Animals, insects, and even plants have unique ways of expressing themselves. Birds sing and display mating rituals, bees dance, and ants release pheromones. This doesn't exactly match human language, but it's a form of communication.

Example: Imagine watching a beautiful bird song competition, where each bird tries to outdo the others with their melodies. It's not just music, but also a way of claiming territory and attracting mates.

Koko, a gorilla who passed away in 2018, could use 1,000 hand signs and understand 2,000 words. She could express complex emotions like grief.

Example: Koko named her kitten "All Ball" and showed noticeable grief when All Ball was tragically hit by a car.

An interesting question emerges here: Would we be more convinced about the emotional capacity of animals if they could communicate them like Koko did?

Apes are our closest evolutionary relatives. Expanding their linguistic capability might be a step towards understanding language in a broader sense.

Christine Hunger, a speech pathologist, and her dog Stella gained fame by supposedly expressing thoughts and desires.

Example: Imagine watching Stella tap a button that says "walk," eagerly wagging her tail. It may not be a language as we traditionally define it, but Stella is communicating her desire.