The talking animal or speaking animal term, in general, refers to any form of animal which can speak human languages. This can by itself be interpreted in several manners, as listed in the below sections.
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Imitation of speech
The term may have a nearly literal meaning, by referring to animals which can imitate human speech, though not necessarily possessing an understanding of what they may be mimicking. The most common example of this would be parrots, many of which can learn to speak either through exposure or human training. Parrots are birds of the roughly 350 Species in 85 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes, found in most warm and tropical regions The hill myna is another well-known mimic bird. The Hill Myna ( Gracula religiosa) (commonly known in the pet trade as the Myna Bird) is a member of the Starling family resident in hill regions
Research done by Dr. Irene Pepperberg strongly suggests that parrots are capable of speaking in context and with intentional meaning. Irene Pepperberg (born April 1, 1949, Brooklyn, New York) is a scientist noted for her studies in Animal cognition, particularly in Pepperberg's star pupil, Alex the African Grey Parrot, had demonstrated the ability to assemble words out of letters--in other words, to read and spell before he died in 2007. Alex ( 1976 - September 6, 2007) was an African Grey Parrot and the subject of a thirty-year (1977-2007 experiment by animal psychologist
While most mimicry is done by birds, there is one documented example of a harbor seal, Hoover, that would repeat common phrases he heard around his exhibit at the New England Aquarium, including his name. Hoover (1971? &mdash July 25, 1985) was a Harbor seal who was able to imitate basic Human speech. The New England Aquarium, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, is one of the most prominent and popular public aquariums in the United States
A recent Internet phenomenon is the case of a cat who was videotaped speaking recognizable human words and phrases such as "Oh my dog," "Oh Don piano", and "All the live long day. " Footage of this cat, nicknamed "Oh Long Johnson" from one of the phrases spoken, was featured on an American home video program, and a longer version of the clip (which revealed the animal was speaking to another cat) was later aired in the UK. Clips from this video are prevalent on YouTube. YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees However, it is most likely that the cat is simply making sounds which a human imagination has turned into English words.
An animal language
To take this literally, this would refer to certain species or groups of animals which have a pronounced way of vocal communication, hence having the ability to conduct speech between its members with an understanding of what they are communicating. Animal language is the modeling of human language in non human animal systems Speech refers to the processes associated with the production and perception of Sounds used in Spoken language. Although such a prospect may seem unlikely to many, certain more intelligent animals, such as dolphins and the great apes, have shown to make sounds at each other with a marked repetition in vocal patterns, which strongly suggests that they are indeed communicating with each other using their own language. Dolphins are Marine mammals that are closely related to Whales and Porpoises There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. This is widely discussed and investigated.
Some researchers use Sign Language to try to communicate with animals that have difficulty with speech, such as Koko the gorilla. A sign language (also signed language) is a Language which instead of acoustically conveyed Sound patterns uses visually transmitted sign patterns Koko (born July 4, 1971, in San Francisco California) is a Lowland gorilla who according to Francine 'Penny' Patterson, is able As with vocal speech, however, some skeptics consider the results to be another form of mimickry and not true communication.
Fiction and folklore
Talking animals are a common theme in mythology and folk tales. The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological Fictional talking animals often are anthropomorphic, possessing human-like qualities but appearing as another animal. The usage of talking animals enable storytellers to combine the basic characteristics of the animal with human behavior: for example in the Three Little Pigs, the supposed animal rapacity of the wolf is shown through its repeated tricking of the three pigs. Three Little Pigs is a Fairy tale featuring Talking animals Published versions of the story date back to the late 18th century but the story is thought The grey wolf or gray wolf ( Canis lupus) also known as the timber wolf or simply wolf, is a Mammal of the order Carnivora Other examples include Little Red Riding Hood and the Bremen Town Musicians. Little Red Riding Hood is a famous fairy tale about a young girl's encounter with a wolf The Bremen Town Musicians ( German Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, also translated as The Musicians of Bremen) is a Fairy tale recorded
The storyteller may use talking animals for various reasons. It could be intended for a younger audience (such as Richard Scarry's illustrated books), or as a metaphor to show the personality of certain men or groups (Art Spiegelman's Maus depicts Jews as mice, the Germans as cats and the Poles as pigs, among others). Richard McClure Scarry ( June 5 1919 &ndash April 30 1994) - last name pronounced /'scæ ri/ rhyming with "marry" - Art Spiegelman (born February 15, 1948) is an American Comics artist editor and advocate for the medium of comics best known for his Maus A Survivor's Tale is a memoir by Art Spiegelman, presented as a Graphic novel. There may also be other reasons, such as for the sake of satire in Animal Farm, or artistic purposes. Animal Farm is a Novel by George Orwell, and is the most famous satirical Allegory of Soviet Totalitarianism
Fictional talking animals may be roughly classified into the following categories, depending on the degree to which talk influences their behavior. Of course, many cases may be something in between; the classification below is only a frame of reference.
