The Difference Between Animal

and Human Communication

Differences between human language and animal communication.

Human Language Vs. Animal Communication

If someone asked you what separates humans from other animals, one of the first things that
would probably come to mind is language. Language is so fundamental to human life that it's
hard to imagine what life would be like without it. In fact, the original term for language referred to
it as part of the bodylanguage is derived from the Latin word lingua, meaning tongue. Barnett
highlights the inseparability of language from man when he says, Verbal communication is a
condition of the existence of human society.
But at the same time, other animals also communicate: Your cat may let you know when its
hungry, ants use pheromones and sound to indicate social status and distress, bees dance to tell
one another where to find honey, and chimpanzees can learn sign language.
So when we think of language as a way of setting ourselves apart, what is it about our language
that is different than how other animals communicate?
In the video below, Professor Marc van Oostendorp of the Leiden University Centre for
Linguistics discusses three of the major differences between human and animal communication;
this article will examine these differences and more.

Differences at a Glance
Human Animal
Distinctive sounds,
called phonemes, are
Other animals do not
arbitrary and have no
communicate by
meaning. But humans
arranging arbitrary
Duality of Patterning can string these
sounds, which limits the
sounds in an infinite
number of messages
number of ways to
they can create.
create meaning via
words and sentences.
 Human Animal
Animals have to evolve
New words can be
Creativity in order for their signs to
invented easily.
change.
Humans can talk about
remote, abstract, or Animal communication
imaginary things that is context driventhey
Displacement
aren't happening in react to stimuli, or
their immediate indexes.
environments.
Certain animal
Any gender of human communications in the
Interchangeability can use the same animal world can only
languages. be used by one gender
of that animal.
Humans acquire The way that animals
Cultural Transmission language culturally communicate are
words must be learned. biological, or inborn.
Human language is
symbolic, using a set
number of sounds Animal communication
(phonemes) and is not symbolic, so it
Arbitrariness
characters (alphabet), cannot preserve ideas
which allows ideas to of the past.
be recorded and
preserved.
On a purely biological
level, the human voice Other animals have
box and tongue are different biological
Biology very unique, and are structures, which impact
required to make the they way they make
sounds we recognize sounds.
as language.
A word, or sign, can
Every sign has only one
Ambiguity have several
meaning.
meanings.
Human language can
arrange words into an Animals only have a
infinite number of limited number of
Variety
ideas, sometimes combinations they can
referred to as discrete use to communicate.
infinity.

The Main Differences: In Depth

While many scholars may add to this list, this article will examine seven properties that are
largely unique to human language: duality, creativity, displacement, interchangeability, cultural
transmission, arbitrariness, and biology.
Duality

Duality of patterning: Distinctive sounds, called phonemes, are arbitrary and have no meaning. But humans
can string these sounds in an infinite number of ways to create meaning via words and sentences.

The primary difference is known as duality of patterning, or structure. Each human language has
a fixed number of sound units called "phonemes." These phonemes are combined to make
morphemes, the smallest unit of sound that contains meaning. Thus, language has got two levels
of patterning that are not present in other animals' communication.
Creativity

Yet another distinctive feature is creativity. Human beings use their linguistic resources to
produce new expressions and sentences. They arrange and rearrange phonemes, morphemes,
words, and phrases in a way that can express an infinite number of ideas. This is also called the
open-endedness of language. Animal communication is a closed system. It cannot produce new
signals to communicate novel events or experiences.
Displacement
 Displacement: Human language can talk about things that aren't happening here or now. Other animals
react only to stimuli in the present.

Human beings can talk of real or imaginary situations, places, or objects far removed from their
present surroundings and time. Other animals, on the other hand, communicate in reaction to a
stimulus in the immediate environment, such as food or danger. Because of this, human
language is considered context-free, whereas animal communication is mostly context bound.
Interchangeability

Human language is interchangeable between sexes. But certain communications in animal world
are performed only by one gender. For example, bee dancing is only performed by worker bees,
which are female.

Cultural Transmission
 Cultural Transmission: Human language is culturally transmitted, or taught. Other animals communicate
largely with signs they are born knowing.

