Language

1
Language

• Chapter 12
• Observational Learning, Language, and
  Rule-Governed Behavior

2
What is Language?

• Charles Hocketts (1960) list of properties of
  human language (he was a linguist)
• Semanticity words or signs or symbols stand for
  other things (e.g., objects, actions, or
  concepts) the symbols or words should evoke a
  mental representation of the objects that they
  symbolize

3
More Human Language Properties

• Arbitrariness the symbols that stand for things
  have no inherent relationship with the thing they
  stand for (e.g., different languages actually
  have different symbols for the same thing, pomme
  apple)
• (reference semanticity arbitrariness)
• Displacement or situational freedom we are able
  to communicate about things that are not
  currently present in time or space

4
More Human Language Properties

• Productivity or generativity we are able to
  come up with unlimited new phrases or sentences
  by combining the symbols/words in our vocabulary
  in new ways or in new orders
• Syntax or Grammar words or symbols fall into
  different categories and words from these
  categories must be presented in a certain order
  if you change the order of the words in a
  sentence it changes the meaning of the sentence
  (e.g., The dog bit Tom)

5
More Human Language Properties

• Acquisition through traditional transmission
  language is learned as opposed to being inherited
  genetically (e.g., the bee dance language is a
  stereotyped communication system that is
  transmitted genetically and used for a limited
  function)
• Duality of patterning the thousands of words
  that humans use are formed by recombining a
  limited number of basic speech sounds or phonemes
  (e.g., eat versus tea)

6
Do Animals have Language?

• Seyfarth, Cheney, and Marler (1980)
• Vervet monkeys in the wild use different vocal
  symbols for leopards (short tonal calls), eagles
  (low-pitched staccato), and snakes (high-pitched
  chutter)
• Experimenters played a recording of the predator
  sounds when no predator was present
• The monkeys reacted appropriately
• Their study provided evidence for semanticity,
  arbitrariness, and also traditional transmission
  (young monkeys learned from older monkeys)

7
Brief History of Non-human Primate Language
Training

• Attempts to teach infant chimpanzees verbal
  language by raising them in a human family
  setting (Kellogg Kellogg, 1933 Hayes Hayes,
  1951 with Vicki)
• Failed Chimpanzees vocal tract is not capable
  of producing all of the sounds necessary to speak
  human languages

8
Brief History of Non-human Primate Language
Studies

• Attempts to teach apes American Sign Language
  (ASL)
• Washoe (chimp) with Gardner Gardner, 1969
• Within 51 months of training she had acquired 132
  signs to use and probably understood more
• Washoe often combined signs into 2-3 word
  phrases, some new (e.g., water bird)
• Semanticity, reference, possible productivity

9
Brief History of Non-human Primate Language
Studies

• Other attempts to teach apes American Sign
  Language (ASL)
• Fouts, 1973 chimpanzee
• Terrace, 1979 chimpanzee
• Miles, 1983 orangutan
• Patterson Linden, 1981 - gorilla

10
Brief History of Non-human Primate Language
Studies

• Other approaches to language training in apes
  were conducted in order to have more experimental
  control
• Premack (1971, 1976) and Premack Premack
  (1972, 1983) used plastic symbols on a magnetic
  board with Sarah (a chimp)
• Sarahs vocabulary grew to 130 items and she
  could use and understand sign combinations
• Rumbaugh (1977) taught Lana (a chimp) a language
  called Yerkish which used symbols (called
  lexigrams) presented as keys on a computer

11
Brief History of Non-human Primate Language
Studies

• Terrace (1979) taught sign language to a chimp
  named Nim Chimpsky in the laboratory and
  videotaped all of the interactions
• Nim learned 125 signs and seemed to communicate
  in phrases or sentences
• Terrace analyzed the videotapes in detail
• Nim showed syntax by putting verb before object
• 3-sign phrases did not add more meaning than the
  2-sign phrase
• Nim frequently imitated the trainer, rather than
  spontaneously producing
• Nim did not alternate speaking with the trainer
• Terrace concluded that Nim was either imitating
  or emitting behaviors he knew would lead to reward

12
Brief History of Non-human Primate Language
Studies

• Terraces (1979) analysis wreaked havoc with
  language training in general
• Some of the problems were
• Most studies reported only gross statistics and
  isolated anecdotes, hard to tell if creative
  stuff was occurring frequently or just
  coincidence
• The trainers want and expect the apes to learn
  language, leading to overinterpretation did the
  animal understand that the symbol they used stood
  for something else?
• Trainers could unintentionally cue the subject
• The sentences could be learning of a serial order

13
Brief History of Non-human Primate Language
Studies

• New approaches to training were developed
• Rumbaugh and Savage-Rumbaugh (e.g., 1983, 1986)
  trained Sherman and Austin (chimps) using
  lexigrams. They tried to make it more like
  childrens acquisition of language functional
  use of signs to communicate with the trainers but
  also with each other
• Sherman and Austin demonstrated symbolic meaning
  of arbitrary signs, they definitely had a
  representation of the object the lexigram
  symbolized
• and were more successful!

14
Brief History of Non-human Primate Language
Studies

• Even more success with a pygmy chimpanzee or
  bonobo named Kanzi (Savage-Rumbaugh et al., 1986)
• Kanzi was not formally trained to begin with, he
  learned by observing his mother being trained
  (traditional transmission)
• He was observed to practice with the keyboard in
  the absence of trainers
• Kanzis use of symbols is more spontaneous and
  less tied to reward
• Only 11 of his utterances were imitations or
  responses to prompts from the trainer
• Kanzi used mostly 2 or 3 lexigram sentences
• He responded accurately to English words spoken
  verbally
• Kanzis use of symbols conveyed more information,
  was more productive, and less tied to his own
  needs than other apes
• Kanzi was compared to a 2.5 year-old girl and was
  as good or better than her at several language
  tasks!

15
Language Studies with Other Animals

• Herman (and colleagues, 1984, 1993) have worked
  with 2 dolphins
• Akeakamai was given visual gestures by a human
  and auditory signals played through the water
  were used with Phoenix
• They definitely showed syntax
• Pepperberg (1999) works with African Grey Parrots
  (the most famous being Alex)
• Alex has demonstrated reference, syntax, and
  displacement while learning the english language

16
Can Animals Use Language?

• Some animal species are capable of learning some
  aspects of langauge based on Hocketts properties
• Some species have also shown the ability to use
  symbols in a variety of situations
• Humans are still learning the best way to
  approach language training in animals as well!