this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2024
656 points (98.5% liked)

Science Memes

11189 readers
4938 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.

Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
656
Interspecies linguistics (mander.xyz)
submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
34 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
all 35 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 86 points 4 months ago

pspsps

[–] Haggunenons 50 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

For anyone interested, we have a community about this! [email protected]

[–] LouSpooner 4 points 4 months ago

Thanks!

[–] yesman 27 points 4 months ago (7 children)

Only humans have language. Inter-species communication is nothing special. Rattlesnakes are named for their ability to communicate cross species.

[–] [email protected] 59 points 4 months ago

"Either back it up or get fucked up."

[–] [email protected] 43 points 4 months ago (1 children)

curious how it's always humans saying that they're the only ones who have language..

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

it's only humans capable of the sub communication protocol called English that says that

[–] Passerby6497 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

No other languages have evolved to say that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Exactly, other languages would use something like "Det är bara människan som utvecklat tal" or "Es ist nur der Mensch, der die Sprache entwickelt hat" depending on language

[–] TSG_Asmodeus 33 points 4 months ago

Only humans have language.

Animal language.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

They identified nouns and adjectives in prairie dog communication, that also seems to vary with regional dialects. I'll try to remember to dig up a source when I'm not out and about later.

Edit: here's a not fully scientific link, but has names and links for people who want to go deeper in the science while being a decent lay person's overview.

Yes, the blog name isn't very scientific looking (I have not read anything else on it). https://thehumanevolutionblog.com/2015/08/18/a-career-studying-the-sophisticated-vocabulary-of-prairie-dogs/

And here's a peer reviewed study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347205801174

[–] tamal3 4 points 4 months ago

Weren't science communicators talking about parts of speech in whale communication last year, too? They're using AI to identify patterns and variations in speech.

Here's a general (though older) overview of whale language: https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/the-language-of-whales

Here's a more recent article taking about using AI to identify patterns in speech: https://scitechdaily.com/ai-decodes-sperm-whale-language-revealing-a-complex-system-of-communication/

[–] Murdeth 3 points 4 months ago

I appreciate your disclaimers and context of your sources.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

What is this strange group on Lemmy that is so anti animal intelligence?

[–] na_th_an 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

A rattlesnake can certainly communicate using sound, but is that language? Bright colors can communicate ideas of "do not eat this" across species as well, but they wouldn't fit my mental model of a language.

[–] shneancy 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

what is language than making sounds to convey meaning and then decoding said sounds to understand their meaning

human language is incredibly complex but a bee just buzzing a particular buzz that means "bear nearby" counts as a valid form of linguistic communication imo

[–] pete_the_cat 10 points 4 months ago

Bees actually dance to communicate and it's considered a language 😄

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Koko the gorilla would beg to differ

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Just gonna drop this, I haven't done a deep dive in sources thoufh

https://youtu.be/e7wFotDKEF4?si=earmcx6FpV4PLDfN

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Don't leave your SI lying around like that

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Well it makes sense

A slow tempo is... slow. A quick tempo is upbeat and attracts attention

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

If you walk without rhythm, you won't attract the worm.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

Why do we use sound hmmm all over the world when thinking about something? Was there just first proto language that had all these onomatopoeias built in or were they invented independently because they excite neurons in same way, mood regardless of culture?

[–] occhionaut 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Maybe its for a similar reason to why cats purr; vibration make brain feel different in a way that facilitates thought?

source im fuckin g insame

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

that's the sound of our brains venting the thinking gas

[–] Dasus 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Sign language is even more universal (early hominids def would've had signs before proper spoken language).

If I hold out my arm, my palm towards you, you'd probably know what I mean.

Like this.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That you're a ~~cop~~ businessman?

[–] Dasus 3 points 4 months ago

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

I watch as kitty run towards me, I say gogogo and kitty run faster

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I do this to cats I see and they say "No." and sit down.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

My cat follows all my commands. I say "ignore me and do nothing else I say" and he ignores me and continues with his day.

No,but I use similar tempos to call him and he comes.