Howl, grunt, sing - Many Minds
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- Title
- Howl, grunt, sing
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- <p class="p1">The tree of life is a noisy place. From one branch come hoots and howls, from another come clicks and buzzes and whines. And coming from all over you hear the swell of song. But what is all this ruckus about? Why do so many animals communicate with sound? What kinds of meaning do these sounds convey? And—beyond the case of human speech—do any of these sounds merit the label of “language”?</p> <p class="p1">My guest today is <a href= "https://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/dr-arik-kershenbaum"><span class="s1"> Dr. Arik Kershenbaum</span></a>, a zoologist at Cambridge University. Arik is an expert on vocal communication across the animal kingdom and the author of the recent book <a href= "https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726952/why-animals-talk-by-arik-kershenbaum/"> <span class="s1"><em>Why animals talk: The new science of animal communication</em></span></a>.</p> <p class="p1">Here, Arik and I talk about why the acoustic medium is a popular choice for complex communication. We sketch a key difference between forms of communication that are purely expressive and forms that are also referential. We discuss, in turn, Arik's field research on wolves, hyraxes, and gibbons—and talk about what makes each of these animals such a revealing case study. We evaluate our prospects for quote unquote "translating" different kinds of animal communication, and we speculate about what communication systems could look like on other planets. Along the way, Arik and I touch on: noisy versus tonal sounds; short-range versus long-range communication; chorusing and duetting; simplicity and complexity; syntax and meaning; entropy; alarm calls; dolphins, orcas, and cuttlefish; and how you can tell that wolves take a certain pleasure in howling.</p> <p class="p1">Without further ado, here’s my chat with Dr. Arik Kershenbaum.</p> <p class="p3"> </p> <p class="p4">A transcript of this episode is available <a href= "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M7hYJgx_k8WG3budv2QX84ekh5K_suty/view?usp=sharing"> here</a>. </p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1"><span style= "text-decoration: underline;"><span class="s2"><em>Notes and links</em></span></span></p> <p class="p1">6:30 – In the human case, of course, our most elaborated form of communication—language—comes in both spoken and signed forms. For more on the different modalities of human language, see, e.g., <a href= "https://disi.org/a-new-picture-of-language/"><span class="s3">our earlier episode</span></a> with Dr. Neil Cohn.</p> <p class="p1">7:30 – The distinction between expressive and referential communication is perhaps most strongly associated with the linguist Roman Jakobson—see, for instance, <a href= "https://monoskop.org/images/8/84/Jakobson_Roman_1960_Closing_statement_Linguistics_and_Poetics.pdf"> <span class="s3">this essay</span></a>. For more on the question of whether animal communication systems involve reference, see this <a href= "https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/animal-communication/"><span class="s3"> recent (philosophical) discussion</span></a>.</p> <p class="p1">9:00 – For a classic example of work on predator alarm calls in vervet monkeys, see <a href= "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347280800972"> <span class="s3">here</span></a>.<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">13:00 – For an example of Dr. Kershenbaum’s work on wolf (and other canid) howls, see <a href= "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376635716300067"> <span class="s3">here</span></a>. The study provides evidence for howling “dialects.”<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">24:30 – An example of coyote chorusing can be heard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peK7167CsGU"><span class= "s3">here</span></a>.</p> <p class="p1">27:00 – A <a href= "https://www.jstor.org/stable/27315378?seq=1"><span class= "s3">study</span></a> showing that human listeners overestimate the size of a coyote group.</p> <p class="p1">29:00 – For an example of Dr. Kershenbau
- Publication Date
- 2025-03-06T01:05:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/howl-grunt-sing
- Length
- 73:37
- File
- /podcasts/Many Minds/1741223100-5038.mp3
- Size
- 101.11 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
- Channels
- 1
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