One of the ways humans learn about themselves is by studying animals. The study of communication in animals is an important topic because it can lead to clues as to why the human brain is so advanced. This information can potentially give us insight into the evolution of language and where and why our abilities emerged. Growing up with a dog, this isn't the first time animal communication has crossed my mind. My Yorkshire Terrier, Shazzy, always seems to find a way to communicate his needs to me and my parents, and even responds to our verbal commands. Before coming to the University of Iowa, I had thought of his actions and reactions as a kind of “language.” However, now that we have looked at the different characteristics of the language, I no longer consider this language, but only a communication system. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayAnimals use a communication system. According to our lecture notes, a language system is classified based on the signal transmitted, the mode of transmission, and the purpose of the signal. An example of this is bees. Honey bees are known to be very good at giving directions and being able to communicate the exact location of the hive. In the video we saw during the lesson, the bee used the position of the sun and danced to show the direction and how long the other bees would have to travel. The signal is the direction and distance transmitted, the mode is through their movement, and the goal is to find nectar. Another example of an animal communication system is when birds use a certain call to indicate danger. There seems to be no complexity other than expressing that there is a threat in the area. Both examples of communication occur in the here and now. However, one of the characteristics of human language that differentiates it from animal communication is the ability to communicate something separate from the present time or present environment, also called displacement. According to our lecture notes, there are six features of language that are not present in animal communication: arbitrariness, displacement, productivity, discretion, semanticity, and duality of patterns. The first, arbitrariness, means that there is no connection between the signal and its meaning. For example, the phonemes combined to form “cat” in English have no connection or meaning to an actual cat. This is why each language has a unique word for cat. Animal communication, however, does not use arbitrary sounds. An example is a dog's barking. When my dog ​​barks at me, he wants my attention for something, but it's not entirely clear what for, because the bark always sounds the same. The second feature is displacement, which we briefly talked about above. Displacement is the idea that we can communicate about something that is not currently happening. In the case of humans, some examples of displacement concern the future/past or what we hope for. Animal communication is not that advanced. Most examples of animal communication are expressed due to a reaction to their current environment. Some examples of this are a dog marking its territory, warning of a predator, deterring a predator. In the case of pets, they will communicate that they need food/water, to go outside or want to play. However, none of these examples show a shift from their current environment. An example of animal movement is the dance of bees. It allows them to communicate about something in the moment.