Question: Why can't animals learn to speak? Even though some animals have much bigger brains then we do?

Michael Loughlin answered on 24 Jun 2010:

I have added to the answer i gave before
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/600-699/nb635.htm
that was another link about how animals do communciate
to add to what i say below i think speech develops to match social complexity…if you don’t need to differentiate between safe and dangerous when it comes to food..you don’t say need to develop ways of communicating well done, medium rare, gone off, past its best, raw, lightly boiled, fried etc you see what i mean

well here is a link about how animals can communicate ( i especially like the bee dance)
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/snot/can_animals_talk_and_what_do_they_say.aspx

i thinkthe main barrier is we use words as symbols as things to replace real things…so we might say ball..which links in our mind to all the things that ball remidns us of…to an animal if they are trained..then they will go…”ah ball thats , that noise which means if i got fetch a ball i get a treat”…its not “ahh ball thats the word for ball”
i think its that jump that is the main barrier..aninmals can learn what symbols or words get a certain response..but no evidence they can use words or symbols to rpelace an object in meaning….if that makes sense