idk theres promising research on linguistic cadence of many whale species. my personal opinion is that they are sapient to some degree, they even have been shown to adapt to really complex new stressors in the environment caused by us very fast, and have demonstrated cultural memories and sharing of information. i also kinda feel like most apes are sapient in some fashion, like yeah maybe as smart as an 8 year old or something but terrible at communication which limits them severely

[–] LaughingLion@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

i dont disagree with any of that im just pointing out that the very specific criteria being used for using language arent met so far as we understand it yet by any nonhuman. i do think there is more promise in whales in and other related animals but we dont have the data yet to really fully confirm it. i think that may happen in our lifetime

i also am open to the possibility that both chomsky and his critics are right at the same time... that there is something unique about human beings and the way we use language and grammar and that animals like whales turn out to have a complex grammar (like fully formed language) of their own but it is entirely inhuman.