Do animals have language? New research is changing scientists’ understanding of how different creatures communicate with each other.
The goose with an awful lot to say
Do animals have language? New research is changing scientists' understanding of how different creatures communicate with each other.
Scientists are now using computer technology to understand how animals communicate.
For instance, greylag geese have at least 10 different calls, and moustached warbler chicks will jump or duck depending on different kinds of warning cry.
Scientists have started using machine learningA field of artificial intelligence that aims to use data to teach machines to "learn" for themselves without the need for specific programming. to recognise different types of birdsong. The Merlin app can identify 1,400 different species of bird.
But most scientists draw a line between language and communication. Animals and birds make sounds to communicate. Language is related to thought, self-expression, even self-consciousness.
Public intellectual Noam Chomsky argues that the idea animals - even close relatives like chimps - could learn language is "totally meaningless".
The problem is not the different sounds animals and humans make, but the different worlds we live in.
Do animals have language?
Yes! Computer analysis is starting to show the complex ways that animals communicate. People refuse to call this language because they want to make humans seem special.
No! The instinctive calls made by birds cannot be compared to human speech.
Keywords
Machine learning - A field of artificial intelligence that aims to use data to teach machines to "learn" for themselves without the need for specific programming.
The goose with an awful lot to say
Glossary
Machine learning - A field of artificial intelligence that aims to use data to teach machines to "learn" for themselves without the need for specific programming.