Design features of

language

Hocketts proposed design features

Properties of some animal
communication systems
Questions about language

Getting at the big question

Charles Hockett (1960)

Scientific American 203: 88-96.

The Origin of Speech.

Smaller questions
What are properties of human
language?
Are they shared by other communication
systems?

Hocketts proposal

Design features characterize

language, distinguish it from other
communication systems
System must have all 9 features to
be language

9 features

Mode of communication
Semanticity
Pragmatic function
Interchangeability
Cultural transmission
Arbitrariness
Discreteness
Displacement
Productivity

Common to all(?)
communication systems

Not found in all

communication systems

Interchangeability

= A user can both transmit and

receive messages
Not all communication display this
flexibility
silkworm moths: only females secrete
chemicals
whistling moths: males make territorial
sounds

Cultural transmission

Nature--innate) vs. (Nurture-learned)

= At least some aspect of a
communication system is
learned from other users
A Cambodian child with an
American parent will learn
English, not Khmer
Animal communication systems
vary

Fireflies and cowbirds: entirely

innate
Finches: can learn to make some
calls if raised in isolation; but dont
learn full system

Arbitrariness

(vs. iconic)
Does the form of a
sign/call/signal
resemble what it
refers to?
Sign languages
may seem
relatively iconic

Arbitrariness in some animal

communication systems
baring teeth

Vervet monkeys
Distinct arbitrary calls for snakes,
leopards, eagles

Discreteness

(sometimes called duality of patterning)

System decomposable into smaller,
combinable parts
a, p, r, t combine to form trap, part, rapt

Doesnt seem to be found in most animal

communication systems

But bee dances

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/dancesw
agg.html
(the waggle dance, a.k.a. the sickle dance)
pattern, direction can be combined for different
meanings

Displacement

Not limited to the here and now

Last night, 10 million years ago

Bees: limited displacement

round dance: relatively close
sickle dance: intermediate distance
tail-wagging dance: relatively far

Productivity

Unlimited potential to express novel

ideas
Elements of system are fixed or infinite?

Chimp (and other primate) studies

20th century hypothesis: Maybe

chimps (and other primates) dont
use human language because of lack
of opportunity to learn it.
Chimp vocal tracts not suited to
speech, but sign language okay

Summary and preview

Human language seems to be

qualitatively different from animal
communication systems
Human vocal tract even seems
designed for speech

Question(s)

Is language unique to humans?

Is it fundamentally different from
animal communication?