Dory demonstrates her ability to speak whale in Finding Nemo. Dory is trying to break down the language barrier between “human” language and whale speak. Does that mean language is universal across all species or is language only unique to humans?

Many animals have ways of communicating information throughout their colony, tribe, school, etc. For example, if a honeybee wants to tell his friends about all the flowers waiting to be pollinated, he performs a special dance, often called the waggle dance. The waggle dance signifies to the other bees the precise direction and distance that a flower is located. The honeybee enters the colony and shakes his tail back and forth, the speed signaling the distance, and moves around in a figure eight pattern, signaling the direction of the food source.

Dolphins communicate in intricate ways as well. Not only do they use bodily movements and gestures to communicate, they also have their own special kind of language made up of whistles, squeaks, and clicks. Researchers have spent decades attempting to crack the code of dolphin speak, but with no luck. Dolphins, like whales and being elusive when underwater, display many of the same gestures when interacting with each other when playing and fighting, making it difficult for researchers to derive meaning from their sounds and movements.

The parrot also shows ways of communicating that are much different from dolphins and honeybees. Parrots can learn to speak all sorts of different human languages. One special parrot, Alex, learned over 150 words of the English language, the difference between small and large, the abstract concept of numbers and counting, and other lingual skills that humans possess. His trainer, Irene Pepperberg, believed Alex could truly understand her and had a language acquisition comparable to humans. Professor Pepperberg chronicles many accounts of Alex’s intelligence in picking up words and linking them to the appropriate situations, such as apologizing when he did something wrong or saying “I love you” when the professor left the lab at the end of the day. Pepperberg continued to train other parrots as well, but never any quite as smart as Alex.

But can it really be said that animals possess the same kind of language that humans do? Certainly it cannot be said that honeybees and dolphins interact the same using grammar and syntax rules found in the English language as humans do. Alex the parrot possessed an immense amount of human-like lingual characteristics, but he also lacked a good portion as well. So what makes human language unique from honeybee, dolphin, or parrot language? Let us explore.

It is easy to contrast between human language and the honeybee or dolphin’s means of communication. Honeybees do not use words or construct sentences as humans do. They do not understand the concepts of past and future. With their main goal in life being to collect pollen and food, it would be trivial for them to sit around their hive discussing Noam Chomsky’s take on language acquisition. However, that is not to say that their communication forms are in any way unintelligent, but rather are of a different intelligence than humans are able to comprehend. When it comes to dolphins, humans cannot properly imitate their speech patterns or even begin to make sense of their subtle clicks and whistles.

 “The capacity of humans to systematically turn conceptual ideas into limitlessly creative word sequences is truly unparalleled in nature.”

A parrot, it would seem, comes the closest to using human speech. But is it perhaps just mimicry? It is not hard to find a parrot that will imitate the words you speak, but one that can learn to match meaning to the words they repeat is more intriguing. Professor Pepperberg would certainly argue that her parrot learned the English language as it can decipher between objects big and small, same or different, as well as learn words and fit them to context. Mimicry is a far cry from the clear intellect that Alex the parrot possessed, but it cannot be concluded that the parrot has the same language skills as humans.

Honey Bee worker with full pollen sacs executing waggle dance, watched by other workers.

Grammar and syntax is a large part of the human language. We can take meaningless letters and arrange them to form a meaningful word. We can “create nonsensical yet understandable sentences like ‘Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.’” We have the privilege of communicating more than what is necessary, such as saying, “This blog post is top-notch” or “Burgers are better with cheese.” Honeybees do not say to each other “Hmm, I wish I had some toast to spread all this honey on.” Dolphins, for all we know, do not swim around quoting Shakespeare. And parrots certainly do not have the capacity to relay to their hairdresser how they want their feathers ruffled for prom.