Talking animals which are still animals
The animal retains its original form without much change, other than being able to speak. An example is the donkey of Balaam in the Book of Numbers. Balaam ( Hebrew: בִּלְעָם, Standard Bilʻam Tiberian Bilʻām) is a Prophet The Book of Numbers, ( Bamidbar, meaning in the wilderness) is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. Sometimes it may only speak as a narration for the reader's convenience. The characters of the webcomic Faux Pas are another example of talking animals. Faux Pas (pronounced "fox paws" when referring to the strip as opposed to the conventional pronunciation is a comic strip created by Robert and Margaret Carspecken The rabbits in Watership Down who behave exactly as normal rabbits, except for the ability to discuss their actions, also come under this category, as well as the penguins from the animated film Happy Feet. Watership Down is the first and most successful Novel by British author Richard Adams. Happy Feet is an Australian -produced 2006 computer-animated Comedy-drama musical Film, directed and co-written
Animals interacting with humans
The talking animal concept is featured within much traditional literature, such as in Aesop's Fables, and several mythologies, including Greek, Chinese and Indian mythologies. Aesop's Fables or Aesopica refers to a collection of Fables credited to Aesop (620&ndash 560 BC) a slave and story-teller who lived Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Chinese mythology is a collection of Cultural history, Folktales, and Religions that have been passed down in oral or written form A notable example from the Judaeo-Christian tradition is the speaking serpent from the Book of Genesis, which tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Judeo-Christian (or Judaeo-Christian, sometimes written as Judæo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held Serpent is a word of Latin origin (from serpens serpentis "something that creeps snake" that is commonly used in a specifically mythic or In Genesis, Eve is the first woman the wife of Adam. God created her from Adam's rib as his helpmate In the Book of Genesis, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (and occasionally translated as the Tree of Conscience,) was a Tree in the middle of the
Many fairy tales include apparent talking animals that prove to be shapeshifted people, or even ghosts. A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving Shapeshifting is a common theme in Mythology and Folklore, as well as in Science fiction and Fantasy. A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented The fairy tales How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon and Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf have the hero aided by a fox and a wolf respectively, but in the similar tale The Golden Bird, the talking fox is freed from a spell to become the heroine's brother, and in The Bird 'Grip', the fox leaves the hero after explaining that it was the dead man whose debts the hero had paid. How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon is a Scottish Fairy tale, collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands. Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf is a Russian Fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki " The Golden Bird " is a Brothers Grimm Fairy tale, number 57 about the pursuit of a golden bird by a king's three sons The Bird 'Grip' is a Swedish Fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it The Pink Fairy Book. Grateful dead (or grateful ghost) is a folktale present in many cultures throughout the world
Whether shape-shifted or merely having the magical ability to speak, the talking animals is perhaps the most common trait of fairy tales. A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving The motif is certainly present in many more tales than fairies. [1]
Numerous modern science fiction and fantasy stories intermix human and animal characters. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting In L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz, animals (such as the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger) talk. Lyman Frank Baum ( May 15 1856 &ndash May 5 1919) was an American Author, Actor, and Independent filmmaker Oz is a fairy The chicken Billina gains the ability to talk when she is swept by a storm to lands near Oz, as do other animals, and Toto, it is explained in a retcon, always had the ability since arriving in Oz, but never used it. Retroactive continuity is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction In C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, the world of Narnia is ruled by a talking lion by the name of Aslan, and many small characters are talking woodland animals, both of which interact with both the humans of Narnia, and the children who act as the protagonists of the books. Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963 Aslan, the "Great Lion " is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by
Animals that portray humans
