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Human Language vs Animal Language - Coggle Diagram
Human Language vs Animal Language
Language
The word language originally referred to a part of our body- tongue which means lingua in Latin word.
Barnett said, "Verbal communication is the main reason for the existence of human society."
However, just like us, the animal can also communicate through their body language, pheromone. So what makes us different from them?
Human and animal have differences in communication and it can be seen through the 5 main elements.
Displacement
the ability of human language to communicate throughout time and across space.
Humans can talk about remote, abstract, or imaginary things that aren't happening in their immediate environments.
Animal communication is context-driven—they react to stimuli or indexes.
Arbitrariness
The symbols we use to communicate meaning to not have any natural form or meaning in and of themselves.
Using a set number of sounds (phonemes) and characters (alphabet), which allows ideas to be recorded and preserved
Example, all of the words you are reading right now do not have a natural essence to them, but we have assigned these words to their particular meanings.
Animal communication is not symbolic, so it cannot preserve the ideas of the past.
Cultural Transmission
Human beings brought up in different cultures acquire different languages
However, if a man wants to learn another language than it's possible for them to speak multiple languages.
Animals can't do this because their communication is transmitted biologically.
Duality
The human ability to produce language in multiple forms.
As an example we can write and say it out loud with our mind evoking the same word.
Productivity
A feature of human language which enables us to combine symbols (words, sounds, phrases) in new ways to express particular ideas.
The Properties of Human Language
Cultural Transmission
Productivity
Duality
Arbitrariness
Displacement
There are 5 main elements
Sources: -
https://owlcation.com/stem/The-difference-between-animal-and-human-communication
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-properties-language-731445