why-language-is-human-specificPPT课件

Whylanguageishumanspecific?Theclaimthatlanguageishumanspecificimpliesthattherearecertaincharacteristicsofhumanlanguagethatarenotfoundinthecommunicationsystemsofanyotherspecies.Althoughmostanimalsareassumedtocommunicateinsomeway,theyconveylimitedinformationandonlyexpressemotionssuchasfearandwarnings.linguistshavedonealottryingtoteachanimalssuchaschimpanzeestospeakahumanlanguagebuthaveachievednothinginspiring.Guawasachimpanzeeraisedasthoughitwereahumanchildbyprof.andMrs.KelloggalongsidetheirsonDonald.IntestsGuaoftentestedaheadofDonaldinreadingandunderstanding.Thepartingdifferencecamewithlanguage.Donaldwasabout16monthsandGuawasalittleoverayearoldwhentheyhadlanguagetesting.Guacouldnotspeak,butDonaldcouldformwords..Washoe,afemalechimpanzee,wasbroughtuplikeahumanchildbyBeatniceandAlanGardner.Shewastaught“AmericansignLanguage”,andlearnedalittlethatmadetheteachershappybutdidmotmakethelinguisticscirclehappy,forfewbelievedinteachingchimpanzees.First,languagehastheabilitytorefertothingsfarremovedintimeandspace.However,mostanimalshaveafixednumberofsignalswhichconveyasetnumberofmessagesandaresentinclearlydefinablecircumstances.Second,humanshavetheabilitytoproduceandunderstandanindefinitenumberofnovelutterances.Somelinguistscallthispropertyoflanguagecreativity,butotherscallitopennessorproductivity.Third,learningismuchimportantasafactorinhumanlanguagethaninanimalcommunication,humanlanguageshaveverymuchincommon,buttheydifferfromoneotheronmanyspecificpoints.Forth,languageiscomplexinitsstructure.Humanlanguagestructureandlanguageusearevastlymorecomplexthananyknownanimalcommunicationsystem.Fifth,animalcommunicationsystemsareclosed,whereashumanlanguagesareopen-ended.Peoplecantalkaboutanythingtheycanobserveorimagine.Whattheycansayongiventopicsisalmostunlimited.Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animal communication system. People’s ability of making an excellent speech use not only tongue and mouth, but also the smart and complicated human mind.