Psych

1.) Yes, Alex did understand english. While many parrots are able to talk, we have doubted that the parrots are aware of what they are saying besides the fact that they either get a positive or negative reaction from their actions which causes them to act out (or in this case, speak out) again. However, Alex seems to be different. He was able to answer multiple objects about one object such as the color, the shape, and the number of corners. Along with that, Alex could look at a plate full of objects and answer questions asked to him such as how many red blocks there were or how many squares were on the plate. This displays Alex’s ability to use cognitive reasoning when asked questions in english. Along with that, he responded in english which showcases his understanding of the language.

2.) Yes, prairie dogs do have a language. In fact, it is estimated that the prairie dog language consists of over 100 words. In the video we watched, prairie dogs made different calls when a human in a blue shirt walked by and a human in a yellow shirt walked by. This was discovered by recording the sound waves of the chipmunks’ calls and then have them analyzed by a scientist. The difference in calls may not be noticeable to the untrained eye, but a professional can see the slight difference that distinguishes the chipmunks’ blue and yellow call in response to the two humans.

3.) Although both understood english, Kanzi showed a greater understanding of the language. This is most likely because Kanzi was able to learn english from his human instructors and his adoptive mother as well. By having access to the english language through both humans and his adoptive ape mother, Kanzi was submerged into the language at a young age and picked up on it naturalistically without direct lessons. Panbanisha, Kanzi’s adoptive mother, also understood english but not to the extent that Kanzi did. This is most likely because she was only taught by humans and did not have any help from her...