After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

12.1 Compare and contrast the laboratory studies of nonhuman animal communication with the studies of nonhuman animals in the wild.
12.2 Discuss what makes human languages unique in comparison with nonhuman animal communication.
12.3 Describe what anthropologists conclude about the evolution of language.
12.4 Discuss how linguistic anthropologists study language.
12.5 Explain how children acquire their languages.
12.6 Discuss the relationship between language and culture.
12.7 Describe how anthropologists study the history of languages.
12.8 Describe what the field of sociolinguistics tells us about language use.
12.9 Discuss other forms of communication humans use besides language.