structure dependence, prevarication, medium – transferability, reflexiveness, turn taking, stimulus-freedom, learnability. | Dr. Ansa Hameed Language: Is language restricted to humans? Language: Controversy What does make language controversial? Language is only human capacity (Controversy) Animals do communicate but again no language (Controversy) Controversy: Is language restricted to Humans?????? An ant who can speak French, Javanese and Greek Doesn’t exist. Why ever not? (Robert Desnos) Anne, Anne, come quick as you can There’s a fish that talks in the frying pan? (La Mare) Movies with talking animals Epic Dogs and Cats Finding Nemo Ice Age Ratatoullie Puss in Boots Children wonder: Do animals really talk? Do animals talk??? Need to define ‘talk’ properly Talk ‘to utter words’ ‘to use language in a meaningful way’ Some animals can talk in the first sense Parrots can talk: simple phrases ‘good morning’ Budgerigars can talk in the first sense Do animals talk in the second sense of this word? Are we the only species which possesses language? Let us compare animal communication systems with human language to see if animals can be said to talk in any real sense. If we want to find out whether animals use a language in a meaningful way, we have to understand what a language is. What is language? Charles Hocket in the 1960’s suggested that we can characterize language by means of a set of design features. A definition of a language should be based on these design features (essential characteristics). What are they? 1. Vocal-auditory channel It is perhaps the most obvious characteristics of a language. Sounds are made with the vocal organs and a hearing mechanism receives them. 1. Vocal-auditory channel Is this design feature of a language unique to humans? The use of sound is widespread as a means of animal communication Vocal auditory signals are common among birds, cows, apes, foxes etc. Some animals and birds produce sounds even without using vocal organs like rattlesnakes and woodpeckers 1. Vocal-auditory channel Even in a human communication vocal-auditory channel is not so .
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