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ok so this came to mind out of absolutely nowhere and i decided, why not ramble about it in a blog? ^_^
disclaimer that this is probably going to be disorganized. and i use talking/speaking interchangeably i realized bht im too high to go back and fix all of it. so for reference i specifically mean communication whether through speech or body language or sign language etc... okay here we go
i bet a lot of animal lovers have seen youtube videos of "talking" animals like bunny the dog or billi the cat who use speech buttons to communicate. another well known example was koko the gorilla, who used a modified form of sign language.
for some reason there's controversy about whether these animals are actually talking, and in my opinion, the controversy is kind of... stupid.
from my understanding, the question about whether these examples can be said to be truly speaking or not comes from human standards for "intelligence", if that makes sense. human intelligence, in the communication department at least, is measured by cognitive functions such as literacy, both emotional and logical; and sapience, which differs from sentience in that sapience is self-awareness and the ability to reason, while sentience is merely the ability to perceive sensation and emotion, evaluate situations, and remember consequences of actions. a human toddler can be said to be sentient, while a human adult is sapient.
okay. so take a dog. you teach him to sit. the dog has clearly learned what the word means when you say "sit", and he does it. that shows an obvious understanding of language. to me that's a simple connection to make.
now, take that same dog. you talk to him a lot throughout the day. you tell him what you're doing, while you're doing it. if every time you go outside, you say, "i'm going outside, want to come?" the dog is going to start connecting the dots. he may only pick out a couple words that he recognizes, such as "outside" and "come", but that's all he really needs because, from those two words, the conclusion is pretty simple to draw.
(seriously, if you do have a dog or cat or honestly just about any pet that takes an interest in what you're doing, talk to them! youll be surprised at how quickly they pick up words and phrases. my cat does it, my rats did it, my chickens do it!)
this is literally the same way human babies learn to talk. word > action/visual > the gears start turning. "okay, so the word 'eat' means i get fed. so if i say the word 'eat', i might get food! let me test it out!"
add on top of that, animals readily communicate with us already using body language, facial expressions, and vocalizations... then is it really so farfetched that they're able to adjust to a new way of communication such as speech buttons? or in koko's case, modified sign language?
with koko, the argument against true speech is that her sign language didnt follow any grammar/syntax rules. but to me, thats too much to ask for. if signing "ball" worked to get her a ball to play with, thats all she needed.
it's like... it reminds me of the type of people who incessantly correct other peoples spelling and grammar. you know what they're saying, there's no need to be a rude smartass. you know? the "haha im such a grammar nazi" type. like, wow, you're so intelligent. you must have so many friends who treasure their entire 2 memories of you that don't involve you being insufferable (that's sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell).
anyways. if anything, i think non-human languages should be more thoroughly researched. there's so much that we can learn from animals. whenever humans decided that we, as a species, are the epitome of intelligence, it all went downhill from there.
as a side: there's a reason that a lot of autistic people relate/connect more to animals than other people. even though the minds of animals are more complicated than we probably realize, they're also straightforward and easy to read, if you put the time in to learn their body language etc. and since our pets are always so eagerly communicating with us, why shouldn't we learn? tbh not to be dramatic but i think we owe it to them. not just domesticated animals but wild ones too.
basically humanity needs to humble itself more. and open up to the reality that we're not the rulers of the planet. be more curious. learn new things always. yapyapyap but do you understand?
back to the issue: a dog pressing a few buttons in succession to say "outside - potty - now" is speech because the dog knows what those words mean.
counter argument: the dog is just repeating phrases and words that it was taught, without understanding them, because it gets rewarded for "speaking".
response: obviously that can be the case. it comes down to training. the key is to train the animal to associate a word with a specific object or action, and then teach it to express its wants, needs, and thoughts with corresponding buttons.
example: you want to teach your cat to let you know, with speech buttons, when she wants to be petted. what's the process? it might go something like this:
- while petting your cat like you normally do, use a key word. repeat this word as you pet her. mine is "lovins".
- keep doing this^. every time you pet your cat, use the key word before and during your petting sesh. (as an added bonus, you can also teach her "all done" by saying this when either of you isnt feeling it anymore— and "all done" can be used in many situations!)
