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Language and Intelligence

Why does human intelligence far surpass that of animals, such as apes? A key is our use of syntax—putting sounds together to make words and using words to make sentences. Theoretical neurophysiologist Dr. William H. Calvin explains:

“Wild chimpanzees use about three dozen different vocalizations to convey about three dozen different meanings. They may repeat a sound to intensify its meaning, but they do not string together three sounds to add a new word to their vocabulary.

“We humans also use about three dozen vocalizations, called phonemes. Yet only their combinations have content: we string together meaningless sounds to make meaningful words.” Dr. Calvin noted that “no one has yet explained” the leap from the animals’ “one sound/one meaning” to our uniquely human capacity to use syntax.

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You Can Do More Than Doodle

“Is only man, Homo sapiens, capable of communicating by language? Clearly the answer must depend on what is meant by ‘language’—for all the higher animals certainly communicate with a great variety of signs, such as gestures, odours, calls, cries and songs, and even the dance of the bees. Yet animals other than man do not appear to have structured grammatical language. And animals do not, which may be highly significant, draw representational pictures. At best they only doodle.”—Professors R. S. and D. H. Fouts.