Circa 2000. I was doing research on language and consciousness for an independent study in my MA program and was asked to write a piece that could be recorded for radio broadcast. The research is outdated now, but I did have a lot of fun creating this.
Title: Differences in Human and
Animal Language Use: A Meta-Thought Experiment
Authors: Janice McKay, graduate
student at the State University College at Brockport, NY, and Her Imagination
Problem: How can the differences
between the way humans and animals use language be demonstrated in an
informative and entertaining manner to an audience with little no previous
background in linguistic theory?
Hypothesis: The main difference between
the way humans and animals use language is that animals use signs and humans
use both signs and symbols. To greatly simplify, this means that animals
communicate, even when using human language, by thinking of and pointing at things
that have a referent in reality, usually things of evolutionary significance to
them such as food and sexual partners. Humans, however, can communicate this
way, but can also communicate by using symbols, which allows them to think about and manipulate things that may not
exist in reality, may not be present, or which we want to deny, like unicorns
or talking apes. In other words, unlike other animals, humans use language to
imagine and create things. Therefore, it should be possible to demonstrate the
differences in how humans and animals use language by using our imaginations to
do a thought experiment.[1]
Definitions: What I mean by a thought
experiment here is simply the creation, manipulation, and discussion of
something that does not exist outside of imagination.
Materials: An audience and Imagination
Procedure: Administer “Bake and Ape: A
Thought Experiment” to an audience (See Appendix B)
Results/Data/Summary: Pending further study. This
experiment has not been tested on the imaginations of an actual audience.
Conclusion: If, at the end of the
experiment, audience members have used their imaginations, and have been able
to understand through the examples how animals and humans use language
differently, especially that imagination is one important way humans and
animals use language differently, then the experiment can be considered
successful.
I suppose it’s best to begin with a definition. What I
mean by “thought experiment” here is simply that we are going to use our
imaginations to create something. Something that does not exist in the world
outside of our imaginations. And yes, I did say, “we.” You’re going to be my
lab partner.
Why are we going to do this, you ask? Well, mostly
because we can, and animals can not.
And also because what I’m interested in exploring in this experiment is how
humans and animals use language differently. My hypothesis, then, is that by
using language to imagine, to create and manipulate reality, we will at the
same time be demonstrating how humans and animals use language differently.
But let’s forget about hypotheses for now and just get to
the fun part. Let’s get out our imaginations, get into the laboratory, and get
started. First, since I sound and think more like Betty Crocker than Dr.
Jeckyl, let’s imagine that we’re in a test kitchen. That’s the kind of
laboratory I can relate to. Now, before we can actually create anything, we
have to know what it is that we want to create. When Betty Crocker decides it’s
time to invent a new cake mix, she has to picture the finished product first.
She has to imagine, say, Banana-Asparagus Bundt Cake before she can develop the
recipe for it and actually make it. And she also has to test market it before
we’ll be able to find it in our local supermarket.
So, what do we
want? Well, it’s definitely not Banana-Asparagus Bundt Cake. You might have
already guessed from the title that we want to bake an ape. Not just any
ordinary ape - we want a talking ape. No, not like a Planet of the Apes
talking ape; those apes were just actors in hairy costumes. And not like real
apes who use sign language; those apes don’t use language the same way humans
do, if at all. What we want is an ape who can talk, write, and imagine.
So what do we need to do that, you ask? Well, now that we
know what we want, we can create a recipe. First we’ll start with a base of
syntax and grammar, then we’ll add a symbol system . . . But wait! You’re not
very familiar with these ingredients, you say? This sounds like one of those
exotic recipes that calls for cardamom or coriander?
Don’t sweat it. Remember, this is a quick mix; all of the ingredients are already in the box, which is your brain. You don’t have to know what they look like or how they work to use them. After all, how many of us can identify the maltodextrin or guar gum in our favorite cake mix? Who needs to? The cake still tastes the same when we’re done. So, forget the ingredients list, all we need to do now is add one large ape, stir, and bake for two seconds: one Mississippi, two Mississippi. Ding! He’s done! Quicker than a Jiffy Bake Oven.
Don’t sweat it. Remember, this is a quick mix; all of the ingredients are already in the box, which is your brain. You don’t have to know what they look like or how they work to use them. After all, how many of us can identify the maltodextrin or guar gum in our favorite cake mix? Who needs to? The cake still tastes the same when we’re done. So, forget the ingredients list, all we need to do now is add one large ape, stir, and bake for two seconds: one Mississippi, two Mississippi. Ding! He’s done! Quicker than a Jiffy Bake Oven.