- still keep this up! its important that her association with the key word is the action of petting, and not the button itself, so you dont want to introduce the button quite yet. how long it takes for an animal to make word associations depends on a lot of different things: personality, species, etc. my rats picked things up within hours or days at most when i taught them a new trick. with my cat, it depends on how interested he is, but usually it clicks pretty quickly. when you say your key word, you should notice a reaction, subtle or not, within a couple weeks. if i say "lovins" and my cat comes to me, or rolls over, or initiates pets himself with a head bump, then i know he wants lovins. if he walks or turns away, or his body language otherwise suggests he isnt interested, i leave him be. (< i also pair this with a key word or phrase, like "ok, no lovins". just to reassure/confirm that he doesn't want me to pet him.)
- once you're sure she has a firm understanding of the key word, you can begin button training. first, if you haven't already, get her used to the idea of the button itself. cats are notoriously wary of new things and changes in their environment. dont rush things at this step. the button and the key word should have nothing to do with each other right now. instead, it goes like this: button = treats! see? easy. so, when you introduce her to the button itself, make sure her favorite treats are involved ;3 (< general tip: cats pick up on our energy in a major way. go into training with a positive energy, and be confident and curious as you show her the button. get on her level and explore it with her, make it into a whole thing. when she looks at it, treats and praise. sniffs it, treats and praise. touches it, treats and praise. presses it, LOTS of treats and praise!! just keep in mind that cats have an average attention span of 5 minutes when it comes to training. short and sweet but consistent is key!)
- in the meantime while you're working on button training, you should still be regularly using the key word when you pet her.
- she's used to the button and presses it consistently for treats. (maybe you even taught or are teaching her to press it on command? ;D) now what? record your voice, clearly and with the same inflection you use when you talk to your cat, saying the key word. then, show it to her like normal. maybe press it once and watch her reaction. does she immediately want to check it out? is she curious but wary? use the same treats and praise process as before. but now, when she presses the button, incorporate petting!
- from now on, the button becomes about pets, and not about treats. when she presses the button, you pet her. when you're done, you can praise her for using the button and give her a treat if you want to, but now the deal is this: button = pets because it says the key word when i press it.
- at least for a good while, you should have the button involved every time you hang out with your cat. even if you're just in the same room together, have it out where she can get to it. that way she has the opportunity to press it and get reinforcement in the form of pets at any point! (you may get annoyed at the frequency of button pressing but it is so, so important to be consistent.)
- after kitty is a pets button master, you can keep it and any other buttons you've trained with in a designated spot. if training has been successful, she should, at least on occasion, go to her buttons to tell you what she wants! (< this is why a sort of "use your words" command can help when your pet wants something but you can't understand what it is— as it turns out, sometimes their thoughts are very complex!)
now compare this process with teaching babies to talk, or learning a new language. broken speech is still speech. it just might be harder to understand. also, word salad is talking. case by case it may or may not mean something. so like yeah the argument that koko's so-called conversations were mostly word salad therefore she couldnt have been actually talking... doesn't track. it may have been that she was explaining something complex in the only way she could form into words. or she was just babbling like a baby, which is, shocker, talking!
i dunno. i just think its really cool that animals are super smart and i see no reason why we should keep denying it. *tucks my hair behind my ear* like as a species.
in conclusion,
i love you
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sam
yeah actually i dont really understand why people question whether or not the animal is "talking" in those scenarios because to me i think the fact they are communicating in some way is basically no different from talking... even if their only basis for understanding is knowing that saying X word/phrase gets them B result, i dont believe the fact they learned it thru that kind of conditioning negates their ability to use it correctly. and then sometimes you do see videos where the dog mashes up different words theyve learned that way to communicate other thoughts n i think thats definitely indicative of it being genuine expression not just, "pressing this button gets me something i want!"
kinda like how people will continually differentiate other ape's use of call systems from human speech (and similar modes of communication used by other animals) and its like ok maybe animals dont necessarily have the cognitive capacity for language in the same way as people (which is just an evolutionary fluke anyway if we're being real), but they can communicate effectively; that's the important part for survival purposes and demonstrates a high level of intelligence methinks. its different from human intelligence but not inherently inferior
EXACTLY!!
omg with the mashing different buttons to make sentences or phrases that seem nonsensical... i truly believe that there is meaning behind the word salad, at least some of the time. theres a video about bunny the dog where she like, audibly farts, and when her owner asked what happened, bunny went to her buttons and said "poop - play".
its funny but it also shows how animals are able to think in such complex ways to reach conclusions about what's going on around them. and if they have the means to, they'll try to form words to express it. "poop play" for fart makes so much sense to me.
another time, she had a thorn or something stuck in her paw and expressed her need for help by saying something like "paw - stranger - ouch". like YES cutie there was something unknown in your paw that was hurting you! SO SMART!!
by ♡ jovi 🐹; ; Report