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.