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Meaning in animal and human communication

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Abstract

What is meaning? While traditionally the domain of philosophy and linguistics, this question, and others related to it, is critical for cognitive and comparative approaches to communication. This short essay provides a concise and accessible description of how the term meaning can and should be used, how it relates to ‘intentional communication’, and what would constitute good evidence of meaning in animal communication, in the sense that is relevant for comparisons with human language.

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Acknowledgments

The Author thank Rob Barton, Simon Townsend and Esther Clarke for very helpful comments on an earlier draft, and the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) for funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Evolutionary Anthropology Research Group, Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    Thomas C. Scott-Phillips

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  1. Thomas C. Scott-Phillips
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Correspondence to Thomas C. Scott-Phillips.

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Scott-Phillips, T.C. Meaning in animal and human communication. Anim Cogn 18, 801–805 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0845-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0845-5

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