There are many animals that seem to understand human language. But is science in a position to prove this?
Animal language studies with primates, birds, dolphins and other animals flourished during the second half of the twentieth century.
Although many animals are capable of capturing contextual clues, such as body language and tone of voice, it is uncommon if they understand the meaning of the most complex words or characteristics of language, such as grammar.
Still today, research begins to suggest that with training some animals can understand certain characteristics of human language, such as the sound and meaning of specific words.
A, the teacher of evolutionary anthropology at the University of Zurich Simon W. Townsend He says that “we are getting closer to finding out if there are similarities between animal and humans communication systems.”
One of the most famous animal language experiences involves Sizea female gorilla of the western plain that learned the language of modified American signals (ASL). Koko, who died in 2018, was able to use about 1,000 signals and respond to over 2,000 English words spoken.
However, experts have always warned that there is a big difference between learning some modified signs and really dominating ASL.
Koko was never close to being fluent in gestural language.
Townsend states that human language is more than using only symbols. It also involves the combination of these symbols in larger structures to create a more complex meaning – a language characteristic called syntax.
In another example we have Kanzi, , , , nullly entitled (Pan Paniscus) who lived between 1980 and 2025 and owns the title of the highest linguistic capacity of a primate.
Kanzi also understood some spoken English. In a 1993 study, the researchers noticed that when Bonobo heard new orders, Bonobo could complete the requested task about three out of four times, Overcoming the performance of a 2.5 -year -old child.
Dogs are differentiated
Most animals have no evolutionary reason to worry about human language.
However, dogs, who have lived next to us for at least 14,000 years, have a special motivation to hear their owners and respond properly. Want to understand what we say or not, the Dogs are well tuned with the sounds and tones of voice specific that humans use to communicate.
In fact, dogs are so used to human voices that they can see when the speech has been shuffled; and neuroscientific investigation even suggests that dogs have their own mental representations of words, which suggests a deep understanding of what we want to say.
Live Science gives the example of Chasera highly trained border collie, known as the “The smartest dog in the world”who learned over 1,000 words. According to a 2011 study, he was able to differentiate phrases like “brings the sock to the ball” and “brings the ball to the sock.”
What does science say?
Federico RossanoAssociate Professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, has dedicated his working time to investigate the language capabilities of our canine companions.
In 2024, Rossano proved that dogs respond to the royal sounds of words and not just their context, such as the fact that the owner put on his shoes and saying that it is time to leave.
In a study of 59 dogs, canines heard words related to “out”, “play” and “food” as well as a meaningless word to compare. The researcher used headphones so that his reactions and body language did not affect dog responses.
Even without these contextual clues, the team found that when dogs listened to the recordings that related “outside” and “play”, they tend to start displaying behaviors related to the way abroad or play, respectively, how to run to the door or grab a toy.
Still, other studies theorize that dogs cannot distinguish between words that differ by a single sound, such as “sitting” and “defining”, so there may be a limit for your ability to understand.
Rossano admits that investigation began with some skepticism, but his opinion on the linguistic skills of dogs has changed “100%” since then: “Maybe there is more mind than the one we give them credit”.
