The thought of a secret animal language has always enticed me. When I was very young, my parents had me convinced that at exactly midnight on Christmas morning, all animals could talk for one ho
ur. I tried so hard to stay awake, to maybe catch the whispers of my beloved cat, but never quite managed it. Since then, the thought has never escaped my interest. I have been training horses and endurance racing my entire life and I even worked at a vet's office for about 5 years. Experience has taught me that if we are going to limit language to the definition of civilized, human speech, then no. Animals do not "talk". However, they do communicate and, with some patience, observance and training, they will communicate with you too. I've often found that animals tend to express emotions more than anything. If you know what to look for, it becomes incredibly easy to discern what a horse is feeling. Anger/fear is often the the most expressive and obvious emotion in animals and this is because it is a necessity from a survival standpoint. I grouped anger and fear together purposefully because oftentimes intense fear is what causes anger in animals. Everyone has heard of the basic instincts of "fight or flight" which are even more highly tuned in other animals then us humans. When an animal feels threatened or cornered or as if it's choice of flight is taken away, anger will emerge. Horses express this by pinning their ears to their head, elongating their neck and snapping their teeth at the source of their anger. They will also resort to kicking in extreme anger or rearing up on their hind legs in extreme fear. This is just a minuscule sample of what you can learn simply by observing animal behavior. Whether you classify it as language or not completely depends on your definition.
The Call of the Wild
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I also think that if animals could talk and/or communicate with humans, that it would be really cool. They wouldn’t have to necessarily talk with a spoken language but maybe by sign language. This does occur a little bit with smart apes like chimpanzee's but I would love to see it progress even further. I just recently watched The Rise of the Planet of the Apes and that only fed into my excitement at one day being able to communicate with animals by more than just when they have to go to the bathroom or want to eat. To be able to communicate with them about everyday life or just listen to their thoughts would be amazing.
This entry reminds me of the cove and communication between dolphins. Dolphins are tactile when communicate. They use posture, language, and physical contact to interact with other dolphins and other species as well. Humans for the longest time thought that we were the superior beings, but we now know that other animals have just as complex social networks and communication as we do. We started research about the languages of different species and I think one day we will be able to understand clearly and exactly what animals are trying to tell us.
The concept you expressed of animals communicating in 'human' speak so to say totally brings me back to "The Wild Thornberries" day (the once popular tv show where the main character can talk to every single species of animal). I believe that while it is true that animals have a distinct language that humans cannot decode, humans are often able to tell the emotions of an animal in their eyes. "Eyes are the window to the soul" really does have some credibility to it. I am personally not a huge fan of dogs, but I have been around them long enough to notice that their eyes are extremely expressive. One can tell when they are hurt, happy, or in fear. While it would be incredible to talk to animals in our own tongue, for now we will just have to be content with reading their body language and other expressive details to determine their wants and needs.
There's no doubt that animals do have a subtle means of communication, with horses being a great example. But wouldn't it be such a luxury to have a horse that could speak our English language, such as in the 1960s television show Mr. Ed? Sadly, that elaborate form of speech in animals is far from what is actually exhibited unfortunately. The comment above mentions how a dog's eyes are extremely expressive and I completely agree, but I would like to add that their tails are also a great indicator of mood. Simply by observing the motion of a dog's tail (if he/she has one) you are able to distinct whether the dog is joyous and playful, or just in a sad mood. The expressive "emotions" animals show are a fascinating means of their own form of communication.
You make a great point in stating that by observing animal behavior, one can learn a great deal about how animals communicate with one another. It is true that animals don’t actually “talk” but they do communicate with one another. I have had two dogs for several years now and it is obvious that they are able to “ tell “ each other what they are thinking and gauge and react to each other’s emotions. Similar to how horses express their anger and fear, dogs also express themselves through body language. This is seen through the position of their tail, how the tail is moving, their facial features, and the position of their body. For instance, when my dogs sense a threat the hair behind their necks stands up and their tail stands up too. They also can communicate verbally. I always think about all the movies where one dog is able to communicate with another dog that is blocks away simply by howling. There have different types of barks, howls, and growls that convey different things. Hence, dog whispering is not actually communicating with the dogs but rather paying attention to their visual and verbal cues to understand what dogs are trying to say.
I think this is interesting because whenever I hear dogs barking at each other or birds chirping from tree to tree I imagine them communicating in their own "language." It obviously isn't as complicated as humans but I definitely think animals contain their own language because if they can communicate using sounds then how ins't it a language?
Whenever I see something on animal communication, I always think of the movie UP, where the dogs can speak human language. How convenient would that be! By examining any animal (even my dog for example), there is a definite form of communication between other dogs, as well as with humans. In my opinion, even simply wagging his tail is considered language, because he is conveying the message he is excited. Just because words aren't involved doesn't mean its not a form of language. The action implies words.
The way that human culture and society has developed today, we all rely on verbal communication heavily. In my opinion, we talk too much. If we took the time to observe and purely listen to our surroundings more, I think we could learn a lot more. Animals and other things in nature have mastered the ability to pick up on subtle cues in the environment around them to survive, and we should take a lesson from them.
As an owner of 2 cats and an avid animal lover I know that animals communicate. I do not always knew what every click from my cats means when they are watching birds from the window but, I know that they mean something to them. I have one cat that gets sick every other month or so. When he is sick and can't keep food down all he wants to do is sit on my lap and be next to me at all times. When he is feeling better you can't pin him down. My cats even have different meows. He has a meow for "change my litter box" and one for "my food or water bowl is empty." There is no mistaking that animals communicate!
I agree that animals communicate. I always know when my dog is happy, sad, or in a "fight or flight stage." If you have experience being around animals and know what to look for, exactly what you stated, then you can definitely see that animals have their own way of communicating without words. Actions really do speak louder than words when it comes to animals.