Kanzi vs. Lilly the Cat: A Knock 'Em Down Blog about Language

I'm reading an encyclopedia entry about apes Koko, Panzee, Panbanisha, Kanzi, Washoe, and Nim Chimpsky.

All of these apes have learned approximately 150-300 words/lexigrams/signs. Several hundred non-human primates have been taught or attempted to teach basic signs, but could only learn 10-20, rendering the above-mentioned outliers.

Animal Language Acquisition (ALA) is criticized by cognitive linguists. They hold that language is an evolved trait, and that animals capable of language would have already evolved it as a means of communication. Most animals are not vocal, and therefore would use signing (or some form of gestulation) instead of oral speech; this is why Washoe was more prolific than most apes before her - she was taught ASL for communication as opposed to verbal speech.

Washoe succeeded in

* Learning several signs.
* Responding to a range of instructions given in ASL.
* Making requests in ASL.

However, it is disputed whether she:

* Combined ASL signs in innovative ways. Only one or two striking examples are well documented.
* Attempted to use ASL to communicate with other apes.
* Taught another chimp, Loulis, to use ASL.

Most of the critics hold that:

* Behaviour like hers can be produced by standard operant conditioning techniques. This claim is particularly associated with Herbert S. Terrace (see Nim Chimpsky).
* The signs she made were impoverished in comparison with human ASL.
* Her signing behaviour lacks a key dimension present in human language from a very early age, namely inquiring after new information.

Kanzi, the ape, learned more words than any other non-human primate subject, learning over 300 words or lexigrams, and functionally using them in speech with humans and other lingual apes (Panbanisha is his brother). He is a bonobo, a species similar to the chimpanzee but reputedly better at language, as well as non-violent and non-female-oppressive (unlike chimps).

Lingusts find it very suprising that Kanzi can understand vocal words spoken to him, such as the command "let's go" or "would you like to eat?" He fully comprehends the messages and obeys them.

Kanzi, smiling for the camera.

***

As I sit, typing, I think back to my home, and especially to my cat, Lillith or "Lilly." Lilly is a very cunning linguist. In fact, she is intelligent in a lot of surprising ways. For instance, we have had to install lead weights on every door in our house we do not want her to open... because she will in time solve even the most complex doorway riddle. She can, of course, open boxes, cabinets, envelopes.

My sister, Taylor, created a riddle to test Lilly's task-solving skills against those of Rodney, our male bombay cat. She put a piece of tape on Lilly's and Rodney's left hind foot. Rodney licked the tape for around 5.4 minutes, trying to get it off, and finally, sat in the floor, mewing unhappily for help and shaking his foot, unable to remove it. Lilly, on a the other hand, removed the tape with her teeth in less than a second, as if she had done the same thing many times before.

Lilly, a gray and white shorthaired nonpedigree, can not only solve tangible, physical puzzles, but understands and speaks the English language with nearly the same proficiency as most humans. She cannot make very many consonant sounds, so her words are English words, but using only specific sounds. She says "I want some water" as "Ah oh ah awwwoo." or "Hey, girl" as "Ah, oww," "Mahh, moww," or "Rah, roww."

Lilly is very vocal for a female cat, though notably not as vocal as a human. But though she does not speak as often as us, she understands everything we say. If I said, "Lilly, what's wrong?" She might say "Ah oh uh oo" for "I want some food" or "Ah uhhh-oo" for "I'm hungry." Or simply walk to her food dish. Sometimes she calls me, saying "Mow! Mow!"/"Row! Row!" for "Girl! Girl!" as I would call her. If I called Lilly, undoubtedly, she would come to me (assuming she is not busy or moody at that time). She also reprimands my sister, Rodney, and I, saying "Oh! Eeeaow! Ow!" for "No! Bad boy/girl!"

Lilly likes to sit on my lap when I read. She used to dig her claws too deeply into my skin as she purred, as cats are wont to do. I simply said, "Lilly, don't do that. It hurts," and made a pained sound. She stopped, after a few reminders, and hasn't done it since.

