Frickin "news"
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5396151
\begin{rant}
While this may be a record for reported vocabulary size of a dog, the ability of dogs to associate verbal cues with items or actions has not been in doubt and has been in use for thousands of years.
The reporters keep confusing verbal cues with language understanding. Language is a wee bit more complex than that. They've asked the dog exactly one type of question, according to the article, though I bet the dog can sit, lie down, stop barking, and such on command too. So the dog only needs to associate a word with an item. Apparently this dog does so faster than some, with 50% success. Cool. They found an above average dog with a good trainer. Man, and I thought they were all average!
However, saying that the dog understands language about like a 3-year-old is extremely poor reporting and thought processes. No, a 3-year-old has a vocabulary of size 200 but understands a LOT more words than that. In addition, 3-year-olds have at least a basic grammar that they USE, let alone UNDERSTAND. They mention abstract concepts as something a 3-year-old understands that the dog doesn't...but not sentences. Anyway, nobody's going to be surprised and it won't make the big headlines, so I shouldn't grumble too much about crappy reporting, but it's so fun! They should have the dog write the articles. PANDA....MONKEY....GO FOR A WALK?....RED BALL.... (that sounds like the start of a joke, with all the grammatically useful bits taken out)
\end{rant}
\begin{rant}
While this may be a record for reported vocabulary size of a dog, the ability of dogs to associate verbal cues with items or actions has not been in doubt and has been in use for thousands of years.
The reporters keep confusing verbal cues with language understanding. Language is a wee bit more complex than that. They've asked the dog exactly one type of question, according to the article, though I bet the dog can sit, lie down, stop barking, and such on command too. So the dog only needs to associate a word with an item. Apparently this dog does so faster than some, with 50% success. Cool. They found an above average dog with a good trainer. Man, and I thought they were all average!
However, saying that the dog understands language about like a 3-year-old is extremely poor reporting and thought processes. No, a 3-year-old has a vocabulary of size 200 but understands a LOT more words than that. In addition, 3-year-olds have at least a basic grammar that they USE, let alone UNDERSTAND. They mention abstract concepts as something a 3-year-old understands that the dog doesn't...but not sentences. Anyway, nobody's going to be surprised and it won't make the big headlines, so I shouldn't grumble too much about crappy reporting, but it's so fun! They should have the dog write the articles. PANDA....MONKEY....GO FOR A WALK?....RED BALL.... (that sounds like the start of a joke, with all the grammatically useful bits taken out)
\end{rant}