How significant is language as a feature of what makes humans different from other animals?
- Created by: Meg Fraser
- Created on: 03-01-17 15:43
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- Does language make humans different to animals?
- No
- Gardner and Gardner
- Taught Washoe, a chimpansee, ASL
- By the age of 4, Washoe had a vocabulary of 130 signs
- She could sign three or more words together e.g. 'You tickle me'
- By the age of 4, Washoe had a vocabulary of 130 signs
- Taught Washoe, a chimpansee, ASL
- Savage-Rumbaugh
- A bonobo (pygmy chimp), Kanzi learnt how to use a symbol keyboard by watching his mother
- A lexigram was known only if Kanzi could spontaneously produce it correctly on 9 occasions
- Could comprehend the spoken word and the lexigram before using it
- Over 17 months, could understand 60 symbols and produce 50, as well as 2 or 3 combinations
- Level of understanding as good as a young child and even better for retrieval of items from a location
- Over 17 months, could understand 60 symbols and produce 50, as well as 2 or 3 combinations
- Could comprehend the spoken word and the lexigram before using it
- A lexigram was known only if Kanzi could spontaneously produce it correctly on 9 occasions
- A bonobo (pygmy chimp), Kanzi learnt how to use a symbol keyboard by watching his mother
- Gardner and Gardner
- Yes
- Chomsky
- Humans the only species with a LAD
- Mechanism containing universal rules of grammar to learn any language
- Chimps can learn words but the use of grammar is unique to humans
- Humans the only species with a LAD
- Vocal apparatus not capable of producing words
- Attempts at teaching chimps speech have failed (Hayes, 1952)
- Terrace et al. (1979)
- Taught Nim, a chimpanzee, ASL
- Claims he imitated the trainers to his advantage
- Nim didn't necessarily understand human language
- Claims he imitated the trainers to his advantage
- Taught Nim, a chimpanzee, ASL
- Chomsky
- No
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