The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-12-18
ANIMALS HAVE
WORD PERCEPTION
SCIENTIST SAYS THEY CAN.
NOT TALK BUT UNDER
STAND. GIVES EVIDENCE.


This very interesting question is
d;.rnssed by DR.. A. L. Benedict in
H. Journal of the American Medical
association 49, . 1 80
less degree, cats, horses, cattle sheep,
nIeohants and probably other animals
associated with man understand
God MANY words" writes DR.. Bene-
dict.
Outstanding on the, part OF animals is
The failure to understand under dit
ferent circumstances. For instance,
shaep Infatuated to the call Conan
do not respond to 'Co-day,' and vice
Dog Did Not Speak French.
Ia Strasbourg my wife called a
doc CHEN without getting a response,
6,,f he responded Immediately to
bnnd, In English, which is richer in
net names for animals, a dog may
not respond to the word dog, but will
~ some familiar vocative. Ny dog,
ior instance, looks for another dog
on hearing the word, probably for the
same reason that most of us on hear
mo the word man called out would
lake it as inferring to some one else.
Even animals Of comparatively low
intelligence respond to words OF COM
. mand-in the language to which they
have been trained. Just how much
dogs understand of ordinary. CONVEX
sation is sub JUDGE.
Recently a good many items have
aDDeared with reference to imitation
. Of human speech by dogs. While my
\ own dog says out fairly distinctly
3 when he wants to get out, it seems
s 10 me that all these reports are talla-
ciOus. Certain sounds emitted by dogs
resemble words in one language or
4 anothet, but it is improbable that they
are really trying to pronounce words
4 even after learning that a certain
\ sound gets them something. A re-
cent assertion of dogs begging for
lust a crumb is probably no more
significant than the fact that a cat
often goes about saying not now
the difference is that the former hap
pens to make sense and the latter not.
Monkey Talk, Monkey Business.
Another example was the monkey
that Prof Garner tried TO teach to
speak. He got it to say feu French
ior fire. quite inteligently when a
match was lighted. On being as ked
why he did not teach it the English
word he merely smiled A diagram
NAV be superhuous, but all there was
10 it was that the monkey enjoyed
blowing out the flame.
1T is a curious fact that the only
animals that have been taught to
speak at all Auently have been par
rots and "a few other birds whose
i speech organs are SO much more dill
i ierent from the human organs than
4 those of mammals. Very contradlc-
torv statements are made as to Wheth-
er parrots, magpies and blackbirds
speak with any comprehension.
n Prof Gamers study of the speech
y OF animals really deserves more con
sideration than it has received. He
was quite conservative. estimating the
4 maximum vocabulary OF monkeys at
about thirty words word in this
sense being a definite cry, usually
common to all members of species,
wherever found, and indicating some
\ emotion, not a concept as in the case
OF human language.
Unless better evidence is present
n ed that parrots do use words under
81 standing1y and that the occasional ut
Il terance of such words as out, damn,
come on and just crumb by more
or less trained dogs is really limited
4 to the expression OF definite idea
B think it may be said that the more
intelligent lower animals have word
perception to considerable degree;
Il but are absolutely lacking in word
Il expression. 1t should also be ques-
toned whether there is simply an as
ISOLATION of certain sounds (perhaps
including several words) with certain
n IDEAS. .
The fact that dogs have a rela..
81 lively large perceptive vocabulary OF
proper names as compared with COM
mon nouns, verbs or adjectives sug-
gests that there is merely an associa-
n ton of sound complex with some
object or action. I knew one dog that
recognized at least fifty persons by
q name-sometimes by one name each,
sometimes by the various relation
ship terms that would be used in a
81 family; but this dog was exceptionally
81 Intelligent, could remember at least
two years, and apparently got the
sense of conversation without refer
Al ence to intonation."
ri