Now, let’s take a look. Well, he looks like an ape. And
yes, it is a he. I flipped a coin while counting the Mississippis and it came
up tails, so it’s a he. And we should probably give him a name, don’t you
think? Names are important. They’re symbols. They don’t just refer to an
object, like a real ape or the ape in our imagination, they also refer to all
of the things we associate with that object, like bananas or Betty Crocker.
So what should it be? How about Jake? Jake the baked
talking ape. Kinda catchy, don’t you think? Jake it is then. Let’s make sure
Jake’s baked. Hmmm, he appears to be a little undercooked, but looks can be
deceiving. Let’s taste. No, I don’t mean we’re going to eat his flesh. That
would offend a lot of animal rights people and besides, it wouldn’t tell us
anything about how Jake uses language. I know I said forget the hypothesis, but
this experiment is about language. So what I mean by “let’s taste,” is “let’s
sample and digest Jake’s words. Let’s see if his language has changed, see if
we can detect the ingredients we added that will make his language human.”
Well, it appears that Jake has wasted no time. He
acquired human language less than a minute ago and already he has an ad out in
the personals section of the Banana Republic Weekly. Let’s read it:
strong hairy male wants
pretty young female
give bananas
Yep, Jake is definitely undercooked. In this ad, he’s
still using language like a regular ape. He uses mostly lexical words, words
like bananas, play, and female, which
point to real objects, and very few grammatical words, like give and to, which show relationships between objects. The syntax, or word
order, is undercooked also. While it appears we have a male looking for a
female to give bananas to, we can’t rule out the possibility that what Jake
means is that he wants the female to give the bananas to him. Or that he’s
simply requesting a female and some bananas, without intending to connect the
two. We can’t be sure Jake understands how word order can change the meaning of
a sentence.
From this ad, we also see that Jake is still using only imperative and declarative phrases: phrases that express commands or desires, to think of and ask for things that have to do with food, predators, and/or sexual partners. While regular apes will use language to make requests 96% of the time, humans use language to make statements most of the time.
So, I think we’d better put Jake back in the oven for a
little longer . . .OK, that’s enough. What do you think? A little darker, but
still a little squishy in the middle? Let’s taste again and see how he’s
evolving. Mmmm, this second sample is a letter Jake wrote to his mom. Too bad
she can’t read it or even understand it. But we can. Let’s dig in:
Dear Mom,
You’re never going to guess what’s
happened to me! I can talk! And I can write! Do you know what that means? Well,
of course you don’t, but what that means is I can learn! I can do math! I know
you can count to nine, Mom, but I can do algebra and calculus. I can do
scientific experiments. No, Mom, not experiments like this hokey thought
experiment, I mean real experiments, like working with chemicals and Bunsen
burners. I can use fire! You remember The
Jungle Book movie, don’t you, Mom?
Did
I tell you that I’m in college now, Mom, studying theology, criminology,
sociology, banana-ology? I’m also studying things like history and literature,
and my favorite subject is anatomy.
Don’t worry, Mom. I’m still into primate anatomy. I
tried going out with a couple of human
females, but all they think about is free dinner and monkeying around. How
primitive. I wish there were talking female apes so I could get a mate now and
then. Don’t get me wrong. I am excited about my new language, but I’m also a
little lonely sometimes.
Hope to talk to you sometime,
anytime.
Your son, Jake
Well, Jake certainly is cooked more, but I’m not sure
he’s quite done. Let’s talk about what we’ve just sampled. We could certainly
taste more grammar and syntax: Jake’s using connecting words, like about, and, to, and but, which show relationships between
other words. For example, “I am excited about my new language, but I’m also a
little lonely sometimes.” It is clear from that sentence that Jake understands
word order, that that sentence would be different if the words were rearranged
to say, “My new language is excited about me.”
And let’s see, Jake is still talking a lot about food and
sexual partners, but he’s making statements about
them, not just asking for them. Also,
it’s interesting that Jake mentions that he’s studying things like theology and
anatomy and banana-ology. He’s not just studying concrete things, like bones or
bananas, he’s studying the study of
bones and bananas; he’s studying abstract things like ideas that he can’t
touch, see, or smell.
While Jake is definitely closer to done, I’m concerned
that the letter is addressed only to his mother. I would like to see him cooked
enough to be able to attend to more than one person at a time, and I would also
like to see his creativity brown a little more. I think we should put him in
for just a little bit longer.
