Bird songs have long fascinated humans. The melodies are pleasing to our ears, and bird song often heralds the start of spring. But is the bird’s melodious vocalizing more than just random chirps and whistles? Are birds actually communicating with each other through their songs? Is bird song a form of language?
What is language?
Before we can determine if bird songs constitute a true language, we first need to define what language is. Language is a complex form of communication, with the following key attributes:
- Has structure and rules – there are patterns and regularities in the way sounds, words and sentences are formed and ordered.
- Is productive – an infinite number of utterances/expressions can be formed from a finite set of elements.
- Displaces – communication is not just about the here and now but can refer to abstract ideas and events removed in time and space.
- Arbitrary – there is no inherent relationship between symbols used and their meaning, it must be learned.
- Duality of patterning – meaningless sounds are combined to make morphemes which are combined to make words.
- Semantics – words and expressions have meaning.
- Pragmatics – language is socially interactive and context dependent.
- Discourse – longer stretches of language convey meaning and tell “stories”.
Human languages have all these features. But does bird song?
Properties of bird song
Let’s break down some key properties and characteristics of bird vocalizations:
- Many species have distinctive songs – a bird’s song is not just random chirping but contains patterns particular to its species. It is genetically encoded.
- Songs are used for territorial displays and mating calls. Birds sing to mark their territory and attract potential mates.
- Songs vary geographically between populations of the same species – just as human languages have different dialects. A Californian sparrow sings differently to a New York sparrow.
- Birds learn songs from adults during critical learning periods when young, similar to how human infants babble and learn to speak.
- Some bird species, like parrots and songbirds, can learn new vocalizations throughout their lifetime.
- The songs of some species combine meaningless sounds into more complex melodies.
- Duetting species coordinate their songs between males and females or as a group chorus.
Based on these attributes, we can see there are some parallels between bird vocalizations and human language.
Evidence bird songs are a language
A number of scientific studies provide evidence certain bird species may have language capabilities:
- Pepperberg’s studies with parrots – the famous African grey parrot Alex demonstrated the ability to learn English vocal labels for objects, colors and shapes. He could answer questions about objects like “what shape?” or “what color?”
- Song sparrows modify songs learned – male song sparrows modify the songs they have learned when singing to females. This shows productivity.
- Chickadees have syntax patterns – Carolina chickadees have a simple syntax to the sequencing of their vocalizations or “chick-a-dee” calls.
- Chestnut-crowned babblers use context dependent calls – these Australian birds have special alarm calls for different predators like hawks and snakes. Their calls refer to objects removed in time and space and demonstrate meaning.
- Some birds understand grammar patterns – certain birds like starlings and parrots have shown in experiments the capability to learn simple grammatical patterns like the ordering of syllables.
The evidence shows that while not as complex as human languages, some birds appear to use vocalizations that have some language-like structure and meaning.
Differences from human language
However, there are still marked differences between bird vocalizations and human language abilities:
- Limited vocabulary – even talented talking birds have vocabularies of just a couple of hundred words compared to tens of thousands of words in human languages.
- No syntax – birds lack recursive syntax and grammar to combine concepts and expand utterances indefinitely the way humans do.
- Fixed vocalizations – a crow in the USA sounds the same as a crow in Australia. Human languages vary widely even between close geographic regions.
- Lack semanticity – birds show limited ability to communicate abstract concepts beyond simple warnings about danger or mating calls.
- No discourse – birds cannot have layered complex discourse and conversations to convey stories and abstract information the way humans do.
So while clever birds like parrots demonstrate some interesting language-like vocal capabilities, bird species lack the full characteristics that define human language.
Why study bird songs?
Understanding how bird vocalizations work can provide useful insights on the origins of human language and how complex communication emerges through evolution. Key insights include:
- Language and speech have biological foundations – the capacities for vocal learning and meaningful vocalizations are biologically inherited traits in humans and certain bird species.
- Language syntax could evolve from simpler combinatorial capabilities observed in birds.
- Semantics and context-dependent use of meaningful signals are precursors to higher language.
- Social interaction is a driving force in the emergence of communication.
Further comparative studies between birdsong and child language acquisition could shed light on how human language abilities may have evolved.
Conclusion
To conclude, while birds do not have full human language, some songbirds and parrots possess rudimentary language-like attributes such as vocal learning, combinatorial vocalizations, semantics and social interaction. This suggests language has biological foundations. Understanding the communications systems of other species thus helps illuminate the origins of human language. But considerable differences remain between the linguistic capabilities of even talented talking birds versus humans. Only humans have highly productive syntax and grammar, discourse and an extensive lexicon to convey abstract ideas and knowledge.