Human Language and Animal Communication

Human Language and Animal Communication

Introduction

Language is human ability of developing and using or adopting complex systems in order to communicate with one other. Linguistics is the scientific study of Language. On the basis of its use by species, language can be divided into human language and animal language. Human Language can also be encoded into secondary forms as we know 'Braille' nowadays for those who are blind, they learn by feeling impressions. This shows that language used by human is independent of any medium or modality; it can either be understood as one speaks and the other listens or it can be felt in case for those who are blind through the use of Braille. This is the proof that human language is the most flexible of all the languages that exists in the world because of its greater expressive power and complexity. It is the reason animal communication is regarded as closed system and inflexible. Their language skills are not socially learned rather they are genetically passed on whereas human communication is learned through interacting in early years of one's lives and it is through that, that the development takes place. Language is the primary medium to share feelings and thoughts and this purpose is better served through the language used by human then by the non-human language.

Discussion

Existence of Human Language

Natural human language came into existence as a consequence of human intellect to communicate and share with each other ideas and concepts to explore their surroundings. Language that exists naturally is called as Natural language as Waggle Dance of Bees; as in contrast to Constructed language such as computer programming languages.

There is conflict hovering over the use of human language for the first time. Anthropologists believe that it was either the era of 'Homo Habilis' some two million (2,000,000) years ago or it was the era of Cro Magnon man some forty thousand (40,000) years ago that used human language for the first time. It has been found by recent evidence that the modern language was introduced 50,000 years ago in Africa. Contemporary human language or linguistics is posed to certain arguments; the most important to its origin among them is that human language has not been formed as a result of natural selection which dominantly defined evolutionary biology. However, recent research evidence has suggested that although some elements of human language are naturally selected (Pinker & Bloom, 1990, pp. 757), others are not aligned and thus have not resulted out of natural selection (Chomsky, 1986). Therefore, it can be said without any doubt that their exists selectionist and neoselectionist approach to the explanation of the origin of human language.

The base of these findings are extensive studies involving fossils of early men and pre-historic men that depicted their life style, their routine and how they might have interacted in their clan and tribes for discussions. Heavy concentrations of tools have been observed as started to prevail in the era of 'Homo Habilis' or habile ...