Do these animals form grammatical sequences? – Can Animals Grammar? #6

Animated critter profiles of the basics of vocal and visual sequences made by frogs, monkeys, squid and more.

~ Shortly and sweetly ~

We previously learned about animal signals, from calls and gestures to inventories of syllables that resemble meaningful words. This time, longer sequences show off their potential for complex grammatical patterns.

Parts 1 through 5 build up to this video. In what's left of this series, we'll scrutinize human language through the lens of animal linguistics, then finally spend time with cetaceans and birds.

~ Resources ~

Art, animation and music by myself. My sources document backs up claims and gives credits for images, sounds, fonts:

That same document links to groups focused on animals, their habitats and the people who care for them. There's a narrative tie-in that I hope works at the end of the series; meanwhile I'll just mention:

[katakana]

"And do you know who understands sooty mangabeys?" A few humans, apparently.

[GoldenBeholden]

This series gets so little attention for how many wildly unsupported claims about animal linguistics I see floating around online. Having someone put all the research in order is absolutely invaluable; not just these videos, but also the source document that goes along with it.

[molivah]

Can you add sound bites of sample calls you are referring to? I think that would more context and help us understand more

[NativLang]

📖 In which appears the suffix that sparked this series – And other amazing feats of sequential animal signaling. 📖

[Aspen____]

It's too bad this series hasn't been as popular, these videos have been some of my favorites

[SeraphimKnight]

Your little quip at the beggining - "find a branch" - it made me giggle a bit. There's a french canadian expression; "Tire-toi une bûche." Translated literally it means "pull yourself a log", but the meaning is actually "take a seat and join in". That you use a similar expression to convey a similar feeling was very funny to me even though I doubt you know about that one.

[andyjay]

Right now you just learned some words in non-human languages. "Pyow" is putty-nosed monkey for "leopard", and "hack" means "eagle".

[GaasubaMeskhenet]

My cat wanted to wake us up to give him his wet food so bad. He said "ham" so clearly this morning lol

[uplink-on-yt]

9:51 "The first segment is stable / always the same." My first thought: synchronisation signal. Think dialup modem, or any protocol with a handshake.

Or like human saying "Listen" (or e.g. "Oye" in Spanish).

[kiminnehalem]

Love these!!! I only wish for accompanying examples of the actual vocalizations (the squid example was great as we could see it). I look forward to the next one!! Thank you so much for all your work and sharing it with us!

[i_teleported_bread]

3:44 - 3:58 So, from a certain perspective, one could analyse this "-oo" suffix as a sort of diminutive?

[BellaBellaElla]

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for being youand doing what interests you!!

[JosephCoco]

I think this series is fascinating. My wife seems to be hung up on the idea that, by exploring whether animals grammar, you're implying that grammar (or human-style symbolic communication) is the only important form of communication. I'm really not sure where she got the idea from as you just seem excited to learn about how animals communicate!
I love the idea of animals shifting words with an identifier aspect. It reminds me of PGP encryption.

[laceisaverb]

I love this series, I've been fascinated by animal "language" ever since I was a kid obsessed with whales.

[CarlosMagnussen]

I love your channel! There's always more to learn and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Let's see how deep it goes

[basocheir]

this topic is really fascinating

languages usage in non-human animals

[stinkymccheese]

Can you imagine how much easier ocean exploration could be if we develop the ability to communicate meaningfully with the locals.

[itsapittie]

This is fascinating. Nature never ceases to amaze me.

[tazzyhyena]

@9:30 Even in humans, not all grammar is sequential. It is very common in signed languages to alter signs to convey different meanings. One sign with one facial expression can mean one thing, and changing the facial expression, intensity of the motion, direction of the movement, etc can change the meaning.

[origaminosferatu]

The fact that each video is so far apart does nothing to impair their fabulous quality. Each episode is a fascinating adventure through animal linguistics and you're clearly pumping a dissertation's worth of research into each one. Keep them coming!