Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
Source: Adapted from Mechelli, A., Crinion, J. T., Noppeney, U., O’Doherty, J., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S., &
Price C. J. (2004). Structural plasticity in the bilingual brain: Proficiency in a second language and age at
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Can Animals Learn Language?
Nonhuman animals have a wide variety of systems of communication. Some species
communicate using scents; others use visual displays, such as baring the teeth, puffing up the fur,
or flapping the wings; and still others use vocal sounds. Male songbirds, such as canaries and
finches, sing songs to attract mates and to protect territory, and chimpanzees use a combination
of facial expressions, sounds, and actions, such as slapping the ground, to convey aggression (de
Waal, 1989). [27] Honeybees use a “waggle dance” to direct other bees to the location of food
sources (von Frisch, 1956). [28] The language of vervet monkeys is relatively advanced in the
sense that they use specific sounds to communicate specific meanings. Vervets make different
calls to signify that they have seen either a leopard, a snake, or a hawk (Seyfarth & Cheney,
1997). [29]
Despite their wide abilities to communicate, efforts to teach animals to use language have had
only limited success. One of the early efforts was made by Catherine and Keith Hayes, who
raised a chimpanzee named Viki in their home along with their own children. But Viki learned
little and could never speak (Hayes & Hayes, 1952). [30] Researchers speculated that Viki’s
difficulties might have been in part because the she could not create the words in her vocal cords,
and so subsequent attempts were made to teach primates to speak using sign language or by
using boards on which they can point to symbols.
Allen and Beatrix Gardner worked for many years to teach a chimpanzee named Washoe to sign
using ASL. Washoe, who lived to be 42 years old, could label up to 250 different objects and
make simple requests and comments, such as “please tickle” and “me sorry” (Fouts,
1997). [31] Washoe’s adopted daughter Loulis, who was never exposed to human signers, learned
more than 70 signs simply by watching her mother sign.