Animal Language

Animal Language

OSome people say that human  beings are the only animals that have language, ¿It is true?, A person must have a good definition of language, different kinds of animals must be studied, Some animals certainly seem to have a communication system that may or  not be a language, for example: the bee has ways of telling other bees about food.

 OBees are very animals which fly through the air to look for flowers for food. Bees have been studied by Karl von Frisch who won a Novel Prize  about bees’ activities when they returned to their home called a hive, when a bee found some food it returned to the hive and danced.

O first.- The dance was the way the bee communicated to other bees the fact that

 it had found food, and bees

 do two kinds of dances to tell

 other bees of their discovery

 of food, the bee moves in a

 circle inside the hive, and

the food not be more than

 ten meters away.

OSecond.- kind of dance done by bees is a tail-wagging dance,  as 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 of ten meters, and the bee dance wiggles shows the direction that must fly in to find the food.

OThe smell tells them

 what kind of flower to

look for, after watching

 the round tail-wagging

 dance and smelling

 that has found the food.

OKarl von Frisch  did an experiment with bees, put a food source very high above the bee hive, the bee returned to the hive and did the round dance.

OODolphins, like bees, the scientist have not studied the dolphin as carefully as they have studied the bee. A few  experiments with dolphin has been studied because its general behavior is much like that of  human.

OThe dolphin has three kinds of calls or noises to tell other dolphin about food, danger, or other things.

OØMonkeys  are very intelligent and similar to humans,  and more difficult to decide whether monkeys  have language.

ØBecause of this similarity, some scientists in the late 1940, tried to teach a monkey named Viki to talk, and after year Viki could only say a few words.

Problem with this experiment is that monkeys do not  have the same kind

OOther scientists tried to teach a monkey named Washoe to use a sign language, words are not spoken. Instead, signs are made with hands. It seemed to be a better kind of language to teach to a monkey, after two years, Washoe could make thirty-four signs with her hands. For example, she could put three fingers next to her ear as a sign for her name, another, she could also use the sign for «come here», putting her arm out, and bending it back toward herself.

OA thrid group of scientist have been working with a monkey named Lana in the past few years. Lana is being studied at the Yerkes Primate research Center in the U.S.

OThe scientists who are working with Lana are studying her ability to make sentence by pressing symbols on a computer board,

OLana may ask the computer to give her food, water, or toys.

Lana has learned to use the nearly 100 symbols on the computer board

1.Describe the bees’ communication system in general.

The bees’ communication system is extremely interesting, each can tell all the other bees where to look for food.

For example, The bee has ways of telling other bees about  food.

2. Explain the difference  between the bees’ round dance and their tail- wagging dance.

ØThe bee wiggles the end of its body as it moves in a straight line, and shows the direction that the bees must fly in to find the food.

ØThe tail-wagging dance is used when the food is far away

3. How are the two dances similiar?

ØThere is a round dance, the bee moves in a circle inside the hive.

ØThe round dance is used when food is close by.

4. Describe von Frisch’s experiment with the bees.

He put a food source very high above the bee hive, and put a bee into the food,the bee returned to the hive and did the round dance.

5.Why have dolphins been studied by scientists?

The dolphin has been studied, because its general behavior is much like that of human.

6. Why was the experiment with the monkey named Viki a   failure?

ØBecause of this similarity some scientist in the late 1940 tried to teach a monkey named Viki to talk.

ØPart of the problem with this experiment is that monkeys do not have the same kind of mounth and throat as humans.

7. What special abilities did Washoe have?

ØWashoe have special abilities  a to use a sign language, words are not spoken, it seemed tobe a better kind od language to teach to a monkey.

ØAfter two years, Washoe could make thirty.four sigs with her hand

8. Describe the work that has been done with Lana.

ØThe scientists who are working with Lana are studying her ability to make sentences.

ØLana may ask the computer to give her food, water, or toys.

ØLana has also shown that different word orders have different meanings for her.

9. Give two definitions of language.

ØThis definition is  used, then bees, dolphins, monkeys all have a language, but language may be defined of different way.

ØThen bees, dolphins do not have a language, but monkeys are clearly able to combine symbols in a human language, that they have been taught.

10. Have humans been helped by animal language experimentals? How?

ØThey are interesting because they may help us learn language, the system used to teach Washoe has helped some humans to learn language.

ØThese experiments are a help to  humans.