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Human-nonhuman communication

Humans and animals, especially domesticated animals, are capable of limited communication with one another. Humans, like most animals, can utilize and understand universal inter-animal communication, such as howling, hissing, teeth-baring, and so on, and so much inter-species communication also reflects human beings as well. In addition, humans have two unique tools in communication: technology and language, which can aid in animal-human communications.

Use of Technology in Communication

While most studies concentrate on animal language, communication is not limited to an empathetic interaction. For example, human use of animal pheromones allows for a degree of control over the actions of animals. A pioneer in this field is bee expert Dr. Norman Gary, who uses pheromones in order to safely cover himself in bees. Other instances of technology used to aid human-animal communication are dog whistles and the use of artificial animal calls during hunting.

Use of Language in Communication

It is debatable whether animals can truly use sophisticated language. However especially intelligent animals, such as primates, certain dog breeds, and dolphins, among others, have at least a limited understanding of certain human words and are proficient at understanding the intent of human beings.

http://www.koko.org/world/talk_aol.html

According to Koko’s website, Koko is a 35 year-old lowland gorilla that learned to speak American Sign Language when she was just a baby. Her teacher, Dr. Penny Patterson, began working with Koko as a Ph.D. project at Stanford, thinking it would only be a 4-year study. Thirty-some years later, Penny and Koko continue to work together at the Gorilla Foundation in one of the longest interspecies communication studies ever conducted, the only one with gorillas. Koko now has a vocabulary of over 1000 signs, and understands even more spoken English.

On April 26, 1998, Koko the gorilla gave an AOL live chat. Kok’s trainer, Dr. Francine “Penny” Patternson, used sign language to relay the gorilla questions from the online audience; 7,811 AOL members participated, ranking the chat the fifth most popular in AOL's history. The following are two excerpts from the live chat, which illustrate the ambiguity of Koko’s true ability to communicate with humans. HaloMyBaby is the moderator of the chat, DrPPatrsn is Penny Patterson, and LiveKOKO is Koko.

HaloMyBaby: …MInyKitty asks Koko are you going to have a baby in the future?

LiveKOKO: Pink

DrPPatrsn: We've had earlier discussion about colors today

LiveKOKO: Listen, Koko loves eat

HaloMyBaby: Me too!

DrPPatrsn: What about a baby? She's thinking...

LiveKOKO: Unattention

DrPPatrsn: She covered her face with her hands....which means it's not happening, basically, or it hasn't happened yet.

LiveKOKO: I don't see it.

HaloMyBaby: That's sad!

DrPPatrsn: In other words, she hasn't had one yet, and she doesn't see it happening. She needs several females and one male to have a family. In our setting it really isn't possible for her to have a baby.

Question: Do you like to chat with other people?

LiveKOKO: fine nipple

DrPPatrsn: Nipple rhymes with people, she doesn't sign people per se, she was trying to do a "sounds like..."

In the above excerpts, Dr. Patterson tries to interpret Koko’s nonsensical responses into ones that directly answer the question. It is also interesting to note that when Dr. Patterson says, “nipple rhymes with people” she is implying that Koko understands rhyme schemes and the sounds of the words in addition to their meanings; this is highly unlikely. While Koko undoubtedly knows how to sign words, it is questionable whether her form of signing represents a true understanding of the English language (see Controversy below). The same can be said of pet dogs that respond to human commands. Most of this is due to operant conditioning (e.g. “Sit” in order to get a biscuit). Another example of human-animal interaction is animal telepathy where human psychics claim to communicate with animals by reading their minds. There is no scientific evidence supporting these claims.

An important reminder for understanding human-animal communication is that many humans tend to anthropomorphize animals and thus believe that they have the capacity to understand human speech and language. Specifically, work by Rupert Sheldrake has explored the possible telepathic power of pets (i.e. a dog that seems to know when his owner is coming home). Given evidence for socialization and interspecies communication, it would be interesting to see how much knowledge pets can gain from humans and vice versa.