Possible Continuity Theories of Language

Serious difficulties with existing continuity theories of the relationship between human language and systems of communication in other animals have caused many linguists to reject the possibility of investigating this relationship. Some of the difficulties seem to be inherent in the assumption that continuity theories must be theories of comparative intellect. These difficulties can be avoided, however, by theories which place their major emphasis on the adaptive functions of communication systems in their ecological context. Recent work on the ontogeny of bird song provides a basis for such a theory, within which a new evaluation may be made of the significance of recent experiments on language abilities in chimpanzees.