Use of Augmentative Interspecies Communication devices in animal language studies: A review

Abstract

Countless discussions have been generated by the animal language studies, specifically those utilizing mechanical interfaces, termed here Augmentative Interspecies Communication (AIC) devices (e.g., lexigrams; magnetic chips; keyboards). Overall, three concerns dominate the field: (1) claims that AIC device using animals manifest linguistic skills remain nebulous, and simpler alternative mechanisms have been proposed (e.g., associative learning); (2) such methodology may be unsuitable as some theorize AIC device interfaces are not sufficiently ecologically relevant to foster meaningful use; (3) data may be considered dubious due to potential cueing from experimenters and lack of systematicity in reporting training and performance. Despite such controversy-which eventually led to the field's deterioration around the last quarter of the twentieth century-this research also saw important successes, such as improvements in captive animal welfare, the outcomes of which hold promise for future interspecies communication work. This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Evolution of Language.

Keywords: animal behavior; animal cognition; animal language studies; comparative cognition; interspecies communication.