Time’s up. Get your glass of milk ready, or whatever it
is you drink with baked apes, and let’s dig in! Ooh look, this time Jake’s
given us a story to sample. He’s even named it.
Nate
the Great: A Hairy Tail
Once upon a time there was an ape named Nate. Nate was no
ordinary ape; he was a great ape with a unique gift. He had a magical tool that
he used to create things. The tool was invisible, yet it was so powerful it
could be used to create things right inside an ape’s head, even things that had
never been seen before.
Apes traveled from distant tree houses to see Nate the Great
work his magic. They came to him with special requests. “Nate the Great,” one
ape asked, “could you make me a gadget
that would help my poor arthritic mother peel her bananas?” To which Nate the
Great replied: “Close your eyes, my child. Imagine stainless steel and razor
blades.” Nate continued with his magic until the ape had an image of this gadget in his mind, a blueprint
he could carry with him wherever he went.
“Thank you, Nate the Great,” the ape said when they were
finished, to which Nate replied, “All you have to do is Imagine.”
Sometimes the apes would use their hands to build replicas
of the images Nate had created in their minds. It went on this way until other
apes acquired the magic tool that Nate had. Eventually all of the apes acquired
this tool and could create their own images. They even joined together in using
their tools to create other things. They created stories, laws, and religions;
art, science, and technology; songs, superstitions, and even dirty banana
jokes. And eventually they pretty much forgot about Nate the Great, the ape who
gave them this powerful tool in the first place, the ape who gave them
language: the power tool of imagination.
The End.
Well, pat yourselves on the back. Jake’s fully cooked and
his language tastes pretty darn good. A little plain, perhaps, but definitely
human. Jake’s all set with the grammar and syntax now. And he uses words as
symbols, as names: concepts of things, not the actual things themselves. Jake
cannot be pointing at a gadget that peels bananas or to a talking ape that exists
in the real world because those things don’t exist outside of his imagination.
And even if the words had a referent in the physical world, what Jake is
manipulating is the concept of the thing; he’s manipulating the meaning of the
thing, not the actual thing itself.
And Jake is doing this by using both statements and
requests in this sample. One of his statements, “Once upon a time,” is very
interesting. It may seem a little cliché, but it shows that Jake understands
that this phrase is an accepted social practice for beginning a story, a fairy
tale, or “hairy tail” as Jake calls it. Also, Jake attends to more than one
person in the story, and he seems to realize that his story will have an
audience.
We should also note that while bananas appear again, the
story is not predominantly about food or sexual partners. Jake is not just
conveying practical information that would aid in survival; he is expressing
his ideas. He is able to use his magic tool, which is language. The kind of
language we humans use, that we are using right now. We are able to imagine
Jake and talk about him and change him because we have human language.
Well, I guess this means that we’ve finished our
experiment. Jake’s been baked and digested. I hope he wasn’t too hard to swallow.
Do you think now that we’ve test marketed him a little he’s ready for the
supermarket shelves? Is he safe to put in other people’s imaginations? Or would
you prefer a different recipe? There’s a great idea! Think of something you
want to create. Use your imagination to invent a gadget, a creature, a song, a
riddle, a picture, a trip to Mars, a banana peeler, a girlfriend for Jake, an
article of clothing, a story. Anything. Everything.
Why?
Well, just because you can.
Bibliography
Berkoff, Mark and Dale
Jamieson, eds. Readings in Animal
Cognition. Cambridge: Bradford-MIT, 1996.
Britton, James, et al. “An Approach to the Function Categories.” The Development of Writing Abilities (11-18). School’s[?] Council Research Studies, 1975.
Cummins, Denise Dellarosa,
and Colin Allen, eds. The
Evolution of Mind. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.
Fromkin, Victoria, and Robert Rodman. An Introduction to Language. 6th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1998.
Griffin, Donald R. Animal Minds. Chicago: U of Chicago P,
1992.
Langer, Susanne K. “Signs and Symbols.” The Essay Connection. 3rd ed. Ed. Lynne Z. Bloom. Lexington: Heath, 1991.
Macphail, Euan M. The Evolution of Consciousness. Oxford:
Oxford UP, 1998.
Noske, Barbara. Humans and Other Animals: Beyond the Boundaries of Anthropology. London: Pluto, 1989.
Vauclair, Jacques. Animal Cognition: An Introduction to Modern
Comparative Psychology. Cambridge: Harvard
UP, 1996.
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