Are animals talking? In a manner of speaking, they are. They may not use language the way humans use language but they do communicate and share information constantly. In a recent piece in the New York Times, science journalist and critically acclaimed author Sonia Shah wrote, “For centuries, the linguistic utterances of Homo Sapiens have been positioned as unique in nature, justifying our dominion over other species and shrouding the evolution of language in mystery. Now, experts in linguistics, biology and cognitive science suspect that components of language might be shared across species, illuminating the inner lives of animals in ways that could help stitch language into their evolutionary history — and our own.”

To understand the question of language beyond humans, Mayank Chhaya Reports spoke to Sonia Shah, author of the critically acclaimed ‘The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move.”