The African penguin is not one a great conversationalistsPeople who are good at or fond of engaging in conversation.. Its one-liners translate as: "Hello", "Get away from me" and "Look at how big I am. Fancy mating?"

In this small talk lies linguistics. Scientists have found this communication follows the same rules as human speech.

They use syllables to speak in the most economical way - the shorter ones are used for the most common calls.

Livio Favaro, from the University of Turin, decided to see if their vocalisations followed the standard linguistic rules seen in primates. Favaro and his colleagues looked at a subset of the penguins' calls, known as "ecstatic display songs".

They found the linguistic laws of compression - which are true in humans, primates and even in computer programs - were also true in penguins.

It is a reminder that a diverse range of animals is capable of using complex forms of communication.

Many animals imitate human speech.

Chimps and gorillas can sign. One gorilla named KokoHer mind was as developed as that of a small child. After watching Jurassic Park, she even became scared of her toy dinosaurs. understood over 2,000 words of English and liked to be referred to as "Queen".

Bees are known to dance in such a way that they mimeTo use body movements without speech.  directions. While critics say the dances are hard-wired, it could imply animals can have an idea of the future.

When scientists cut up a recording of birdsong, effectively remixing it, the birds did not respond. This suggests birds have some sense of grammar. Their song was not just random.

Con Slobodchikoff has spent his life studying prairie dogsLarge burrowing rodents that live on the grasslands of North America. . With a single chirp, a prairie dog can communicate the shape, speed, size and clothing of humans. 

"Over a series of experiments, we have found that prairie dogs have a very sophisticated system of communication that I'm comfortable calling language," he declared in an interview. 

Now, Slobodchikoff wants to use his research to help humans communicate with their pets. "The idea is that we have a device that you can point to a dog, and the device analyses the dog's body language and vocal signals and says, 'I'm hungry' or 'please let me out'." 

Deciphering how creatures see the world is a life goal for many scientists. Language is a window into what they find important. 

For now, it is still impossible to see inside the mind of animals. But scientists hope this soon will change. If it does, it will fundamentally transform our understanding of animal life.

Yes: The huge range of animals that communicate suggests that it is our definition of language that should be broadened. For all we know, animal languages could be even more complex than our own.

No: Language might be our most essential human traitCharacteristic.. It distinguishes us from other species. Other animals might communicate, but they are not able to enjoy the full benefits of language as we know it.

Or... It simply does not matter how we classify it. But every week, we are learning more and more about the extraordinary ability of animals. We should not underestimate their capabilities.