How and to what extent does language make humans distinctive from other animals?

Most living creatures communicate in some way. Birds and whales sing, monkeys and chimpanzees chatter, dolphins click and squeak, even bees perform their elaborate waggle dance. Language however, involves arranging exact sounds in the correct grammatical order to convey a message. Sternberg (1995, p.345) defines human language as, "...an organised means of combining words in order to communicate." Clearly, human language is much, much more than arranging particular sounds. It is an outlet for our thoughts …

…Press Savage-Rumbaugh E,S. (1986), cited in Eysenck, M,W. "Behaviour and Analysis", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, p.249 Schank R,C., Abelson R,P. (1987) in Cooper T, Kaye H. (2002), "Language and Meaning" Challenging Psychological Issues, Bath Press Skinner B, F. (1957) in Eysenck, M,W. "Language and Thought", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press Sternberg R,J. (1995), cited in Eysenck, M,W. "Language and Thought", Psychology - A Students Handbook, Psychology Press, p.345