Koko Said What?

All animals have a unique way of communicating with each other in their species. They have to know this to survive, to breed, and to go about life. Humans also possess their own language to make it through everyday situations making life that much easier. This presents a question that is necessary to answer: can animals communicate language to the human race? The answers to this thought-provoking question are evident through examples such as Koko the gorilla and house pets such as dogs.

Koko presented various examples showing evidence that animals can communicate language. The fact that Koko knew the colors of the tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweaters is phenomenal. She did not mimic her keeper in any way. When she was given the new, less favored, yellow sweater, Koko used her hand motions making the statement to obtain her red sweater. First off, Koko knowing that it was a yellow sweater shows that she has knowledge of colors taught to her. The color scale may have been a memory game placed in Koko's brain through training, but as she presented the signing to receive her red sweater, shows this was not mere mimicry. Koko wanted the red sweater and was not going to let up, showing those signs until she got her way. Also, the emotion that Koko was able to produce through signing, showing she was highly upset when All Ball the kitten died, produces more evidence showing that animals have the capability to communicate language to humans. It is not mimicry when a gorilla can state their emotions through hand signs to the human race. 

House pets are present in many families. They are usually raised by that family and communicate language in the way they learn through training. Dogs are an incredible example of this. Through experience with my own dog, I can see that animals have a way of communicating language with people. If my dog is hungry, he will run over to the bowl and pick it up with his mouth. He then proceeds to bring the bowl over to me wherever I may be at the moment. If he wants to use the bathroom, he will go to the backdoor and scratch at it until I let him outside. If he wants what is on my plate, he will place his paw on my leg, as if to shake my hand, because that is what he learned to do. The list of what my dog communicates to me can go on for awhile. The various ways a pet goes about communicating with humans easily give more evidence that animals can very well converse in their own way. 

Animals are very capable of communicating with humans. Koko presented examples showing emotion and letting her keeper know what vegetables and sweater she wanted. Pets such as dogs let their owner know when the are hungry, when they need to use the bathroom, or when they want scraps off the plate. Although many people may try to argue animals are not capable of conversing with the human race, there is just too much evidence that goes against the arguments of the naive.