Most people in the industries of professional illustration, cartooning, and animation refer to these types of animal characters as talking animals or funny animals. This article is about people called professionals For the Movie, see The Professional or Leon. An illustration is a visualization such as a Drawing, Painting, Photograph or other work of Art that stresses subject more than The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Funny animal is a Cartooning term for the Genre of Comics and Animated cartoons in which the main characters are Humanoid or However, the mainstream news media and members of furry fandom sometimes refer to this variety of talking animals as furries. Furry fandom is a Fandom devoted to anthropomorphic animal The earliest example of talking animals portraying humans, as opposed to talking animals portraying animals, was in Vishnu Sarma's Panchatantra (Fables of Bidpai), which was set in a world of talking animals who represent human morals and behavior. Vishnu Sarma was the author of the anthropomorphic political treatise called Panchatantra. The Panchatantra (also spelled Pañcatantra, in Sanskrit: पञ्चतन्त्र 'Five Principles' or Kalīleh o Demneh
Simulated humans
There are numerous series of children's books, such as the Berenstain Bears series, where the characters are written and drawn as animals in order to attract a younger audience. The Berenstain Bears are a Fictional family of Anthropomorphic Bears created by Stan and Jan Berenstain in a series of very popular Children's In this scenario the stories may be told with the characters changed to normal humans, and quite possibly the plot will suffer no major alteration. Most of such characters act no different as compared to humans. A good example of this would be Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, who lives in Toad Hall, and drives a motor car. The Wind in the Willows is a classic of Children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Other characters in The Wind in the Willows are closer to humanised animals, living in burrows, etc.
Exaggerated humans
In many fables, each particular animal typically represents a certain human trait, traditionally associated with it. A fable is a succinct story in prose or verse that features Animals Plants inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are For example, in Western folktales, a fox is supposed to be cunning, a hare is supposed to be a coward (whenever it is brave or smart, this is only with the goal to create a paradox with respect to the common expectation). In these tales, the names of the animals are simply their capitalized names of species: Mr. Fox, Mr. Hare, etc. Different cultures may associate different traits with the same animals.
Humanized animals
Such animals fall between the previous two categories, that of an animal which possesses both human and animal characteristics. An example is Peter Rabbit, who dresses in an appropriately sized waistcoat but engages in the very rabbit-like activity of stealing and eating carrots in the farmer's field, then being chased away by the farmer and painfully injuring himself whilst escaping. Peter Rabbit is the main character in a series of Children's books by Beatrix Potter. A waistcoat (sometimes called a wescot, Vest or a vestee in Canada and the US) is a sleeveless upper-body Garment
Alleged talking animals
Gef the talking mongoose was an alleged talking animal who inhabited a small house on the Isle of Man, off the coast of mainland Great Britain. Gef the talking Mongoose was a Talking animal that was reported to inhabit a farmhouse known as Cashen's Gap near the hamlet of Dalby on the Isle of The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Opinion is divided on whether Gef was a poltergeist, a strange animal or cryptid, a hoax, or something else. (from German poltern, meaning to rumble or make noise and Geist, meaning " Ghost ", " Spirit " Cryptozoology (from Greek κρυπτός kruptos, "hidden" + Zoology; literally "study of hidden animals" is the study of and search A hoax is a deliberate attempt to Dupe, Deceive or trick an audience into believing or accepting that something is real when in fact it is not or that Most doubt the case happened at all as told.
Paranormal researcher Charles Fort wrote in his book Wild Talents (1932) of several alleged cases of dogs that could speak English. Paranormal is an Umbrella term used to describe unusual Phenomena or experiences that lack an obvious Scientific explanation Charles Hoy Fort ( 6 August, 1874 &ndash 3 May, 1932) was a Dutch-American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena Wild Talents is the fourth and final Nonfiction book written by Paranormal Author Charles Fort, published in 1932. Fort took the stories from contemporary newspaper counts, but they are unverifiable at this late date.
See also
- Animal cognition
- Anthropomorphism
- Funny animal
- Talking birds
- Batyr (Elephant)
- South Korean elephant
- Kanzi
- Koko (gorilla)
- Vocal learning
References
- ^ Stith Thompson, The Folktale, p 55, University of California Press, Berkeley Los Angelos London, 1977
External links
- Listen to Nature "The Language of Birds" includes article and audio samples of 'talking' birds
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