Dolphins Know Each Other by Name

  Signature whistles can be heard in a variety of dolphin species. Suppose I had an eight-month old baby who liked to say something like gork, and I told you that one day I heard the baby's two-year-old brother make a perfect imitation of the gork sound, to which the baby responded, hello. Would you conclude from this evidence that the baby is already using language? Careful, for it seems that bottlenose dolphins can participate in these sorts of exchanges. While most people agree that only people use language, there does not appear to be nearly as much agreement on what makes language so special. One common test is the use of words or names. A famous challenge to this idea comes from the vervet monkey. These monkeys of the African woodlands have different calls to warn of approaching predators, depending on whether they are birds, leopards, or snakes. So do they have a three word language? Few people want to say yes to that one, and they point to the monkey's response as justification for the no answer. Typically the vervet looks around (up for a bird, at the tree itself for a snake, or more generally for a leopard) and, upon sighting the predator, begin making exactly the same call. You can end up with an acacia tree full of monkeys, all looking at an approaching leopard and making the same warning call. The scene appears reflexive and lacking the spirit of conversational give and take we associate with language. On the other hand, human verbal exchanges can also be p...
Source: Babel's Dawn - Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Source Type: blogs