Overlap not gap
Understanding the relationship between animal communication and language with Prototype Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4095700 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jenny Amphaeris (0000-0002-8875-643X), Graeme Shannon (0000-0002-5039-4904), Thora Tenbrink (0000-0002-7986-1254) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 272 |
| Pages | 103332 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Lingua (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0024-3841 • E-ISSN: 1872-6135 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.lingua.2022.103332 |
| OpenAlex | W4224214424 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 96 |
What is the relationship between language and animal communication? This has largely been discussed within research on language evolution and disciplines beyond linguistics, but impacts upon the study of language generally. There are two extant views on the nature of this relationship: either there is a stark divide, with language considered as completely unique to humans, or there is a linear continuum from animal communication to language, aligning with gradualist evolutionary principles. Yet, each view involves considerable limitations. Moreover, there is no agreed-upon definition of language, which further complicates the determination of its relationship with animal communication. Withdrawing from attempts to define language with traditional fixed criteria (as characteristic of classical categorisation), this article suggests a different approach to conceptualising language and assessing the concept's applicability to other species. Categorising phenomena through family resemblances and graded typicality of features (as in prototype-based categorisation) enables a new approach to conceptualising language, its typological diversity amongst humans, and the systematic integration of animal communication. Ultimately, with an illustrative model, this article proposes a strong overlap of animal communication with language. This approach illuminates more of the nature of language, facilitates more cohesive interdisciplinary research, and introduces potentially positive ethical implications for non-humans
Biology · Cognitive science · Diversity (politics · Epistemology · Evolutionary biology · Extant taxon · Linguistics · Sociology · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Anthropology · Child and Animal Learning Development · Computer Science · Language and cultural evolution · Psychology
The dictionary of anthropology
Approaches to the evolution of language
Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy
The Faculty of Language
What some concepts might not be
Learning How to Mean
Episodic Memory
Punctuated equilibria
Hedges
Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?
The Symbolic Species
The Origin of Speech
The origins of language
Meaning
Sense and Reference
The Invariance Hypothesis
The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Typology
The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality
Language and Linguistics
What exactly is Universal Grammar, and has anyone seen it
Three Factors in Language Design
Linguistic categorization
Language evolution
Discussing the evolution of the assorted beasts called language
The body in the mind. The bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason
Pyow-hack revisited
Gricean communication, language development, and animal minds
A New Look at the Acquisition of Relative Clauses
Nonhuman Primate Communication, Pragmatics, and the Origins of Language
Functionally referential signals
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |