8.21 Language Use in Non-Human Animals

These flashcards cover key concepts related to language use in non-human animals, highlighting examples and definitions that illustrate the complexities of animal communication systems compared to human language.

Displacement

The ability to communicate about things that are not present in the here and now.

Referential Alarm Calls

Primitive words or calls used by some animals to alert others about specific types of predators.

Semanticity

The property of language that allows sounds to convey meaning.

Waggle Dance

A communication method used by honey bees to inform hive mates about the direction and distance of food sources.

Cultural Transmission

The process by which a species learns vocalizations or behaviors through exposure from their social environment.

Syntactical Rules

The structured principles that govern the arrangement of words and phrases in language.

Vocabularies of Animals

The collection of words that animals can understand and use to communicate, such as Chaser's 1,000-word vocabulary.

Gestural Language

A form of communication that relies on bodily movements, which may have evolutionary ties to human language.