Saturday, June 25, 2016

Jurassic World & The Legend of Tarzan: Communicating with Wild Animals





This activity is based on this great site. Don't miss it!

http://deepjunglehome.in/wild-animal-communication-methods/


I. Work in pairs:

1. How do wild animals communicate with each other?

2. Can wild animals communicate with humans?

3. Is it possible to communicate with a wild animal if you are being attacked by it?

4. Read what some researches say about it:

How do wild animals communicate?

Even if the animals do not know how to speak, they have their own ways for communication. The whales sing, the wolves howl, the frog croaks, the bird will chirp, the dog will bark and the list goes on. If you have a pet dog in your house, you would probably understand his feelings when he waves his tail.

A lot of the wild animals depend upon verbal as well as non verbal modes of communication. And, this includes:

calls or sounds
waving of tails
marking of scents using urine and feces
chemical cues
gestures made with the help of postures, visual signs etc.

As per the research done by Chomsky in 1957 and Pearce in 1987, the animal communication does not have any kind of grammar. While the humans learn the language skills and build on the vocabulary because of their innate intelligence, animals do not learn any such thing. As per Hockett, there are 13 features which go into a language. And, the animals are actually capable of learning the languages and communication systems. It would be difficult for the animals to learn the languages of the humans so they can be taught to use their hands for the sign language. Birds like parrots can be taught human speech. Dolphins can be made to understand the gestures and sounds.

The wild animals can make use of any of the communication methods described above for their communicating purposes.

5. Do you agree with the research? Why (not)?

6. Watch the movie segment and observe how the communication between humans and dinosaurs take place in the segment. What was mentioned in the research that you managed to see in the scene?


7. Watch the movie segment from the movie The Legend of Tarzan and  discuss the questions.




Tarzan was raised among wild animals. Does it make him more able to communicate with wild animals or do you think it is just fiction?  Explain your argumentation



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