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. 

  

The Language of the Century

Steven Holland
Engl 1101
Dr. Hughes
Blog 3

When most people think of language, they think that it is something that only humans are capable of. They don’t realize that domestic animals, or any animal for that matter, are also capable of language. Although most animals do not have the ability to speak, they can use other methods to communicate. We as humans may not be able to understand other animals’ languages, but animals do understand their own languages. Animals also use body language and other signals that are simpler for humans to pick up on.
Domestic animals are also more likely than wild animals to communicate efficiently with humans. Animals that are constantly around humans will constantly attempt to communicate with them, or develop new ways to communicate with them. A dog, for instance, will make certain noises or movements to signal to its owner whether it wants to go out, is hungry, thirsty, wants to play, or whatever else it would want or need. Its owner understands what it wants and satisfies the dog’s needs. If other animals were not able to communicate with humans, then how would the dog’s owner understand what it wanted? The owner would have to guess, and would probably guess wrong. Your dog wouldn’t like it if he wanted something to eat and you took him outside to use the bathroom, would he? There must be some kind of inter-species language if humans and dogs are able to understand each other. Training a dog also shows evidence of this inter-species language. Once you teach a dog a new trick, it understands what you want it to do. Some people would argue that the dog only does these tricks to get some kind of reward. This is not always the case. Most trainers actually don’t believe in giving their dogs rewards for performing certain tricks in order to prevent a “dependency” on the rewards.
Animals also communicate to each other using their own form of language that humans are incapable of comprehending. One might say that in this instance, dogs would be superior to humans. This idea is comparable to a person who speaks English, but does not speak Spanish. Dogs have their own language that humans just don’t understand. If animals did not have their own language, then how would they perform instinctual animal actions such as mating or other activities?
Animal language is so complicated that humans will probably never be able to comprehend it.

The Jungle

Carmen Solis
09-03-09
Engl 1101
Dr. Hughes


Have you ever wonder, what animals think of us, the human-beings? Well some of the scientists think that animals do not have the capability to understand or create complex ideas as the human beings do. They say that the only things that the animals, let’s called them our “pets,” want are food and shelter and that no matter what we do, they cannot communicate with us. Could this be true? From my point of view, I strongly disagree that animals cannot understand our language or communicate with us. We have seen in our environment every kind of species there exists. It varies from chimpanzees to our domestic pets; and believe it or not, they can understand us and show what they are thinking and feeling.
Some people believe that animals are irrational, meaning that they cannot think nor communicate, because those people have always thought that language is a communication between the humans beings that consists of words and signals. I can say that our pets understand our complex ideas and movements, but the only thing that it is different from the rest of us is that they cannot speak or pronounce any of our words. This is because our pets do not have the same vocal vowel structure as we do, that is why some of them would meow, bark, or grunt. We cannot judge them because we do not even know our own language and the capacity to understand.
We are not imagining when our pets understand what we are saying like “come here kitty” or “no, do not do that.” I know that they understand it for the way we say it like in high pitch o low pitch, but they know what a no and a yes is. I have four kittens and that is why I say that I know that they can understand us and feel what we are feeling. They have feelings and emotions like other humans. My kitties cannot speak but I know that they listen and understand me. Let me put an example, when I moved here to Young Harris College, one of my kittens got depressed. How do I know that? Well, for one of the reasons was that she would not play with the other kittens nor eat. She would lie down on the floor all day long. My kittens had not seen me for two weeks, and when I went home and called their name, they came running and started purring. They knew who I was and what I was saying. I told them to go inside and they did it. I did not rise or lower my tone when I said that, they just knew what I was saying. I know that they were happy because they were meowing a lot and at loud. Some of their meowing was very loud and some was very soft. I think they were communicating with me and, for a fact, I think I know what they were saying.
My kittens were not trained to do certain commands and, afterwards, give them a treats. We just spoke to them and it seems that they really understood what we were saying. When we said, without pointing, “go outside” they actually went. It is really amazing how they understood everything we say, we did not give them a treat or yell, they just did what we said. I know that many people think that humans are the only ones who can think and communicate with other people but we have never given a chance to see with patience if the living organisms that surround us have a brain and can actually understand us. We only believe what it seems logical.
Today, my roommate and I were talking about animals and if they have a language. We both agree that they could understand us and that they would talk to us in the only language that they know. She, also, mentioned something that grabbed my attention which was that animals do know when we love them or not. They have feelings and emotions as other humans have. We might not recognize at first sight, but they can get happy or depressed. My roommate’s grandmother did not like her cat and one day, the cat brought a snake onto her porch. I know it sounds not realistic but cats can be really hateful if you do not love them.
Therefore, animals can communicate and understand what we are saying. We might not understand their language because we do not speak “animal language.” Theoretically, it has not been proven that animals understand us but we can see that happening with our own pets. With every pet’s movement, they are pointing out that they can fully take our words and convert them into action. I only have one question to those people who believe that animals are irrational: If we have evolved over time in the way of thinking; then, why would not the animals have evolved too?

