It's more a capacity to understand what information is being conveyed.
A dog can understand basic concepts like instructions and commands. But a dogs brain doesn't have the ability to process complex language. Information is picked up by them through actions, body language and tone of sounds.
We do have some understanding of animal language. We're able to understand what bees say to each other and talk to them with a robotic bee (dance).
Obviously bee's communications are limited to the operation of the hive. A bee is not able to express complex thoughts to other bees, though this does not limit the hive learning new things and adapting to them.
An example is Japanese Hornets which raid honey bee hives. The bees have developed a method of defence. To do this they need to co-ordinate an attack on the scout hornet. So it shows they can communicate more than the location of food, even if it is an adaptation of another existing form of communication.
We're able to understand Dolphin clicks and tones and we are able to determine that they have names for each other and are able to communicate with more than a basic herd mentality.
Even chickens we've been able to decode some of their language. Again, there language is more specific to being a chicken. A cluck for "I've found food." and warnings of "eagle" or "fox".
As well as instinctive calls like a distress cluck or mating, fighting and territory calls.
But a chicken has a chicken's brain. You will never be able to teach a chicken calculus. While it's brain can be taught to adapt to certain things, like teaching a chicken to play tic tac toe for reward of food.
It demonstrates that animals have the ability to achieve more than they are capable on their own, but there are limits.
A dog will fetch a stick on your command but he will never understand why you want it.
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