Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the three elements of language " abstractness, grammar, and cultural ramifications " are not unique to human language, but merely more advanced or merely more evident from our perspective than the language of animals. The author points out that chimps and parrots in laboratory settings seem capable of grasping abstract terms (such as "mad" or "bad" or "blue"), generating new combinations of words to express new ideas, and referring to distant events or objects. The paper relates that animals may be more driven by instinct than by learned behavior, yet they show a propensity, in many cases, to learn language.

From the Paper:

"Grammar is one of the strictest supposed differences between human and animal languages. Grammar involves the organization of discrete words into complex sentences that have specific required orders and syntaxes. Even human sign language tends to require certain specific syntaxes. While animals appear capable of understanding syntax, there is little evidence that they use it in communication (though it is difficult to prove a negative). According to one influential chimp research, Terrace, "No chimpanzee has learned sign language. They've certainly learned some gestures, but sign language is not just a system of gestures. It's a full, grammatical language with its own systematic grammar, like Latin". The lack of grammar is evident in cases such as that of Koko, one of the stars of the talking-chimp movement."

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