Language Capabilities In Canines (wad: Is language development evolutionary, or designed...)
- From: markwh04@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: 27 Jun 2005 13:58:00 -0700
Ken Shackleton wrote:
> Comments please?
Many of the key structures are already present in a wide range of
species. I had a chance to recently get to work with a Rottweiler, who
eventually became a close friend like a twin, before he died of cancer.
He had a passive vocabulary of as many as a couple hundred words; with
the ability to parse words in the running context of a sentence. The
significance of the latter capability should be clear to anyone who
first encounters a foreign language in a realistic context.
He had an interesting way of indicating recognition of words, during
those times when we sat down together and did drills. When I gave him
a word he recognized, he always turned his head sideways with the right
side up. Never the left side.
Whatever else this meant, it clearly indicated an assymmetry in the
part of the brain that processes language.
He was tested repeatedly for phonemic recognition. In most situations,
he treated /p/, /t/, /k/ as allophones, and did not make distinctions
between words sharing these minimal contrasts. When I first discovered
this incapacity, I sat him down and got him to closely watch me
pronounce the sounds, and eventually (with very limited results) he
started making the distinctions. To a limited extent, he was also able
to infer words spoken silently based on lip movement (lip reading).
In later times the incapacity was compensated for by incorporating a
combination of tonal and gestural communication; which eventually
evolved into a private language between the two of us. "Meat", for
instance, was eventually shortened to "[m:^]". The indication "I'm
about to get up and leave" became "[d:-d:-d:]", combined with a
particular intonation and rhythm.
Amongst the words recognized were the numbers, up to 6, body parts,
basic actions, cognitive processes (e.g., the word "understand"); etc.
His syntax was limited to the equivalent of a Chomsky type 3 grammar.
There was no indication of any ability to process recursive constructs
(embedded clauses, quotes).
He was able to recognize and navigate streets by name. He had an
ability to process interrogatives, not just commands -- if the question
was phrased as a request to make a decision. His ability to handle
gestural language went beyond the passive and crossed over into active
vocabulary; eventually with him adopting some of the gestures himself
(within the limits of his anatomy). The "come here" or "come along"
gesture, for instance, required jumping off the ground with the front
legs and moving them in a way that mimicks what people do; or sometimes
moving the head in the way people do when carrying out the gesture.
He was very independent. For instance, if starting out on a walk or
run in the backwoods behind the back yard, he often just grabbed the
leash in his mouth (sometimes swinging and wrapping it around his head)
and ran off with it, whether you were holding it or not. Toward the
end of his life, I didn't bother with any leashes since he generally
behaved more civilized than even humans around him do.
The verbal vocabulary was not entirely passive either. The dog rarely
ever barked and (in fact) spent the first several years of his life
never having barked at all. Most of the time he tried to syllabify
verbal communications, though it usually came off sounding like a
Wookie (the dog was 140 lbs, standing 33" off the ground).
Occasionally, the expressions came out crystal clear and readily
understandable. On one occasions this included the request to go
"out!" (repeated several times in succession, when I started running
off without him). This was, in fact, the first time I discovered the
phonemic incapacity: the word being pronounced as "[ou?]". On another
occasion it included "come on!", which was pronounced clearly and
correctly; and on another it included addressing me by name. On
frequent occasions, there was also an attempt to start off a request
with "I want [...]".
The breed is well-known for its unusual intelligence and is
specifically bred to serve as guide dogs and police dogs. This one,
however, was an entire cut above the rest of the breed, showing the
mentality, intelligence (and frequently also the behavior) of a 1-to-2
year old human. He had the same penetrating, lucid stare (which I
caught on film) that I had when I was that age; and in many ways he
reminded me of myself when I was that age.
More tests were carried out to test the extent of his self-perception.
He responded to his name (and to any of several nicknames), much like a
person: when called, I propped his head up to look and see what you
wanted. This is the prerequisite, which most pets have, to a
self-identity.
The mirror test was indecisive. He showed no interest in what was in
the mirror; and it was impossible to determine if this was because he
didn't know or simply didn't care. To a limited extent (especially
late in his life, when the cancerous tumor on his face grew larger) he
showed complete disdain against looking in the mirror, actively sought
to get away from it when I put him in front of it, and became noticably
distressed afterwards.
The main test consisting of addressing the reflection, in front of him,
by his name did not seem to register anything. Again, it's impossible
to distinguish between apathy and not knowing. Several occasions he
would look at me through the reflection and on a few appeared to
respond to what someone was doing behind him based on what he saw when
looking at the mirror.
The dog had the ability to make logical inferences, particularly in
strategizing during the time spent navigating or selecting route on
walks in the back woods. An ability, rare in dogs, he also possessed
was that of walking backwards to back out of a cul de sac. Other
abilities included that of correctly addressing an obstacle which has a
clearing a sizeable distance away. Instead of going through, he had
enough sense to go around, even if the clearing was a hundred yards
off.
The second type of test for self-recognition, therefore, made use of
the logic ability. Invoking the command "find [...X...]", which he
understood, it consisted of telling him to "find" himself, addressing
the one I wanted him to find by his own name. Since he understands the
meaning of the "find" request and understands what his name signifies,
then the ability to draw the appropriate inference is well within his
grasp. Sometimes this was carried out in front of a mirror.
This one never generated any results. Consequently, I can never be
completely sure as to how much of a self-identity he had, nor how
sentient he actually was.
.
- References:
- Is language development evolutionary, or designed by the culture?
- From: Ken Shackleton
- Is language development evolutionary, or designed by the culture?
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