UNDERSTANDING OUR COGNITIVE PROCESSES

Abstract

The constant question about the cognitive abilities of animals and their possible linguistic potential has been constant interrogation in our society for decades. The present paper aims to give an account of the cognitive processes that both children and animals develop throughout the process of language acquisition, linguistic communication, and language learning. Thus, the characteristics of receiving, processing, storing and using information that both infants and animals share are provided.  It is important to note here though that these four processes are framed in the context of animals trying to learn to communicate, through different means, understanding and using similar structures to human speech; hence, this paper does not consider natural communication systems of animals in the wild, but novel communication systems mainly taught in laboratory settings.