Pets and Humans-The Bridge is Tone and Posture

Tyler Benson
Ms. Hughes
English 1101
September 3, 2009

As humans we tend to warp things with our imagination and minds in hopes of finding something, or creating in this sense, that we want to happen. We have a propensity to get so attached to things that we start to dream and imagine that it is able to communicate with us and let us know what it is truly thinking. Sadly, I am guilty of this as well, hoping that my pet would be able to actually tell me what it is thinking and what it understands. Our imaginations get the best of us and we start to trick ourselves into a false state of mind, ultimately causing real answers to warp into some sort of fantasy. Our pets are not able to understand what we are saying. The only thing that they can truly understand is the way their language is spoken, or barked in this case.
Dogs communicate to one another through growls, whines, barks, and moans. All of these are at different pitches and have many different tones and body postures to give off the message to anything that is near them. When a dog whines, we as humans say that the dog is in some sort of discomfort. We cannot understand that whine, all we can do is comprehend that the dog is upset by its body posture and tone of the whine. It’s the same way for them; they understand that we are in a certain mood because of the way our voices are produced and the way we are standing or moving. That’s why when you get a puppy it has no idea what is wrong and right until it sees you get made and produce a tone and give it some kind of disciplinary action. It will eventually comprehend that certain tones mean certain things, just as it would with other dogs. The question is still asking if a dog can truly understand what we are saying. A dog cannot understand the language of human beings; it can only read the tones and pitches of our voice and watch posture. It is doing the exact same thing as if we were just another dog.
I have actually done a little experiment with my own pet and was rather surprised by the results that he gave to me. Every time I take him outside to do his business I give off a certain tone and clap my hands for him to follow me. He abides by this and heads straight for the door to get an opportunity to excrete his wastes and get a treat. He doesn’t understand a word I say, all he knows is when that pitch is brought out its time to use the restroom and get a treat for it. Today, however, I changed my tone and instead of clapping my hands I snapped my fingers. I said exactly the same thing as I usually did only my voice was a little less audible and I snapped my fingers motioning for the door. He just sat there and looked at me; he had no idea what in the world I was trying to get across because he had never had that certain tone and gesture brought together. Arguments against this may be along the lines of, “Well he is not as smart as other dogs” or “It was just a onetime deal.” I did this over and over again, and he never once went to the door.
Communication between domesticated dogs and humans is limited to mimicry through tones and the way that species is postured. For example, if a dog is mad it will growl and probably lower into a pouncing position and show its teeth. As humans, we have no earthly idea what the dog is upset about unless you actually did something right then and there, all we know is that it is angry due to tone and body position. I’m not saying that we cannot comprehend things like dogs, I am just pointing out the fact that you can never fully understand thoughts of other species. As my first paragraph states; we tend to just imagine that we can understand them because we have grown attached to them, as they are pets.