Much debate has raged over the years about the Sasquatch’s ability to have a language. Let’s first all come to the realization that Sasquatch belongs to the following Scientific Classification once proven to exist:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Primates
Anything below Primate, is up for speculation because there is no type specimen.
The standard definition of a primate is the following according to Wikipedia:
“Primates are characterized by large brains relative to other mammals, as well as an increased reliance on stereoscopic vision at the expense of smell, the dominant sensory system in most mammals. These features are more developed in monkeys and apes and noticeably less so in lorises and lemurs. Three-color vision has developed in some primates. Except for apes, they have tails. Most primates also have opposable thumbs. Many species are sexually dimorphic; differences include body mass, canine tooth size, and coloration. Primates have slower rates of development than other similarly sized mammals and reach maturity later, but have longer lifespans. Depending on the species, adults may live in solitude, in mated pairs, or in groups of up to hundreds of members.”
Linguist Scott Nelson, base on the Sierra Sounds, believes they do.
I tend to believe in what Mr. Nelson says as he has an impressive resume:
Scott Nelson is retired from the U.S. Navy as a Crypto-Linguist with over 30 years’ experience in Foreign Language and Linguistics, including the collection, transcription, analysis and reporting of voice communications. He is a two time graduate of the U.S. Navy Cryptologic Voice Transcription School (Russian and Spanish) and has logged thousands of hours of voice transcription in his target languages as well as in Persian. He is currently teaching Russian, Spanish, Persian, Philosophy and Comparative Religions at Wentworth College in Missouri.
Source: http://ronmorehead.com/crypto-linguist-scott-nelson/
But many who know me I tend to look at things from more than one source to really for an opinion. This morning I was looking at some primate behavior material, when I cam across a very simple to understand reading by Dr. Larry Zimmerman Anthropology professor at Indiana University – Pace University at Indianapolis. Source of the material used in this article from Dr. Zimmerman can be found at http://www.iupui.edu/~mstd/a103/primate%20lecture%203.html
Dr. Larry J. Zimmerman
Here’s a big pro after parsing Dr. Zimmerman’s words:
“Speculation that it was our larger range for gathering that may have resulted in human speech. The ability to explain something that happened in the past or might happen in the future might have been selected for with larger home range. Gatherer/hunter groups often bring back information about resources and dangers to the group to share.”
Primates use what they call a “home range” that they travel daily. We as humans have our own ranges. Given the size of a Sasquatch, it’s reported speeds and stride. This can naturally lend credence that they have a particularly large home range.
In some of my Sasquatch and primate behavior lectures, I talk about typical reactions from primates with other primates including their own genus in the Home Range area. The Sasquatch’s reaction to people within this area is typical of other primates.
“Auditory signals involve some use of sound, such as screaming, smacking the lips, whining, grinding the teeth, or barking
The calls, gestures, and facial expressions of non-human primates (and perhaps other animals) are also complex. The question then becomes, what is the difference between human language and the communication systems of non- human primates. How can we distinguish between the two?”
This too is very typical of reliably reported Sasquatch behaviors.
“The question then becomes, what is the difference between human language and the communication systems of non- human primates. How can we distinguish between the two?”
Here comes the information we need, what really defines a language?
“A simple key is the idea of the symbol versus the idea of a sign. Signs carry their own meaning and convey reality directly to the perceiver.
But symbols carry meaning for something else. They are intermediaries and they are abstractions from reality…Symbols are the basis of language.”
Very interesting if you think about it, You show the dog a box of his cookies, which he sees you every day go to, and to him it is a sign, “I am going to get a treat.”
You shake the box but the cookie box is empty so you show him the box is empty and you throw it away, but your pal is still looking for his treat.
He does not see it as the container for the treats, only as a sign he is getting one. The container is a sign to him, not a symbol.
“Humans do have a communication system that for the most part stands beside language. This is a system of gestures and vocalizations referred to as paralanguage and kinesics.
Paralanguage consists of noises and changes to the character of the voice that are used while speaking. These carry information, but not in as precise a way as actual language.
One aspect of paralanguage is voice quality. We use a slow pace with very little change in pitch when we are bored and a faster pace with more change in pitch when we are excited. With control of rhythm, pitch, jerkiness, resonance, speed, and other qualities of the voice we can convey a lot of information about our emotions and attitudes.”
Now in the Sierra sounds (which I am inclined to believe as credible), we do hear those changes in pace, inflection, and the kinesics that are present in human language. As we also however do in Sasquatch Ontario’s hoaxed audibles.
So what that tells us, is that despite purported Sasquatch audios having the basis of language, it also tells us that it could be us homo-sapiens, adding our own kinesics to it unwittingly.
Finally Dr.Zimmerman has this to say:
“We should be cautious about anthropocentrism, but symbolic communication is a defining characteristic of our species. Its development parallels many of our other evolutionary changes.”
Anthropocentrism according to Merriam-Webster, is interpreting or regarding the world in terms of human values and experiences, as well as, considering human beings as the most significant entity of the universe.
Seems to be an oxymoron in this circumstance. It cautions us that we be must cautious in regarding other creatures in having language, as that is how we tend to relate things.
But it also cautions us about being the most significant entity in the universe, to which that may be a bit vague, but I take it as don’t discount other genus’s having the ability for language.
I believe Dr. Zimmerman meant the former, as just prior to the statement he speaks of chimpanzees taught in American Standard Sign Language, reacting in ASSL rather than processing the thoughts behind it.
Now for a disclaimer:
There will be folks that will argue, that they left a pen and paper for Sasquatch to write on, leaving a note behind with symbiology, written words, etc. Again I will refer people to what I stated about audio, that we could be adding our own Kinesics to it.
In the audio case there is waveform, decibel and frequency analysis that can assist us in deciphering whether an audio could be from human origin or otherwise.
However there is so such litmus test for leaving notes, tied up items as gifts, snatching up things off a log that was offered as a gift. The bottom line is there: No picture or video of such. No evidence unless it is something remarkable.
In the case of Ron Morehead’s account of the creatures allegedly leaving a pile of fir branches in the middle of the camp, I tend to believe that having a similar experience. So is there truth in gifting? I believe there may be.
But in leaving behind notes, and that bit of nonsense? Unless there is proof, I find that hard to believe on the basis of people being anthropocentristic and the source could be human. It’s not evidence.
Program Note:
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Squatch-D
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