Another important difference is that human language is culturally transmitted. Human beings
brought up in different cultures acquire different languages. Man can also learn other languages
via the influence of other cultures. Animals lack this capacity. Their communication ability is
transmitted biologically, so they are unable to learn other languages.
Arbitrariness

Human language is a symbolic system. The signs, or words, in language have no inherent
connection to what they signify, or mean (that's why one object can have so many names in
different languages). These signs can also be written with the symbols, or alphabet, of that
language. Both verbal and written language can be passed down to future generations. Animal
communication is not symbolic, which means ideas cannot be preserved for the future.

Biology

Biological differences also play a vital role in communication. Human vocal cords can produce a
large number of sounds. Each human language uses a number of those sounds. Animal and
birds have entirely different biological structures, which impact the way they can form sounds.

Does That Mean Animal Communication Never Displays These Properties?

Wait: largely unique to human language? Does that mean that other animals can display these
properties?

It's a matter of debate. One of the most contested examples is Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee
named after noted linguist Noam Chomsky, who was taught over 100 signs in sign language in
the '70s. Turning hand gestures into meaning certainly displays arbitrariness. But Herbert
Terrace, the psychology that led the study doubted that Nim had really learned a language. He
noted that Nim very rarely signed spontaneously; instead, he would react to signs his teacher
was making.
The idea below shows other contested examples of when the line between human and animal
communication becomes blurred.
What are the differences between
human and animal communication?
EXPERT ANSWERS
MWESTWOOD | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

In rebuttal of the statement that animal communication is inclusively

instinctual and not learned, studies have been conducted with domestic
dogs and wolves brought up in captivity around humans. While dogs that
are pets watch the faces of humans and react according to their
expressions, the wolves or wolf-mix dogs do not generally pay attention to
the owner's expressions. Therefore, it seems safe to say that pet dogs
have learned what certain facial expressions mean and they react
according.

...a new study has found that dogs are able to tell the difference between
happy and angry human facial expressions. (Related: "Animal Minds"
inNational Geographic magazine.)

Of high intelligence on the scale of animals, dogs have learned from

experience that certain reactions and voice level come from an owner
depending upon the facial expression. They have also learned that certain
behaviors of theirs elicit certain facial expressions and reactions from their
owners.This fact is verified by biologist Corsin Muller of the University of
Veterinary Medicine in Vienna Austria. In this study eleven dogs, among
which were a fox terrier, border collies, a German Shepherd, a Golden
Retriever, and several mixed breeds, were trained to touch a screen that
had either a happy face or an angry face for a treat.

To ensure that the dogs were not simply responding to just a smile or some
single expression, they were shown either top parts of a face or the bottom
parts. The dogs were shown strange faces (the left side of the face was
used as dogs seem to prefer looking at this side), yet the ones trained to
identify happy faces were consistently able to do so. Other dogs were
trained to select the angry ones. Interestingly, more training was necessary
for the angry faces, possibly because the results of angry faces were
negative (no belly rubs or treats); nevertheless, the dogs identified these
angry faces.

While there may be no scientific proof, many a pet owner will adamantly
assert that his/her pet communicates with him/her. For instance, one dog
owner once had an intelligent mutt who "could not lie about her
misbehavior." Whenever she had eaten something not intended for her or
done something wrong, if the owner questioned her "Did you do this?" in a
certain tone of voice, she would sit up, and make a unique noise, hang her
head, and nervously tap her tail quickly on the floor. If she had not done the
action under question she would not move her tail, and she looked straight
at the owner. Her answers were correct 100% of the time, the owner
asserted. Another owner of a horse spoke several times about how her
horse seemed to intuitively know what she was thinking sometimes. For
instance, she stopped during her ride one time to decide at a fork which
path to take (she had never been there before). After a couple of minutes
she decided. At the very moment at which she made up her mind, her
horse, who had been munching on grass while waiting, suddenly jerked its
head up and went toward the path which deviated from the one on which
they had been; this was the one upon which the owner had decided. While
scientists have contended that man has ignored his sixth sense so long
that it is diminished, this horse seems to have it.

