GP Language and communication - Week 1

Language and communication
Week 1 : The origins of language(s) and animal communication
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This lesson contains 28 slides, with interactive quizzes, text slides and 3 videos.

Items in this lesson

Language and communication
Week 1 : The origins of language(s) and animal communication

Slide 1 - Slide


This term, I expect to learn about ..

Slide 2 - Open question

This week ..
.. you will learn about the origins of language
.. you will learn about animal communication

Slide 3 - Slide

1. The origins of language

Slide 4 - Slide

What do you know
about the origins of
language?

Slide 5 - Mind map

Different explanations ..
Video:  
Write down write down 3 things that you find interesting/that surprise you/you would like to know more about 

Slide 6 - Slide

Slide 7 - Video

Different explanations
Chomsky + a lot of archeologists
90000 years ago: language started with 1 individual (Prometheus). From him, it spread to all other people. From them, a lot of different languages developed. 

Slide 8 - Slide

Different explanations
Charles Darwin
Language started at 1 point and then developed through a lot of different modifications (evolution)

Slide 9 - Slide

Different explanations
A lot of biologists
Language started 40 millions of years ago from gestures (apes) that developed slowly into spoken languages (humans)

Slide 10 - Slide


Which explanation do you find the most likely / acceptable / believable ? 
1 individual > rest of the people > differences
1 starting point > mutations > differences
gestures (apes) > slow evolution > spoken languages

Slide 11 - Poll

Option 3
40 million years ago: apes could make "grasp" gestures > same brain area as language in the human brain. 

Slide 12 - Slide

Option 3
Apes in the wild make gestures that are "language like"

Slide 13 - Slide

Option 3
But, then, around 7 million years ago: "bipedalism" > free hands > possibility of combining gestures > "mime" and 
using sounds

Slide 14 - Slide

Option 3


Around 2 million years ago: fully bipedal > development + use of "tools" with both hands > simplified gestures and further development of speech


Slide 15 - Slide

Option 3
90000 years ago: people spread over the world and adapted their language to the geography, culture and religion > different languages.

Slide 16 - Slide

Option 3
Nowadays: many different languages
Reading & writing gives language a memory
(Re)new(ed) development of signs and symbols

Slide 17 - Slide

Slide 18 - Video

Do animals have language(s)?

Slide 19 - Mind map

Quiz time!
True or false? Stand if the statement is true, sit down if the statement is false.

Slide 20 - Slide

Slide 21 - Slide

Animals :  geniuses?

Slide 22 - Slide

Bees
The Waggle dance is used when the food source occurs further than 150m away from the hive, and describes both distance and direction. The length of each 'waggle' directly correlates to the distance of the food source, with longer waggles describing longer distances. The direction of the food source is shown by the orientation of the bee during this dance. The angle of the target flowers relative to the position of the sun at that current time is demonstrated by the relative to vertical angle the bee performs the dance at. 

Slide 23 - Slide


After seeing this, do you think we can say that animals have language(s)?
YES
NO

Slide 24 - Poll

Slide 25 - Video

The answer is.. no..

Slide 26 - Slide

What are the differences between animal communication and "real" languages?

Slide 27 - Mind map

A "real" language..
Discrete infinity: 
Discrete/limited items (for example the alphabet) 

Different words 

Infinite number of sentences 

Displacement:
a. time (past, present, future)
b. space (other countries, space)
> abstract things!!

Which difference with apes?
Which difference with bees?

Joint attention:
Team work: read each others minds
Language is cooperative


Which difference with animals?

Slide 28 - Slide