Overcoming Bias in the Comparison of Human Language and Animal Communication

Humans communicate by integrating and interweaving culturally transmitted codes (spoken or signed language) with nonverbal conventions (e.g., gestures, prosody), nonverbal nonconventions (e.g., interacting with the physical environment), and assumptions about the knowledge and goals of their interlocutor. This integration occurs for both signaler a

humans can use virtually any behavior to communicate (e.g., a head tilt, a look, moving an object).