Citation

mwestwood. "What are the differences between human and animal

communication?" eNotes, 15 Dec. 2015,
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-difference-between-human-
animal-communication-279666. Accessed 20 Oct. 2017.
PACORZ | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

First of all, the majority of human communication is language-based. That

means it is symbolic in nature, dependent on vocabulary and grammatical
structure of some sort, and it can be verbal or written. While humans can
and do communicate through body language and scent, these types of
communication make up a very small fraction of our net information
exchange. Our communication can be about the past, present, or future,
and can include abstract ideas and connections.

Most animals do not have the anatomical structure necessary for spoken
language, and many species do not appear to have the ability to process
symbolic information. Instead, animals generally rely on body language,
limited vocal calls, and scent to communicate. As a result, their
communications are always in the present tense and are about immediate
real-world information such as status, food, territory, and availability to
mate.

There are some exceptions to this. A number of primates, including gorillas

and chimpanzees, have been taught American sign language, and have
subsequently demonstrated basic grasp of symbolic language. Dolphins,
which can communicate by sonar, appear to also be capable of symbolism.

Cite this page as follows:

pacorz. "What are the differences between human and animal
communication?" eNotes, 22 Sep. 2011,
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-difference-between-human-
animal-communication-279666. Accessed 20 Oct. 2017.
Animal vs Human Communication

Conveying of meaningful information is known as communication, and it has been an

integral part of success and hence, the longevity of any animal species and so for the
humans. There are so many different ways of communication. Humans have various
well developed communication techniques to serve a major distinction between
animals and humans.

Animal Communication

Animals have different forms of communication viz. gestures, facial expressions, gaze
following, vocalization, and olfactory signals. Displaying body parts is a very common
form of animal communication, especially in birds as their males become extremely
attractive during the breeding season. The facial expressions are another form of
communication, mostly in dogs. The dogs facial expressions reveal their intentions.
When a dog is ready to play, the expressions from its face could be understood. Some
of the better explained examples for gaze following among animals are bees and ants.
Foraging bees play an act called the waggle dance, in order to let the other bees know
of the source of food with the direction and the farther. Animal vocalizations have been
well identified, and trying to characterize their functions by the scientists with the use
of hormonal variations. Among most of the animals, sound has been a very effective
form of communication. Olfaction, or the sense of smell is a pioneering form of animal
communication, and it has been utilized by human also by using dogs most of the time.
Through all forms of communication, animals are able to let others know about their
requirements viz. feeding, breeding, aggression, alarmingetc.

Human Communication

Humans have developed many ways of communication ranging from gestures, facial
expressions, letters, vocalizations, visualizationsetc. Usually, the distance matters
for communication but, humans have invented many ways to overcome the distance.
First, it was by sending messages via animals, then by creating postal services. The
communication process was tremendously developed with the invention of telephone
by Alexander Graham Bell and later, radio, newspapers, magazines, journals,
television, internet, emails, and social networking websites appeared. However, still
people prefer to meet and communicate with the gestures and facial expressions
because, the real meaning could be conveyed through those ways. For
communication, humans use many different languages but, English is the common
global language. Visualization and olfaction have been other forms of communication
in humans. Scenes or smell of delicious foods make the humans salivate, and these
are being used by the restaurants and food companies to attract more customers. All
those ways of communication function differently according to the needs.
What is the difference between Animal and Human Communication?

Both animals and humans communicate among themselves according to their needs
in the lifestyle. The forms of communication look similar in both animals and humans
but, the functions are different. Although, the forms could be classified and explained
as similar in animals and humans, the humans have developed a very complex and
rapidly expanding means of communication. Humans have been trying to understand
the animal behaviours and their means of communication through the scientific
method, which is another form of communication in humans.

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Michigan State Universiy, Anthropology Online courses

Pacor, Z. (2011, September 22). What are the differences between human and animal
communication. Retrieved from https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-difference-
between-human-animal-communication-279666.

Wood, M.W. (2015, December 15). What are the differences between human and animal
communication. Retrieved from https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-difference-
between-human-animal-communication-279666.

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James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Senior Honors Projects Undergraduate Research
Spring 2015 Human-Animal Communication in Captive Species: Dogs, Horses, and Whales Mackenzie
K. Kelley James Madison University

Hedeagar, U. (2012). Is language unique to the human species. Retrieved from

http://www.columbia.edu/~rmk7/HC/HC_Readings/AnimalComm.pdf