But Lilly is remarkable in another, more astounding way... she can read. Walking around our house, you might find notes such as "No, Lilly" or "Lilly is not allowed in here" or "Get down right now, Lilly." Lilly sees these notes, and usually obeys them. She has a rebellious streak, and might choose to a) remove the note and perform the action anyway or b) remove the note, pick it up in her mouth and put it somewhere else, and perform the action anyway. Lilly often carries objects in her mouth and likes to play with balls, which she will fetch if she feels like it. Lilly also sighs.

Lilly, looking contemplative.

***

By the age of two and well before, I knew about 5000+ words and spoke English fluently. I communicated constantly with the children in my grade school using verbal speech, so that they also began to speak English with complete proficiency. Three of us (myself and my two closest friends) were allowed to skip ahead, and attend kindergarten and grade school early. At the age of three, I was sponsored by my preschool for an intelligence quotient test. I placed in the genius range in the verbal section.

Me, about 3 mos.

At a young age, I began to write, not English, but icons and symbols of my fashion, which helped me to record my thoughts and remind me of tasks and information I had learned.

At two, I held natural discussions with people in stores, could leave home and pick up candy and bubblegum (which I enjoyed) at the local supermarket. I made jokes, and had no problems with logistic and lingual questions. I remember my second birthday, and much of my second year.

Me, looking spaced out at age two, trying on daddy's snowboots.

At five, I began to read, and within a couple months or so, picked up a classic - Animal Farm, by George Orwell, ironically. I read many more classics after that time, and generally prefered to read them.

Almost two, wearing daddy's vest, and holding a talking Peewee Herman doll.

My first short story, a week after I began reading, was entitled "Unicorns," and read

"Unicorns have horns. They are magical. They are not real."

My second story was five pages long, and described a children's story I had read about a mitten. In the story, the mitten unraveled slowly, as animals crawled inside its pouch for warmth from the winter weather. In the children's book that was the basis for my story, the animals that crawled inside were bears, wolves, badgers, and other such creatures. I thought it was silly to have such big animals all fitting inside a mitten, so I used bacteria, ants, worms, mice, squirrels, and finally an opossum as the animals inside the mitten.

My third work, at the age of six and a half, was a report about my namesake, anarchist Emma Goldman.

Excerpt:

"Emma Goldman was born on June 27th, 1869 in Lithuania, a part of the Soviet Union. Goldman was a red anarchist who revolted against the conditions of factories at that time. She married fellow anarchist Alexander Berkman, and held strikes and riots against the factory owner Henry Clay Frick."

Most of the children in my class wrote about Abraham Lincoln or George Washington in broad, unstructured fragments.

Me, age 3, wearing mommy's sweater and hat.

***

In my opinion, the people who criticize Kanzi and Washoe's abilities have only seen the tip of the iceberg and would faint to see Lillith's prowess. I think perhaps I was exposed to something as a child that could and should be replicated with children today. I was not only able to learn language and writing very early, but was also able to teach it to other humans and animals.

I believe it is because my grandmother, Ann Carter Stith, and consequently, my parents, treated me as an adult and spoke with me as one normally would an intelligent, thinking human - from birth. I also think it may be related to the fact that my parents both worked six days a week, 6am-9pm, approximately, and I needed to form methods of communicating with them. My unusual independence and need for information about situations may have led me to develop speech very early.

If you have had a similar experience, leave me a comment with a little anecdote. I will respond as soon as I can.

Glamourous

***

Links

Lilly the Cat's Blog.

Lilly checks out the Saturday, November 29th St. Louis Post-Dispatch article with Lilly in St. Louis notecards.

Lilly checking out the Tuesday, June 15th St. Louis Post-Dispatch with a great article by Cynthia Billhartz with wonderful photographs by Karen Elshout

An article on Lilly the cat at the Commonspace, a Saint Louis forum.

A write up of a quilt show featuring Lilly the cat.

Kanzi's page at the Georgia State University Website.

A chart on Speech and Language Development in Children.