Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Computer-Generated Animal Model Stimuli
Published on: July 29, 2007
Animals Have No Language, and Humans Are Animals Too
1School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University.
Abstract:
Language is a cornerstone of human culture, yet the evolution of this cognitive-demanding ability is shrouded in mystery. Studying how different species demonstrate this trait can provide clues for its evolutionary route. Indeed, recent decades saw ample scientific attempts to compare human speech, the prominent behavioral manifestation of language, with other animals' vocalizations. Diligent studies have found only elementary parallels to speech in other animals, fortifying the belief that language is uniquely human. But have we really tested this uniqueness claim? Surprisingly, a true impartial comparison between human speech and other animals' vocalizations has hardly ever been conducted. Here, I illustrate how treating humans as an equal species in vocal-communication research is expected to provide us with no evidence for human superiority in this realm. Thus, novel balanced and unbiased comparative studies are vital for identifying any unique component of human speech and language.
More Related Videos
12:53Collection and Processing of Lymph Nodes from Large Animals for RNA Analysis: Preparing for Lymph Node Transcriptomic Studies of Large Animal Species
Published on: May 19, 2018
07:43Subretinal Transplantation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Tissue in a Feline Large Animal Model
Published on: August 5, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Tonicity in Animals
Tonicity in Animals
Animal Mitochondrial Genetics
Animal and Plant Cell Structure
Cell Division
Though both plant and animal cells divide by mitosis (for non-gametic cells) and meiosis (for gametic cells), they differ in the specifics of this process. Unlike animal cells, plant cells lack centrosomes — an organelle responsible for organizing the spindle fibers and segregating the chromosomes during...
Language
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Components of Language