Human language versus animal communication

So far, the main similarities and differences between human and ani­mal communication can be summed up as follows:

Human language is a signalling system which uses sounds, a char­acteristic shared by a large number of animal systems. In animal com­munication, there is frequently a connection between the signal and the message sent, and the system is mainly genetically inbuilt. In human language, the symbols are mostly arbitrary, and the system has to be painstakingly transmitted from one generation to another. Duality and displacement - the organization of language into two lay­ers, and the ability to talk about absent objects and events - are extremely rare in the animal world. No animal communication system has both these features. Creativity, the ability to produce novel utter­ances, seems not to be present in any natural communication system possessed by animals. Finally, patterning and structure dependence

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may also be unique language features.

To summarize: language is a patterned system of arbitrary sound signals, characterized by structure dependence, creativity, displace­ment, duality, and cultural transmission.

This is true of all languages in the world, which are remarkably sim­ilar in their main design features. There is no evidence that any lan­guage is more 'primitive' than any other. There are certainly primitive cultures. A primitive culture is reflected in the vocabulary of a lan­guage, which might lack words common in advanced societies. But even the most primitive tribes have languages whose underlying structure is every bit as complex as English or Russian or Chinese.

Origin and functions of language

Language, as we have seen, seems to be a highly developed form of animal signalling. But there is a missing link in the chain. How, and when, did we start to talk?

This is a problem of interest mainly to ethologists (students of ani­mal behaviour), and one which has not yet been solved. Many lin­guists regard this fascinating topic as being outside the realm of lin­guistics proper. They are more interested in studying actual language than in speculating about its remote origins.

But although how language began is a puzzle, why language began seems rather clearer. Possibly it began because humans needed a greater degree of cooperation with each other in order to survive, and this cooperation required efficient communication. Consequently, the primary function of language is to impart factual information and to convey essential commands.

But language can also be used to communicate feelings and emo­tions. This aspect of language is not as well developed as 'information talking', because humans, like other primates, can convey emotions by screams, grunts, sobs, gestures and so on. So they need language only to confirm and elaborate these more primitive signals. In addition, there is the language of social chit-chat, the meaningless small talk of everyday life. 'Hallo, how nice to see you. How are you? Isn't the weather terrible? 'This social patter has been called phatic commu­nion and is primarily a device to maintain social contact on a friendly level. Some ethologists call it 'grooming talking' and suggest that it is a substitute for the friendly grooming indulged in by monkeys. There are other biologically less important functions of language.

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Humans may use language for purely aesthetic reasons. In writing poetry, for example, people manipulate words in the same way as they might model clay or paint a picture. Or they may talk in order to release nervous tension, a function seen when people mutter to themselves in anger and frustration.

This chapter has listed some important design features of language, and considered to what extent they are found in other animal commu­nication systems. It has also mentioned some of the main purposes for which language is used.

The next chapter will outline the major directions taken by linguists over the past two centuries, as they explored the thickets of language.