TED-Ed: Do animals have language? - Michele Bishop

The video explores how animals communicate and whether their systems qualify as language. It examines four language qualities: discreteness, grammar, productivity, and displacement. While some animals like bees and prairie dogs show traits like displacement, none exhibit all four qualities. Human language is unique due to its combination of these traits, allowing infinite message creation and complex communication. The video suggests that human and animal communication may exist on a continuum.

How do honeybees communicate the location and quality of a food source?

What are the four specific qualities often associated with language?

In what ways do prairie dogs demonstrate sophisticated communication?

What evidence is there that great apes can use language traits?

How does human language differ from animal communication?