Am contemplating the need for an experiment
to find out if dogs and cats speak differently
depending on what language their owners speak.
Now, I'm not talking about WOOFS and MEOWS...
nope... for I do believe there are some "universal animal sounds"...
nope....
I am talking about those more subtle "talking sounds"
that animals make...
For instance....
Once had a cat that grew up in a French household...
and he made the strangest sounds....
seriously... he did...
He would go around the house
making this weird, inquisitive sound
that went something like...
"Mais oui?"
"Mais oui?"
It was freakish sounding...
Never had a cat
that made that kind of noise before or since.
Now, it's no secret at all that animals
are subject to comprehending
language differences...
You know... like... having "mother ears"
as opposed to "mother tongues"....
For instance, say "COME" to a French dog
and he's probably going to tilt his head
a little to one side
and stare at you...
and perhaps even growl softly under his breath....
something along the lines of:
"Sacrement!!!! Chalice!!!! TaberNACLE!!.. Manger la marde, Anglais"...
Well, perhaps he will only say that...
if he is a Separatiste Quebecois chien...
Otherwise...well... he's probably just going
to give you a dumb look
and won't show any signs of obeying a command,
until it is uttered in good French... "Vienez ici, Fido!!!!"
so...uhm...I think we can safely assume
that animals differentiate between hearing in
"first languages"...
But do they also speak in mother tongues...
or even regional dialects...??
Do Canadian dogs say "eh?"
at the end of each string of barks???
Is that what that last short, sharp bark is
that I hear when my neighbour's dog
is making a ruckus
as the garbage truck pulls up in front of his house??
Is he shouting, in impeccable Canadianese:
"GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE AND LEAVE OUR STUFF ALONE, EH??!!!!"
Perhaps... yes... I'm thinking he is...
And, well, I think dogs also pick up
personal quirky speech patterns and nuances
from their owners...
For instance, my older collie,
makes contemplative "hmmmm" moans
that sound rather oddly similar to my own...
Meanwhile, the younger collie
that worships the ground that Mr. Croc walks on
has taken to staring at him and making this soft whine
that goes something like... "wwwooo-hoooooo"
This isn't a random occurrence either...
We're talking "definite attempt to establish a vocabulary"..
yep...
I've never heard anything quite like that sound either...
coming from a dog before...
But then I think of Mr. Croc's favourite expletive
and recall how many times I hear him
uttering an "ooooh-ooooo" or "un-unh" each day...
Got to be at least 50 times or more
for some reason or another...
It's uncanny I tell you...
Sacrement!! I think this needs some serious study. |
