Prairie Dogs Have A "language"


http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/prairie_dogs_041206.html

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ Prairie dogs, those little pups popping
in and out of holes on vacant lots and rural rangeland, are
talking up a storm. They have different "words'' for tall human
in yellow shirt, short human in green shirt, coyote, deer,
red-tailed hawk and many other creatures.

They can even coin new terms for things they've never seen before,
independently coming up with the same calls or words, according to
Con Slobodchikoff, a Northern Arizona University biology professor
and prairie dog linguist.

Prairie dogs of the Gunnison's species, which Slobodchikoff has
studied, speak different dialects in Grants and Taos, N.M.;
Flagstaff, Ariz.; and Monarch Pass, Colo., but they would likely
understand one another, the professor says.
...
Prairie dog chatter is variously described by observers as a series
of yips, high-pitched barks or eeks. And most scientists think
prairie dogs simply make sounds that reflect their inner condition.
That means all they're saying are things like "ouch'' or "hungry''
or "eek.''

But Slobodchikoff believes prairie dogs are communicating detailed
information to one another about what animals are showing up in
their colonies, and maybe even gossiping.

Linguists have set five criteria that must be met for something to
qualify as language: It must contain words with abstract meanings;
possess syntax in which the order of words is part of their meaning;
have the ability to coin new words; be composed of smaller elements;
and use words separated in space and time from what they represent.

"I've been chipping away at all of these,'' Slobodchikoff said.

He and his students have done work in the field and in a laboratory.
With digital recorders, they record the calls prairie dogs make as
they see different people, dogs of different sizes and with different
coat colors, hawks, elk. They analyze the sounds using a computer
that dissects the underlying structure and creates a sonogram, or
visual representation of the sound. Computer analysis later
identifies the similarities and differences.

The prairie dogs have calls for various predators but also for elk,
deer, antelope and cows.

"It's as if they're trying to inform one another what's out there,''
Slobodchikoff said.

So far, he has recorded at least 20 different "words.''

Some of those words or calls were created by the prairie dogs when
they saw something for the first time. Four prairie dogs in
Slobodchikoff's lab were shown a great-horned owl and European ferret,
two animals they had likely not seen before, if only because the owls
are mostly nocturnal and this kind of ferret is foreign. The prairie
dogs independently came up with the same new calls.
...
Slobodchikoff has also played back a recorded prairie dog alarm call
for coyote in a prairie dog colony when no coyote was around. The
prairie dogs had the same escape response as they did when the predator
was really there.

"There's no coyote present, but the prairie dogs hear this and they
say, 'Oh, coyote. Better hide,''' Slobodchikoff said.

Computer analysis has been able to break down some prairie dog calls
into different components, suggesting the critters have yet another
element of a real language.
...
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