Does natural animal communication constitute language?
What follows is a brief description of various natural signalling systems and a consideration of whether or not they fulfil Hockett’s criteria. 1. Birds Birds make most use of the auditory channel, so called birdsong. This is often used in conjunction with other channels such as visual signalling. Hunter and Krebs (1979) found that the nature of their song relates to their environment. In open spaces birds use a wider range of frequencies and repeat notes and sequences of sound faster. In dense forests they use lower frequencies. Wiley & Richards (1978) attributed this to communication of the message with minimum distortion. In forests trees cause reverberations. Lower pitched sounds are less likely to be disrupted. In open spaces the greatest risk is from strong winds. High-pitched sounds, quickly repeated are less likely to be affected. Is birdsong innate or learned? (Easy evaluation marks to be had here). Crickets reared in isolation (so they have never heard other crickets sing), s
