Charles F. Hockett - Key Contributions - Hockett's 13 Design Features of Language - Design Feature Representation in Other Communication Systems

Design Feature Representation in Other Communication Systems

Honeybees

Foraging honeybees communicate with other members of their hive when they have discovered a relevant source of pollen, nectar, or water. In an effort to convey information about the location and distance of such resources, honeybees participate in a particular figure-eight dance known as the waggle dance.

In Charles Hockett's "The Origin of Speech," Hockett determined that the honeybee communication system of the waggle dance holds the following design features:

1. Broadcast Transmission and Directional Reception – Through the use of this dance, honeybees are able to send out a signal that informs other members of the hive as to what direction the source of food, or water can be located.
2. Semanticity – Evidence that the specific signals of a communication system can be matched with specific meanings is apparent because other members of the hive are able to locate the food source after a performance of the waggle dance.
3. Displacement – Demonstrated in the foraging honeybees' ability to communicate about a resource that is not currently present within the hive.
4. Productivity – waggle dances change based on the direction, amount, and type of resource.

Gibbons

Gibbons are small apes in the family Hylobatidae. While gibbons share the same kingdom, phylum, class, and order of humans and are relatively close to man, Hockett distinguishes between the gibbon communication system and human language by noting that gibbons are devoid of the last four design features.

Gibbons possess the first nine design features, but do not possess the last four (displacement, productivity, traditional transmission, and duality of patterning).

1. Displacement, according to Hockett, appears to be lacking in the vocal signaling of apes.
2. Productivity does not exist among gibbons because if any vocal sound is produced, it is one of a finite set of repetitive and familiar calls.
3. Hockett supports the idea that humans learn language extra genetically through the process of traditional transmission. Hockett distinguishes gibbons from humans by stating that despite any similarities in communication among a species of apes, one cannot attribute these similarities to acquisition through the teaching and learning (traditional transmission) of signals; the only explanation must be a genetic basis.
4. Finally, duality of patterning explains a human's ability to create multiple meanings from somewhat meaningless sounds. For example, the sounds /t/, /a/, /c/ can be used to create the words "cat", "tack", and "act". Hockett states that no other Hominoid communication system besides human language maintains this ability.