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Language & Communication

Language & Communication. Psychology 485 March 2, 2010. Outline. Introduction Difference between communication and language Why learn to communicate? Why learn language? What is learned? Different types of communication Animals learning language How is it learned? Innate or learned?.

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Language & Communication

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  1. Language & Communication Psychology 485 March 2, 2010

  2. Outline • Introduction • Difference between communication and language • Why learn to communicate? Why learn language? • What is learned? • Different types of communication • Animals learning language • How is it learned? • Innate or learned?

  3. What is communication? • Passing of information from one individual to another • A two-way process: must consider both the signaller and the receiver • Cues & Signals • Cue • animate or inanimate feature of the world that can be used as a guide for behaviour • Signal • an act or structure that evolved to alter the behaviour of another organism, and is effective because receiver’s response

  4. What is language? • 4 main properties of language: • Semantic • Arbitrariness • Productivity • Displacement

  5. What is language? • 4 main properties of language: • Semantic • Language has meaning • Arbitrariness • Productivity • Displacement

  6. What is language? • 4 main properties of language: • Semantic • Arbitrariness • There is no rational relationship between the signal and its meaning • There is nothing “housy” about the word “house” • Productivity • Displacement

  7. What is language? • 4 main properties of language: • Semantic • Arbitrariness • Productivity • A finite number of units can be used to create an infinite number of utterances • “The dog bit the man” • “The man bit the dog” • Displacement

  8. What is language? • 4 main properties of language: • Semantic • Arbitrariness • Productivity • Displacement • Communicate ideas that are not in immediate vicinity (spatially or temporally) • “I ate lunch at the A&W in HUB”

  9. Communication vs Language • Can animal communication be classed as language? • Semantics • By definition, “signals” have meaning • Arbitrariness • Not always – e.g. Vervet monkeys • Productivity • Some evidence of animal “syntax”

  10. Syntax (productivity?) in animals • Chickadees • A, B, C, D note calls • Notes always in right order, but different combinations • D notes may indicate predators or danger • Putty-nosed monkeys • “pyow” means leopard • “hack” means eagle • Males utter up to 3 pyows and up to 4 hacks in sequence; means “get the hell outta here!”

  11. Communication vs Language • Can animal communication be classed as language? • Semantics • By definition, “signals” have meaning • Arbitrariness • Not always – e.g. Vervet monkeys • Productivity • Some evidence of animal “syntax” • Displacement • Bee dance shows spatial displacement • But, to be language, all 4 properties must be met... Not just 1 or 2

  12. Why communicate? • Communication is the backbone of all social activity • Mating • Caring for offspring • Foraging • Safety • Cooperation? Deception? • How has evolution shaped communication patterns? • More on this when we talk about morality

  13. Why language? • What is adaptive about language? • Why evolve language as opposed to relying on (simpler) communication? • Hard to address this issue since only humans are agreed to have language • Memes and social/cultural transmission • Effect of language on cognitive abilities

  14. Social Transmission • Memes • Cultural analogue of genes • “unit” of cultural ideas, symbols or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another • Did language evolve to allow for social and cultural transmission? • More efficient social learning

  15. Social Transmission • Social/cultural transmission can occur without language • Japanese macaques • Potato washing behaviour • Started by 1 monkey, now common • New Caledonian Crows • Tool manufacture • Pandanus tool varies according to geographic area

  16. Effect on cognitive abilities • Study adaptiveness of language by looking at how it affects various abilities • How to “get rid” of language during an experiment? • Verbal shadowing tasks

  17. Effect on cognitive abilities • Does spatial language (e.g. “left”, “right”) affect use of feature? • Adults doing a verbal shadowing task revert to geometry • Hermer-Vazquez, Spelke, and Katsnelson (1999) • But... Some animals without language (e.g. fish) can use both geometry and features adults Rats, children Example: Geometric module

  18. Questions to consider • Is language and communication distinct processes, or is language just a specialized form of communication? • Is there a continuum? • To what extent does language affect our cognitive abilities? Does this make us significantly different from other species?

  19. What is learned? Forms of communication Teaching animals human language

  20. “If a lion could talk, we could not understand him” • Wittgenstein,1919, Philsophical Investigations

  21. Forms of communication • Olfactory communication

  22. Forms of communication • Visual communication • Handicapping signals • Colour changes • Body language • Bee waggle dance

  23. Forms of communication • Vocal communication • Vocal calls • Alarm, roars, hisses, etc • Songs • Human language

  24. Can animals learn human language? • Initial attempts to teach apes language failed • Anatomical constraints • Lack of vocal cords, different control of lips and tongue • Later attempts used other formats • American Sign Language • Lexigrams

  25. Ape Language • Washoe • Raised by husband-wife researcher team; Gardners • Trained with ASL • 250 signs • Novel combinations? • Swan = water bird • NimChimpsky • Herb Terrace • ~150 signs • Long utterances, but repetitive • No linguistic grammar or structure

  26. Ape Language • Kanzi • Bonobo • Sue Savage-Rumbaugh was teaching Kanzi’s mother to use lexigram • Kanzi learned symbols • Able to answer novel questions

  27. How is language acquired?

  28. Learning Language • Critical Periods • Skinner’s Verbal Behaviour • Changes in language and “verbal behaviour” can result from reinforcement histories • Language Acquisition Device • Postulated brain “organ” for learning language • An innate capacity to learn language

  29. Vocal Learners • Several animals learn communication through exposure to parents/conspecifics • Humans, bats, parrots, hummingbirds, songbirds, elephants, cetaceous whales and dolphins • Cross-fostered birds will learn songs of foster species • Physical interaction is important

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