Talking animal explained

A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language.[1] Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal language, however, these usually are not considered a language because they lack one or more of the defining characteristics, e.g. grammar, syntax, recursion, and displacement. Researchers have been successful in teaching some animals to make gestures similar to sign language,[2] although whether this should be considered a language has been disputed.[3]

Possibility of animal language

The term refers to animals who can imitate (though not necessarily understand) human speech. Parrots, for example, repeat phrases of human speech through exposure.[4] There were parrots that learnt to use words in proper context and had meaningful dialogues with humans. Alex, a grey parrot, understood questions about color, shape, size, number etc. of objects and would provide a one-word answer to them.[5] He is also documented to have asked an existential question.[6] Another grey parrot, N'kisi, could use 950 words in proper context, was able to form sentences and even understood the concept of grammatical tense.[7]

Researchers have attempted to teach great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans) spoken language with poor results as they can only be taught how to say one or a few basic or limited words or phrases or less, and sign language with significantly better results as they can be very creative with various signs like those of deaf people. In this regard, there are now numerous studies and an extensive bibliography.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Reported cases by species

Birds

See main article: Talking bird.

Dogs

See also: Hundesprechschule Asra.

An owner hears a dog making a sound that resembles a phrase says the phrase back to the dog, who then repeats the sound and is rewarded with a treat. Eventually the dog learns a modified version of the original sound. Dogs have limited vocal imitation skills, so these sounds usually need to be shaped by selective attention and social reward.[18]

Cats

Great apes

See main article: Great ape language.

Great apes mimicking human speech is rare although some of them have attempted to do so by often watching and mimicking the gestures, and voices from their human trainers. Apparently, human voice control in non-human great apes could derive from an evolutionary ancestor with similar voice control capacities. These include chimpanzees and orangutans.

Elephants

Cetaceans

See main article: Whale vocalization.

Some of the species of toothed whales like dolphins and porpoises such as beluga whales and orca can imitate the patterns of human speech.[28]

Others

In fiction

See main article: Talking animals in fiction.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Can any animals talk and use language like humans?. BBC. 16 February 2015.
  2. Web site: What Do Talking Apes Really Tell Us?. Hu. Jane C.. Aug 20, 2014. Slate. Jan 19, 2020.
  3. Terrace. Herbert S.. Why Koko Can't Talk. December 1982. The Sciences. 22. 9. 8–10. 10.1002/j.2326-1951.1982.tb02120.x. 0036-861X.
  4. Web site: Birds of a feather talk together. Price. Hannah. September 15, 2011. Australian Geographic. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110923150518/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/Parrots-and-other-wild-birds-able-to-talk.htm. September 23, 2011.
  5. Farewell to a famous parrot. Chandler. David. 11 September 2007. Nature. 10.1038/news070910-4. 177171845. Jan 19, 2020.
  6. Book: Who Asked the First Question? The Origins of Human Choral Singing, Intelligence, Language and Speech. Who Asked the First Question?. Jordania. Joseph. Logos. 2006. 978-99940-31-81-8. Tbilisi.
  7. Web site: Parrot's oratory stunts scientists. Kirby. Alex. 26 January 2004. BBC News.
  8. Book: F.X. Plooij. 1978. Some basic traits of language in wild chimpanzees?. A. Lock. Action, Gesture and Symbol. New York. Academic Press.
  9. Book: T. Nishida. 1968. The social group of wild chimpanzees in the Mahali Mountains. Primates. 9. 167–224.
  10. Book: D. Premack. 1985. 'Gavagai!' or the future of the animal language controversy. Cognition. 19. 207–296.
  11. Book: R.A. Gardner. B.T. Gardner. 1969. Teaching Sign Language to a Chimpanzee. Science. 165. 165. 664–72. 10.1126/science.165.3894.664. 5793972. 1969Sci...165..664G.
  12. Book: R.A. Gardner. B.T. Gardner. T.E. Van Cantfort. 1989. Teaching Sign Language to Chimpanzees. Albany. SUNY Press.
  13. Book: H.S. Terrace. 1979. Nim: A chimpanzee who learned Sign Language. New York. Knopf.
  14. Book: E.S. Savage-Rumbaugh. D.M. Rumbaugh. K. McDonald. 1985. Language learning in two species of apes. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 9. 9. 653–65. 10.1016/0149-7634(85)90012-0. 4080283. 579851.
  15. Book: E.S. Savage-Rumbaugh. K. McDonald. R.A. Sevcik. W.D. Hopkins. E. Rupert. 1986. Spontaneous symbol acquisition and communicative use by pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus). Journal of Experimental Psychology. 115. General. 115. 211–35. 10.1037/0096-3445.115.3.211. 2428917.
  16. Book: F.G. Patterson. E. Linden. 1981. The education of Koko. New York. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
  17. Book: H.L. Miles. 1990. The cognitive foundations for reference in a signing orangutan. S.T. Parker. K.R. Gibson. "Language" and intelligence in monkeys and apes: Comparative Developmental Perspectives. Cambridge University Press. 511–539.
  18. Web site: Fact or Fiction: Dogs Can Talk . Tina . Adler . Scientific American . June 10, 2009 . February 19, 2015.
  19. Web site: the talking pug. 2008-12-11.
  20. Book: Bondeson, Jan. Amazing Dogs: A Cabinet of Canine Curiosities. 15 March 2011. Amberley Publishing Limited. Google Books. 9781445609645.
  21. Book: Willingly to school: How animals are taught. Taplinger Publishing Company . 2017-06-09. 9780800883409.
  22. https://www.homevideolicensing.com/video/128556
  23. Oh Long Johnson... - talking cat . June 11, 2006.
  24. https://www.homevideolicensing.com/video/139806
  25. Saini, Angela. “The Orangutan Who Speaks like a Human.” BBC Earth, BBC Earth, 6 Apr. 2017, www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=the-orangutan-who-speaks-like-a-human.
  26. Web site: Conversing cows and eloquent elephants . fortunecity.com . 2008-12-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080724001159/http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/fortean1.html . July 24, 2008 .
  27. News: Kosik, Talking Elephant, Attracts Researchers And Tourists In South Korea . Huffington Post . October 11, 2010 . December 23, 2012.
  28. Web site: The Story of One Whale Who Tried to Bridge the Linguistic Divide Between Animals and Humans. June 2014. Smithsonian Magazine.
  29. Web site: Study: Male beluga whale mimics human speech . 22 October 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191128/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/23/study-male-beluga-whale-mimics-human-speech.html . 14 July 2014 .
  30. Web site: Hoover, the Talking Seal . New England Aquarium . Neaq.org . 2012-01-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120214110807/http://www.neaq.org/animals_and_exhibits/exhibits/individual_exhibits/harbor_seals_exhibit/hoover.php . 2012-02-14 .
  31. Web site: Josiffe . Christopher . Gef the Talking Mongoose . Fortean Times . Dennis Publishing . January 2011 . December 23, 2012 . March 18, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120318101936/http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/4915/gef_the_talking_mongoose.html . dead .
  32. Book: Chris Berry. So-yŏng Kim. Lynn Spigel. Electronic Elsewheres: Media, Technology, and the Experience of Social Space. 19 August 2013. January 2010. U of Minnesota Press. 978-0-8166-4736-1. 39–.
  33. https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/is-this-goat-talking-175823260.html Is This Goat Talking? | Yahoo News