Animals and their Use (or lack thereof) of Language

Two questions: Do animals use language? Do animals communicate?

To the latter posed question, the answer is yes, they certainly do! What do birds communicate when they chirp and whistle their eloquent songs? This is my territory—Stay away from my nest. Bees use elaborate dances to communicate to their hive where honey is to be found. Ants leave pheromone trails that lead the other ants to food. When a cobra opens its hood or a rattlesnake rattles its tail, they are communicating a warning: stay away. Whatever the case, it is apparent that animals communicate, and usually, their meaning comes across quite clearly. That is to say, other animals can interpret and understand communication.

What about the first question? Do animals use language?

We have already established that animals can communicate with one another, so the real question has to be, "Are language and communication synonymous?" Let us look to the dictionary's definition of the words, so that we might compare and contrast them.

Language:
"A body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition."

That's just one definition; there are more: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/language

Communication:
"The imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs."

What can be determined from these definitions is that communication encompasses more than does language, as communication includes language, and language itself is more specific. Language is about the use of words, or sound we make with our mouths, and the use of those words to communicate our thoughts and ideas with each other. Language also discriminates nationality, wheras communication is universal (e.g. a person looking menacingly at someone and cracking their knuckles communicates violence, which anyone can understand; however, if a French person tells an American, "I am going to kill you" in French, the American probably won't understand). Animals don't use words. They don't have a phonetic system or alphabet, and are incapable of expressing specific ideas. But wait, don't animals use sounds? Dogs bark when something alerts them, cats purr when they are content. Does that not fall under language? No. A dog's bark is akin to a man's nondescript grunt of pain, a cat's purr like a satisfied sigh of relief. These are not language specific, for they are broad and universally understood methods of communication.

To that end, I have come to the conclusion that animals, whilst certainly adept at communication, do not use language. However, it is worth noting that different people might have different interpretations on the word language and its definitions. Some might argue that language and communication are indeed the same thing, more or less, and that language includes communication (body language?). My personal opinion is that communication includes language, and if language included communication, the broader term, the respective definitions of the words would be lost. So we must stick to the definitions of the words, and this is why I say that animals do not use language.

*As far as the argument between Dolly and Guy is concerned, I believe that I have provided analysis of both sides of the argument enough to represent the dialogue. Hopefully no further summarisation is neccessary; I feel that I have covered all of the points well enough. I did read the pages, naturally, and it did help me to formulate my ideas and opinions on the matter.