Do animals have language? - Michele Bishop

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Anja Saric

All animals communicate.

Sve životinje komuniciraju.

Crabs wave their claws at each other to signal that they're healthy

Krabe mašu kleštima međusobno da daju znak da su zdrave

and ready to mate.

i spremne za parenje.

Cuttlefish use pigmented skin cells called chromatophores

Sipe koriste ćelije kože sa pigmentom koje se zovu hromatofore

to create patterns on their skin that act as camouflage

da prikažu šablone na koži koji se ponašaju kao kamuflaža

or warnings to rivals.

ili upozorenje za suparnike.

Honeybees perform complex dances

Pčele imaju kompleksne plesove

to let other bees know the location and quality of a food source.

kojima drugim pčelama prenose mesto i kvalitet izvora hrane.

All of these animals have impressive communication systems,

Sve ove životinje imaju impresivne sisteme komunikacije,

but do they have language?

ali da li imaju jezik?

To answer that question,

Da bismo na to odgovorili,

we can look at four specific qualities that are often associated with language:

možemo pogledati četiri kvaliteta koja se često pripisuju jeziku:

discreteness,

diskretnost,

grammar,

gramatika,

productivity,

produktivnost

and displacement.

i premeštanje.

Discreteness means that there is a set of individual units,

Diskretnost znači da postoji skup pojedinačnih jedinica,

such as sounds or words,

poput znakova i reči,

that can be combined to communicate new ideas,

koji se mogu kombinovati da se prenesu nove ideje,

poput magneta za frižider sa pesmama, koji mogu da se preurede

like a set of refrigerator poetry magnets you can rearrange

to create different phrases.

da se dobiju različite fraze.

Grammar provides a system of rules

Gramatika pruža sistem pravila

that tells you how to combine those individual units.

koji vam govori kako da kombinujete te pojedinačne jedinice.

Productivity is the ability to use language

Produktivnost je sposobnost korišćenja jezika

to create an infinite number of messages.

da se stvori beskonačan broj poruka.

And displacement is the ability to talk about things

Premeštanje je mogućnost da pričate o stvarima

that aren't right in front of you,

koje nisu direktno ispred vas,

such as past, future, or fictional events.

poput prošlosti, budućnosti ili izmišljenih događaja.

So, does animal communication exhibit any of these qualities?

Da li životinjska komunikacija poseduje bilo koji od ovih kvaliteta?

For crabs and cuttlefish, the answer is no.

Za krabe i sipe, odgovor je ne.

They don't combine their signals in creative ways.

One ne kombinuju svoje signale na kreativan način.

Those signals also don't have to be in a grammatical order,

Ti signali takođe ne moraju da budu gramatički poređani

and they only communicate current conditions,

i one samo komuniciraju o trenutnim uslovima,

like, "I am healthy," or "I am poisonous."

poput: "Ja sam zdrav" ili "Ja sam otrovan".

But some animals actually do display some of these properties.

Ali neke životinje zaista prikazuju neka od ovih svojstava.

Bees use the moves, angle, duration, and intensity of their waggle dance

Pčele koriste pokrete, ugao, trajanje i intenzitet svog plesa

to describe the location and richness of a food source.

da prikažu mesto i obilnost izvora hrane.

That source is outside the hive,

Taj izvor je van košnice,

so they exhibit the property of displacement.

tako da pokazuju svojstvo premeštanja.

They share that language trait with prairie dogs,

Tu jezičku karakteristiku dele sa prerijskim psima

which live in towns of thousands,

koji žive u čoporima od po nekoliko hiljada

and are hunted by coyotes, hawks, badgers, snakes, and humans.

i koje love kojoti, sokoli, jazavci zmije i ljudi.

Their alarms calls indicate the predator's size, shape, speed,

Njihovi pozivi na uzbunu prenose veličinu, oblik i brzinu grabljivice,

and, even for human predators, what the person is wearing

a za ljudske grabljivice, čak i šta osoba nosi na sebi

and if he's carrying a gun.

i da li nosi pištolj.

Great apes, like chimps and gorillas, are great communicators, too.

Veliki majmuni, poput šimpanza i gorila takođe sjajno komuniciraju

Some have even learned a modified sign language.

Neki od njih su čak naučili izmenjeni znakovni jezik.

A chimpanzee named Washoe demonstrated discreteness

Šimpanza Vašo prikazala je diskretnost

by combining multiple signs into original phrases,

kombinujući više znakova u jedinstvene fraze poput:

like, "Please open. Hurry."

"Molim otvori. Žurim."

Coco, a female gorilla who understands more than 1000 signs,

Koko, ženka gorile koja razume više od 1000 znakova

and around 2000 words of spoken English

i oko 2000 reči govornog engleskog

referred to a beloved kitten that had died.

pričala je o svom voljenom mačetu koje je uginulo.

In doing so, she displayed displacement,

Radeći ovo, prikazala je premeštanje,

though it's worth noting that the apes in both of these examples

iako treba primetiti da primati u oba ova primera

were using a human communication system,

koriste ljudski sistem komunikacije,

not one that appeared naturally in the wild.

a ne neki koji je prirodno nastao u divljini.

There are many other examples of sophisticated animal communication,

Postoje mnogi drugi primeri sofisticirane životinjske komunikacije,

such as in dolphins,

kao kod delfina,

which use whistles to identify age, location, names, and gender.

koji zviždukom prepoznaju godište, mesto, imena i pol.

They can also understand some grammar

Takođe razumeju nešto gramatike preko znakovnog jezika

in a gestural language researchers use to communicate with them.

koji istraživači koriste kako bi komunicirali sa njima.

However, grammar is not seen in the dolphin's natural communication.

Ipak, gramatika nije primetna u prirodnoj komunikaciji delfina.

While these communication systems

Iako ovi sistemi komunikacije

may have some of the qualities of language we've identified,

možda imaju neke od osobina jezika koje smo naveli,

none display all four.

nijedan nema sve četiri.

Even Washoe and Coco's impressive abilities are still outpaced

Većina ljudskih bića sa tri godine može da nadmaši

by the language skills of most three-year-old humans.

i impresivne sposobnosti Vašoa i Koko.

And animals' topics of conversation are usually limited.

Teme razgovora životinja obično su i ograničene.

Bees talk about food,

Pčele pričaju o hrani,

prairie dogs talk about predators,

prerijski psi o grabljivicama

and crabs talk about themselves.

a krabe same o sebi.

Human language stands alone

Ljudski jezik je jedinstven

due to the powerful combination of grammar and productivity,

zbog moćne kombinacije gramatike i produktivnosti,

on top of discreteness and displacement.

pored diskretnosti i premeštanja.

The human brain can take a finite number of elements

Ljudski mozak može da uzme ograničen broj elemenata

and create an infinite number of messages.

i stvori beskonačan broj poruka.

We can craft and understand complex sentences,

Možemo da stvorimo i razumemo kompleksne rečenice,

as well as words that have never been spoken before.

kao i reči koje nikada nisu izgovorene.

We can use language to communicate about an endless range of subjects,

Jezik možemo da koristimo da komuniciramo o beskrajnom nizu tema,

talk about imaginary things,

da pričamo o izmišljenim stvarima

and even lie.

i čak da lažemo.

Research continues to reveal more and more about animal communication.

Istraživanja otkrivaju sve više o životinjskoj komunikaciji.

It may turn out that human language and animal communication

Može se ispostaviti da ljudska i životinjska komunikacija

aren't entirely different but exist on a continuum.

nisu potpuno različite već postoje na liniji kontinuiteta.

After all, we are all animals.

Ipak, svi smo mi životinje.