Complexity f Human Language - Essay Example

 Human Language Most living creatures communicate in some way. Birds and whales sing, monkeys andchimpanzees chatter, dolphins click and squeak, even bees perform their elaborate waggle dance. Language however, involves arranging exact sounds in the correct grammatical order to convey a message. Sternberg (1995, p.345) defines human language as, "...an organised means οf combining words in order to communicate." Clearly, human language is much, much more than arranging particular sounds. It is an outlet for our thoughts and desires, it allows us to convey our feelings, our hopes and dreams, we can even use language to deceive others or tell jokes. In fact, it is this complexity οf human language that prompts researcher Sternberg to argue that language is solely a human ability. He comments, "Parrots may say certain words but they are not really using language. What they say is not organised and does not involve combining words to pass a message to others." (Sternberg, 1995, p.345) So can it be assumed then that animals do not possess this quality? Research conducted by Savage-Rumbaugh (1986) with bonobo monkeys may suggest otherwise and behaviourists such as Skinner (1957) would argue that language is learnt as a process οf re-enforcement and therefore, "as a result, there is nothing special about language and thus no reason why language should not be learnt by other species." (Eysenck, 2000, p.245) Nativist Chomsky, believing language to be an innate human ability, disagrees. "If an animal had a capacity as biologically advantageous as language but somehow hadn't used it until now, it would be an evolutionary miracle, like finding an island οf humans who could be taught to fly." (Chomsky, 1993, p.249) To appreciate how this unique quality makes humans distinctive from other animals it would be prudent to consider the criteria that categorises human language. Physically speaking, humans require a certain anatomy in order to create speech. The larynx is situated further down the throat which allows us to intonate clearly and produce different sounds. However, this physicality poses a greater risk οf choking as food passes directly across the trachea. Other animals do not have this anatomy so therefore physically cannot speak. Evolutionary psychologists argue that for this to have evolved in humans over millions οf years the advantages must far outweigh the potential hazards. They maintain that human language originated for a specific reason. The majority οf time spent by our early ancestors would be foraging for food in a hostile environment, with little time for establishing bonds with their present groups. Primates communicate within groups by grooming, but obviously this is time consuming and can only be done on an individual basis. Dunbar (1993, p. 89) comments, "What language seems to do is allow you to overcome that barrier and use what time you have in a much more efficient way." Language allows humans to talk to several people at the same time. You can talk whilst doing other tasks and this enables humans to reach many more individuals, increasing the amount οf people you are communicating with. Physicalities aside, Aitchison (1983) defines human language as having four unique factors; semancity - in that the words or other units must have a meaning; displacement - where language can be used whether the object in question is present or not; structure dependence - given that the order οf the words (syntax) must make grammatical sense and creativity - probably the most human quality οf all, as there are in essence, a never-ending number οf different expressions that can be communicated. Humans use particular tools when communicating. They attempt to recognise and allocate words to certain meanings, then identify the grammatical placement οf the word in a sentence, and finally refer back to a wider textual context, using previous knowledge to construct meaning. There are several ways in which humans recognise individual words. Mayer and Schvaneveldt (1971) describe "priming" as recognition οf a word by preceding it with another to which it is related, semantically or not. McClelland and Rumelhart (1981) devised the "connectionist model" in that processing a word takes three stages; first, recognising the shape οf the letters; second, considering their placement in the word and third, remembering previous words with the same letters to help complete the word. From recognising words humans then use a "lexicon" or mental dictionary to extract meaning from the words. Everything we need to know about the word in contained in the lexicon from pronunciation, spelling, definition and syntax. Sentences contain words with meaning and grammatical structure in which to place them. Humans use many methods for understanding sentences, one being "scripting". Schank and Abelson (1977) explain that scripting allows people to use past experiences to form an assumption οf what is likely to happen and thus are able to understand a new sentence, even if it has details missing. Human language is much more than understanding semancity, displacement, structure dependence or creativity. Possibly the core οf distinctiveness in human language is in how "meaning" emerges from our communications. Humans construct meaning by using previously given statements which define an object (discourses) and these symbolic meanings, taken from all aspects οf language, are then used to create a communication. By using specific discourses we are constructing a new reality and the realities formed can then be used to make assumptions about people. Equally, the discourse we place ourselves within conveys messages to others. Research has suggested that animal communication can be said to satisfy semancity, displacement and structure dependence in human language. Savage-Rumbaugh et al (1986) taught a bonobo ape "Kanzi" to use a keyboard containing symbols known as lexigrams. By 17 months Kanzi had mastered all 160 lexigrams and could understand differences in sentences such as "Chase Kanzi" and "Kanzi chase". Eysenck (2000, p. 257) concedes, "chimpanzees and bonobo apes have been taught some οf the basic elements οf language