That's uncanny.
Dogs in Star Trek
- Thread starter hotdog_awesome
- Start date
If nobody minds me talking about the topic again...I think a big difference is the general assumption that animals such as dogs and cats think in terms of pictures and emotions - not words. The most a UT could pick up would be the emotion being felt.
On that same note, Deanna once commented that Betazoids don't necessarily do well as animal trainers because they get too caught up in the animals' emotions.
On that same note, Deanna once commented that Betazoids don't necessarily do well as animal trainers because they get too caught up in the animals' emotions.
...Still, as pointed out, many animals do make highly distinctive noises for communicating distinct concepts. Even if the UT works on words alone (and isn't half-psionic, as some of its abilities make it seem), it should be able to tell what a crow or a squirrel is up to, for example.
The issue then becomes, does one really need the UT? The "vocabulary" of a squirrel is very limited, and a human can easily memorize it. The same probably goes for the "vocabulary" of one's pet dog - even though it's a slightly broader set than the squirrel's, it's easily memorized because one listens to it every day. Does one really need to have the "Woof!" translated into the "Out now!" when the meaning is already clear?
The UT would be very handy in the case of the aforementioned crows: they aren't pets, and their language thus is very unfamiliar, but it's also very complex and speaks of a level of "culture".
Then again, I'm sure there is a subculture of UT junkies who try to listen to cosmic messages in the sound of the wind...
Timo Saloniemi
The issue then becomes, does one really need the UT? The "vocabulary" of a squirrel is very limited, and a human can easily memorize it. The same probably goes for the "vocabulary" of one's pet dog - even though it's a slightly broader set than the squirrel's, it's easily memorized because one listens to it every day. Does one really need to have the "Woof!" translated into the "Out now!" when the meaning is already clear?
The UT would be very handy in the case of the aforementioned crows: they aren't pets, and their language thus is very unfamiliar, but it's also very complex and speaks of a level of "culture".
Then again, I'm sure there is a subculture of UT junkies who try to listen to cosmic messages in the sound of the wind...
Timo Saloniemi
"He likes you very much - but he is not the hell your dog."
None of the cans in my house have ever uttered a single sound. Maybe I should get my cats to talk to them to find out why...
The problem is, a lot of the language of cats and dogs isn't verbal at all. It's physical. A cat purring and switching her tail means a different thing depending on which way her ears are -- straight up, flat, or moving around at different angles. A universal translator wouldn't be any help at all in translating nonverbal body language or smells, which make up such a huge part of cat and dog communication.
Funny thing about animal languages, though... I had a cat who was abandoned in my back yard when he was a tiny kitten. He lived long enough with our local squirrel family to start thinking of himself as a squirrel. He'd hiss if I came near him, but it took months after I finally caught and tamed him for him to learn that cats speak in meows, not squirrel-chatter.
Speaking of hissing... I discovered that it pays to learn how to hiss like a cat. There comes a time when talking to them doesn't work, and neither does yelling. But if they're doing something wrong, or if they claw you, a properly-accented hiss works miracles! I've seen cats literally stop in their tracks, shocked and flabbergasted that a human would know that word (whatever it is). But it only seems to work with cats who grow up in a multi-cat household. Only-cats tend to give you a "WTF are you talking about?" look and continue with what they were doing anyway.
In my experience, it means "please give me a tummy-rub." Chin-scratching and other playing are optional.
But if the dog's eyes are closed, he/she may just have fallen asleep that way and doesn't actually want anything except a nice nap.
But if the dog's eyes are closed, he/she may just have fallen asleep that way and doesn't actually want anything except a nice nap.
What do you suppose my dog is saying here?
"I can't believe I fell off the ceiling again ..."
--Ted
What do you suppose my dog is saying here?
"I can't believe I fell off the ceiling again ..."
--Ted
Actually, she just sleeps that way.
Different cat's and dogs have slightly different sounds for the same things. My previous cat had a high pitched short meow for "Hey you idiot, my food dish is empty." My current cat has a long, loud deep meow to tell me "Hey dummy! Feed me!" Also unlike my old cat, she jumps into my bed and starts kneading on me to wake me up so she can give me that meow to feed her.
So different cats learn different ways to communicate with their pets (owners) on what they want or need.
One other thing, Fergie, my current cat, when her water fountain is low or its pump has stopped she puts her paws in the water and then puts her wet paws on me.
So different cats learn different ways to communicate with their pets (owners) on what they want or need.
One other thing, Fergie, my current cat, when her water fountain is low or its pump has stopped she puts her paws in the water and then puts her wet paws on me.
Animals like Dogs or Cats have pretty universal languages as they really can only express emotion not actually communicate. If you live with animals for long enough you KNOW what they are saying, if its "I want to play" or "I want my dinner" and so on.
That is different to the concept of a distinct colourful language. Of course a universal translator in reality would also have to rationalise different perceptions of things, not different words for them - much more difficult.
Aw, I used to have one too. Let's hijack this thread into a Samoyed appreciation thread 
Thanks I will show my Mum she will love your site!
Samoyeds are wonderful dogs (except the damn yapping).
We have a bitch called Lisa, she was a rescue and is a lovely dog.