Human language is different. Animal languages allow animals to communicate about food, predators, or what have you. But human language is the capacity to communicate in infinite ways. We can string together infinite pairings of words to not only communicate, but to convey meaning. Communication is universal across all species on earth, but language, and all the complex ways it works within the brain, is unique to the human experience alone.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121016-is-language-unique-to-humans

https://www.quora.com/Noam-Chomsky-has-said-that-human-language-is-unique-in-the-biological-world-Is-he-correct

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2458346/Parrot-learned-say-I-love-mean-word.html

http://www.columbia.edu/~rmk7/HC/HC_Readings/AnimalComm.pdf

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/nature/secret-language-of-dolphins/#dolphin-communication.jpg

The Internet contains a vast amount of information that can be a wonderful source to turn to when trying to understand new concepts. However, you have to be cautious about believing everything you see, for much of it can be misleading and inaccurate. Furthermore, ideas can be taken out of context and represented in a way that is flashy and eye-catching, but not scientifically truthful. This certainly applies to the idea of left-brain vs. right-brain dominance as is illustrated by the photo below, which attempts to explain the differences between the brain’s left and right side characteristics. However, these differences are not so clear cut and simple as the graphic suggests. Dominance in one hemisphere of the brain does not mean that one doesn’t use their other hemisphere at all. Different sides of the brain do have different specialties, but optimal brain functioning requires the two hemispheres to communicate and work with each other.

A common interpretation of the personalities of the left and right brain.

“Logic, scientist, mathematician”, are the words that describe left-brained people in this image. Not only are these constraining adjectives, but they imply that left-brained people would do best in a STEM career. It also suggests that right-brained people should not go into careers that require skills in math, which is false. The left hemisphere of the brain is associated with listening, reading, and auditory memory. Judges, lawyers, and bankers are often left-brain dominated. People who are left hemisphere-dominated can give directions using street names and mileage. For example, they can say, “Turn down Crenshaw Drive and go 2 miles before turning onto Westhampton Way and North Court Dormitory will be on your left.” Right-hemisphere dominant people use landmarks, such as, “Turn left once you pass the church”. However, everybody uses both sides of their brain, meaning that left-brain dominant people shouldn’t be the only people to pursue careers in science and math.

According to the image, the feeling of sand beneath your bare feet, movement, and laughter are feelings and enjoyments you can only have if you are right-brain dominant. Many researchers and common-folk alike would agree that the left and right brain possess different areas of specialization. For example, language is usually is dominant in the left brain. Perhaps the right brain is much more attuned to other aspects of life, such as creativity and emotion. But that is not all the right side is good for. Research has shown that the right hemisphere contributes to visual imagery, which makes face recognition and spatial processing in the right brain easier for supposedly right brain dominant individuals (Smith, 2012).

As stated above, the image suggests that that being right brained is more fun and colorful than being left brained. For instance, on the right brain side of the image is the phrase, “I feel”. Who wouldn’t want to feel emotions? The image is misleading by insinuating that left brained people are unfeeling, controlling, black and white people. However, research has proven that many processes once thought to only involve one side of the brain actually involve both. For example, the processing of a metaphor, which would go in the right brain side of the above image, actually involves both hemispheres (Beeman & Chiarello, 1998a, 1998b). In reality, no one is completely left brained or right brained. Everyone uses both sides of the brains in everyday life. You can be a creative, logical, free spirited, and practical thinker.

As you can see, there are many aspects of human function that are localized in one hemisphere or the other, however, it is not as simple as the photo above suggests. One cannot function with the use of only one hemisphere. The brain works laterally and communication between the two hemispheres is required. The image above can cause negative stereotypes of people based on a few characteristics of a person’s personality. A person who thinks analytically is not completely left brain dominant and should not be placed into a tight category. Brains are complicated organs that result in the full use of both hemispheres. No one is 100% left brain dominant or 100% right brain dominant, so remember to take what you see on the internet with a grain of salt!

Citations

Smith, E. E. (2012, October 19). Are You Left- or Right-Brain Dominant? Retrieved September 05, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/not-born-yesterday/201210/are-you-left-or-right-brain-dominant