such as vocabulary and simple grammar and they show some ability to comprehend and to produce language." Although these were remarkable achievements, his spoken attempts however, remained at single utterances and his vocabulary was extremely limited. It is also difficult to establish whether Kanzi had grasped the rules οf syntax simply by his understanding οf certain phrases. Indeed, Savage-Rumbaugh concluded, "Symbols have merely served to replace or accompany non-verbal gestures...chimpanzees, even with intensive linguistic training, have remained at the level οf communication they are endowed with naturally." (Savage-Rumbaugh, 1986, p.249) Herman, Richards & Wolz (1984) based their research οf language in animals on bottle-nosed dolphins. One particular dolphin, Akeakamai, was trained to respond to hand gestures by her trainer. The order in which the gestures appeared made a difference to their meaning, imitating human grammar. Akeakamai was able to perform different actions when presented with new "sentences", indicating an understanding οf semancity and structure dependence. Previous studies by Bastion (1967) researched dolphin's abilities to communicate with each other. One dolphin was taught particular actions and it was found that it had communicated these to another dolphin. Dunbar (1993, p. 89) comments, "there are still some doubts about dolphins and porpoises, but for all other primates, although they show some οf the roots οf language in a very, very primitive form, they are nowhere near within the same league as humans in terms οf the complexity οf information which they can exchange by language." Although some animals may have a limited ability with regards to human language, Grier and Burk (1992) indicate their main reason for communication appears to serve four major functions or activities, For survival, certain calls οf alarm or distress are used along with signals to ward off predators; in reproduction, displays οf courtship are apparent for attracting potential mates and pair formations; certain aggressive noises are used to mark territory boundaries and lastly signals in many different variations are utilised to show where there is a good food supply. Eysenck (2000, p. 220) comments that, "an important difference is that ...we often communicate about events from the past οf what might happen in the future. In contrast, animals typically communicate about the here and now, relating to issues οf immediate importance." It would appear then that certain species other than humans can be taught limited vocabulary with a very basic understanding οf semancity and displacement. Nonetheless, what makes language a truly distinctive and unique human ability is the way in which we understand it and the many different ways in which language is used. Animals do not use language spontaneously nor do they ask questions. Having language allows humans to convey messages at speed to other individuals. Animals cannot convey vast amounts οf information quickly and certainly do not utilise language in a creative way. A human's musings could be halfway around the world in seconds courtesy οf today's technologies. Language is the glue that binds us socially, creating relationships and bonds. Animals tend to use physical gestures, or displays when courting a potential mate. For humans, language is an educational tool, permitting us to learn about our earliest ancestors or our latest technology. It would be unbelievable to imagine that animals have any knowledge οf their past or possible future. We can make assumptions and inferences by the different language we use and we can imagine possibilities and abstract ideas. Without language, it is impossible to imagine how our lives would be today. I imagine we would probably still be surviving on those grassy African plains. Every aspect οf human life from industrial, scientific and medical advances, to art, media and entertainment, to space exploration and much more, owe its existence to language, as without it, how would our ideas ever come to fruition? As Durkin (1995, p. 225), expresses, "Most contemporary ethologists and socio-biologists with interest in humans acknowledge the distinctiveness οf this species." Language is what makes us human after all. Works Cited Aitchison J. (1983), in Cooper T, Kaye H. (2002), "Language and Meaning" Challenging Psychological Issues, Bath Press Bastion P. (1967) in Eysenck M,W. (2000), "Kinship and Social Behaviour", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press Chomsky N. (1993), cited in Eysenck, M,W. "Behaviour and Analysis", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, p.249 Dunbar R. (1993), cited in Caird R. "Talking", Apeman - The Story οf Human Evolution, Bath Press, p.89, p.97 Durkin K. (1995), cited in Eysenck, M,W. "Behaviour and Analysis", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, p.255 Eysenck M,W. (2000), cited in "Kinship and Social Behaviour", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, p.220 Eysenck M,W. (2000), cited in "Behaviour and Analysis", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, p.245, p.257 Grier J, W., Burk, T. (1992) in Eysenck M,W. (2000), "Kinship and Social Behaviour", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press Herman L,M., Richards D.G., Wolz J,P. (1984) in Eysenck M,W. (2000), "Kinship and Social Behaviour", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, Mayer D,E., Schvaneveldt R,W. (1971) in Cooper T, Kaye H. (2002), "Language and Meaning" Challenging Psychological Issues, Bath Press McClelland J,L., Rumelhart D,E. (1981) in Cooper T, Kaye H. (2002), "Language and Meaning" Challenging Psychological Issues, Bath Press Savage-Rumbaugh E,S. (1986), cited in Eysenck, M,W. "Behaviour and Analysis", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, p.249 Schank R,C., Abelson R,P. (1987) in Cooper T, Kaye H. (2002), "Language and Meaning" Challenging Psychological Issues, Bath Press Skinner B, F. (1957) in Eysenck, M,W. "Language and Thought", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press Sternberg R,J. (1995), cited in Eysenck, M,W. "Language and Thought", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, p.345 Read More