Animal Language

To what extent do animal have language?

I think animals do have language because they are able to establish relationships between one another and also because each animal produces a different sound. Sometime you see video of different animals, using their language and responding to each other. We can see this through their body languages and the way their tone changes.
Animals such as Alex, learned to communicate with humans, however this is an exception to the rule of communication for animals.

What is language?

Language is used to communicate and create a connection between living things. Language is nonverbal too, such as touching, facial expressions, body language or sign language. Word must be organized in a certain manner so that it can be understood by others. Humans get their vocal tract once they reach the age of 9 months, however animals can't speak because they don't have a voice tract.

January 16. 2016

Looking back on this lesson we had in class, I would like to add to my thoughts of what language is. I think language has to do with a way to create a relationship with someone or with an animal. Whether it's a positive one or a negative one it has to create a relationship. I still remember the two video we watched and I do think that animals still do have language. We humans evolved from an animal, and we still are, we can continue to evolve like we have in the past. For us we are learning still new way to communicate and we are dealing with new ways of learning. Animals must have language as they continue to create a relationship with each other, and with us. Humans and animals can have an outstanding relationship with each other, and this might not have to be due to verbal language but it is due to at least body language. Last school year Jane Goodall came into our school. She showed us that she had a special greeting with her chimps. She did not teach them ow to speak but she imitated their sounds and tried to interpret them until she knew what they meant. After a while she was able to communicate with the chimps and see what they were feeling. Therefore, animals must be able to have language becasue they are connected to us humans and have emotions, body language, etc. So if they have all the other aspects we human have, what would make them lack on language?

Language & Sense Perseption

Touch: Heated debate

Sound: Music to her ears

Sight: He looked hot

Taste: Ain't she sweet

Smell: Stench of failure

How do language and sense perception connect? 
Above I have listed various metaphors showing how language and sense perception are effected by one another. However there is more then just metaphors. When you touch something for example sand, it may trigger your memories, and you can start to feel the wind or smell the ocean. You don't nesesarily have to be influenced by a touch but it can also be as simple as closing your eyes and trying to image everything that is surrounding you. For example in ISTA TaPs in London, we had a work shop where we had to close our eyes and imagine that each part of our body has a different purpose. We were told to pretend like we are stepping in honey, and like our arms are wings and that our face is aging, and to taste a sour lemon. We did the activity for 5 minutes and all of us got so into it we forgot we were in the middle of an exercise we could feel every movement in our body. Therefore language can help trigger the way you feel leading to your sense perceptions coming into play.

How has sense perception and language limited our knowledge?

Since we do rely on our sense to tell us everything, we begin to believe that just because we have seen or touched something it must be true. After that it may become harder to accept another idea or belief. Especially when you see something first hand you take that as a fact, and don't see it in a different way, however when someone tells you they see something different it is hard to believe what they are saying. An example would be a topic that was trending in 2015 called 'The Dress'. The dress was a picture taken and uploaded to twitter and a whole battle began if the dress was white or gold or blue and black. The dress started many fights and was a topic of conversation of controversy. The reason was because some people saw one option and could not see the other one, and this shows how unreliable sense perception can be. The image below depicts the dress the attached link is an example of ow everyone was discussing their views on the dress, including multiple celebrities.

http://www.justjared.com/2015/02/26/celebrities-join-the-what-color-is-this-dress-debate/

What is the role of Sense Perception in science?

Different sense perceptions have helped by allowing us to discover new topics and ideas, in different fields such as science. Below are some examples of how sense perception can help us understand why sense perception is important in science.

Sight: In physics we observed how the color of our solution went from clear to pink, and we had to mix the solution until we saw a color change.

Touch: In physics we can touch whether the solution has become warmer or colder.

Hear: Sound waves of the water surface - Hitting the tuning fork above a tube and seeing if the height of the water has changed

Smell: If the solution is burning

However there can be handicaps with the use of sense perception.

Capgras Syndrome: When you recognize faces, but think that it is someone else

Blindsight: When someone can still see but the brain doesn't process everything. When you can only recognize 60% of the facial expressions you see

Asymbolia: When you know where the pain is, and feel when it hurts, but you don't have an emotional connection