Symbol Structures in Various Systems
...forced to question why we have evolved so rapidly while our primate duplicate remains both primitive and indecisive in their societal structure. What are they lacking? Platt would argue that humans won the genetic lottery saying, Interestingly, humans and simians are born with the same laryngeal machinery, but a human infant’s larynx drops at three months of age, creating a resonating chamber, which makes consonant and vowel sounds possible. Apes speak through the nose and cannot make the same phonetic sounds humans make by using their lips, cheeks, tongue, palate, and teeth. Cave Art and the Origin of Species, Platt This may bare some evidence as to why the apes lack the ability to speak however, the capacity to sound out various words are not a major component in language. Language could conceivably have existed within the primate society regardless of their capability to pronounce the letters “e” or “a”. So why are humans alone in the use of language? Evolutionary geneticist Andrew G. Clark says, Perhaps some of the genes that enable humans to understand speech work not only in the brain, but also are involved in hearing…Mutations in alpha tectorin result in poor frequency response of the ear, making it hard to understand speech. "It's something like replacing the soundboard of a Stradivarius violin with a piece of plywood," Clark notes. The large divergence between humans and chimps in alpha tectorin, he says, could imply that humans needed to tune the protein for specific attributes of their sense of hearing. This leads Clark to wonder whether one of the difficulties in training chimpanzees to understand human speech is that their hearing is not quite up to the task. Chimp vs. Human DNA: what's in the 1% difference? Andrew G. Clark And the plot thickens. It would appear that due to variations in our physical make-up that chimpanzees and man differ. Humans apparently have a physical advantage to the apes, resulting in the ability to speak and communicate with each other. Therefore through co-operation and collaboration, humans have evolved more quickly then the primates with whom they share 99% of their DNA. Although chimpanzee’s physical make-up almost mirrors our own, they have not been the greatest successors in communicating with humans. In fact, gray parrots have been attributed to holding far superior communication abilities. Irene M. Pepperberg, Ph.D, an animal behavior scientist wrote her thesis on the astounding intelligence of the gray parrot. She says, Although parrots are not often mentioned in discussions about non-human intelligence, much data exist to suggest that psittacids are among the more intelligent animal species. During the 1940's and 1950's, for example, laboratory researchers in Europe demonstrated that Grey parrots could learn the kinds of symbolic and conceptual tasks that are generally considered as pre- or co-requisites for complex cognitive and communicative skills…Another sign of intelligence, thought to be absent in most non-human animals, is the ability to engage in complex, meaningful communication; only recently has the general perception of parrots as mindless mimics been shown to be incorrect.” Studies to Determine the Intelligence of African Grey Parrots. Irene M. Pepperberg, Ph.D The communication abilities demonstrated by Alex (a gray parrot) are extraordinary. The parrot has been trained to recognize and identify countless objects, symbols, colors, number, and words. He has also proved that he can think independently and construct literate sentences to converse with his trainers. If the gray parrot is adept enough to communicate in such a highly superior manner with humans, the communication system used amongst parrots must be exceptional. I for one will not diminish their intelligence by claiming that the creation of symbols is beyond their grasp. What seems obvious to myself, is that a chimpanzee’s incompetence to communicate with humans using verbal human-recognizable language does not disqualify them from having strong communication abilities amongst themselves. And thus, a form of communication that we are unable to understand fully. We take pride in the ability to teach them our language yet few explore the possibility of discovering and understanding the meaning behind their communication patterns. In an article George Johnston investigates this conundrum. Johnston writes, Panbanisha, a Bonobo chimpanzee who has become something of a star among animal language researchers, was strolling through the Georgia woods with a group of her fellow primates …Suddenly, the chimp pulled one of them aside. Grabbing a special keyboard of the kind used to teach severely retarded children to communicate, she repeatedly pressed three symbols -- "Fight," "Mad," "Austin" -- in various combinations. Austin is the name of another chimpanzee at the center…one of Panbanisha's trainers, asked, "Was there a fight at Austin's house?" "Waa, waa, waa" said the chimpanzee. Chimp Talk Debate: Is It Really Language? Johnston The “Waa, waa, waa” of Panbanisha can be understood to be an affirmative response to her trainers question, however without her primary communication attempt (using our language) her cries would hold little meaning. Is it true that apes are unable to create symbols to express themselves to others or have we evolved so far beyond our primate cousins that such caveman like communication is incomprehensible to our expanding minds? Johnston concurs that it is necessary to study their patterns saying, There is a suspicion among some linguists and cognitive scientists that animal language experiments are motivated as much by ideological as scientific concerns -- by the conviction that intelligent behavior is not hard-wired but learnable, by the desire to knock people off their self-appointed thrones and champion the rights of downtrodden animals. Chimp Talk Debate: Is It Really Language? Johnston And why not step away from our thrones momentarily. In the animal kingdom there is kinship, paternal love, communication, respect and a pattern of life that is both natural and circular. The greatest threat most animals encounter is man. Possibly if we could communicate with them in their language we too would be able to return to a harmonious existence. I...