Definition
What can be called “intelligent communication” or “language behavior” in animals and how does it differ from communication? The term “communication” has a wide variety of meanings, which is of no wonder, since communication is a diverse and widespread phenomenon that serves as a substance of any social behavior. Most of the signals that animals send to one another communicate the intention, emotional state, or identity of the sender. In the great majority of signaling interactions animals influence others rather than inform them. The term “language behavior” usually refers to animal communication systems in which referential signals exist that can be compared with words in a human language. Some species use distinctive signals which seem to refer to definite external stimuli, for example, types of predators or kinds of food. If such signals provide receivers with sufficient information to determine...
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References
Reznikova, Z. (2007a). Dialog with black box: Using information theory to study animal language behaviour. Acta Ethologica, 10(1), 1–12.
Reznikova, Z. (2007b). Animal intelligence: From individual to social cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ryabko, B., & Reznikova, Z. (2009). The use of ideas of information theory for studying “language” and intelligence in ants. Entropy, 11, 836–853.
Further Reading
Hauser, M. D., Chomsky, N., & Fitch, W. T. (2002). The faculty of language. What is it, who has it, and how did it evolve? Science, 298, 1569–1579.
Rendall, D., Owren, M. J., & Ryan, M. J. (2009). What do animal signals mean? Animal Behaviour, 78, 233–240.
Seyfarth, R. M., & Cheney, D. L. (2003). Signallers and receivers in animal communication. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 145–173.
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Reznikova, Z. (2012). Intelligent Communication in Animals. In: Seel, N.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_137
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