Animal language, myth or reality?

An African proverb says :

« If an animal tells you it can talk, it is probably lying. », 

but Jean de la Fontaine (a 17th century French writer-poet) also said :

« I use animals to instruct men.»

In 2016, according a study by the GFK Group, it was estimated that more than half of the world's population owned a pet, with the stars of the household being cats, dogs, fish and birds. But even if our little companions are now part of our life and our family, we cannot communicate with them, at least not through the use of speech and discussion.

But can we really talk about the language of animals? Do they have one ? And above all, a crucial question, can we understand them ? Will it ever be possible to translate a meow or a woof woof in the same way that we translate a good morning or a guten Morgen? Yes, that is the promise of business giant Amazon, which says it will be able to develop this translator in less than a decade.

The Language of Animals

Yes, wild animals do communicate with each other, not through speech, but by using several other means  visual, sound, and smell.

Visual examples are numerous and are illustrated by significant attitudes translating first of all intentions : the cat that raises its tail and the dog that wags its tail are obviously happy; the cat that folds its ears back and the dog that covers its fangs and rolls up its head are clearly happy;covers its fangs and curls its lips symbolize the collar or the lizard that folds its ruff or the puffer fish that inflates into a device of defense impressive the enemy.

On the other hand, these visual messages can be signals before mating (color change in fish, courtship in birds…), but also cues to be better seen (shiny fish scales, pink buttocks in monkeys, colorful plumageé of birds…), or even the case of fireflies that produce light signals to facilitate approach and mating… not to be confused with certain deep-sea fish that use their luminous organs for less noble actions, those of attracting their prey in order to better devour them!

The sound examples are also very easy to perceive: in insects, moths make calls to females using either the rubbing of their antennae, wings, abdomen, or thighs; in marine animals, the world of silence is not all there is;In marine animals, the world of silence is not quite what we think since the presence of underwater sounds of animals has been admitted thanks to sonars (these detect their presence).

For example, the mussel cracks as it opens and closes its shell, the lobster grunts, the whale roars, the shrimp produces like a gunshot, the dolphin sings… Among amphibians, too, their sounds range from a very soft flute sound for the toad to a real roar for the frog. How not to mention the songs of birds that express several feelings and are all as multiple and characteristic of each species?They may purr, whistle (the marmot), bray (deer), beat their chests (gorillas), hammer the ground (rabbits) or emit ultrasound (bats).

But then, can we speak of an animal language ? In fact, no, because although they can express cries and noises, make their intentions and feelings understood, this cannot be compared to a real language system, the complexity of which is -for the moment- only peculiar to man. However, it is worth mentioning the dance of bees (which indicates to other bees the position of flowers), the language of dolphins (so complex that it is still studied) and the fact that monkeys can learn the language of the deaf!

In all times and places, this subject has kept scientists around the world on their toes, and the studies will continue for a long time to come, until, no doubt, a way to communicate with animals is found...

Amazon's promise

… and it may be soon! Finally, about ten years, according to the American giant of online sales, Amazon. At least, that’s its promise.

But why ? In fact, it all starts with a study commissioned by Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO himself, to futurologist Will Higham. According to this expert on how consumer strategies will change, technological advances will be good enough in ten years to allow the commercialization of animal language translators. He bases this on the fact that:

« Innovative products that perform are based on actual and primary consumer needs.The amount of money that is now spent on pets, which are becoming a real treat for so many people, means that there is a great demand from consumers in this direction. ».

Serious this project, or pure utopia ? Serious, if we refer to the work of Con Slobodchikoff, a professor of biology at a major American university, who set up an AI (artificial intelligence) to study the language of dogs;The goal is to study the language of prairie dogs and to create a true communication system that includes all aspects of language. Utopia, if we refer to the work of the British Juliane Kaminski, a doctoral student in psychology, for whom the way animals communicate can in no way be assimilated to a language in the scientific sense.

Finally…

Although animals do not make the same use of language as we do, they nevertheless communicate well with each other and also manage to interpret their intentions to make us understand them. As for the idea of a translator to discuss with our fur balls, we will only be able to judge in the next decade. But as the Fox said to the Little Prince:

Language is a source of misunderstandings,

wouldn't the risk be, then, if this were to become a reality, to alienate ourselves from them rather than to bring us closer?

Sources 

Understanding animals with a translator will be possible within 10 years, Claire Cambier, LCI, 01/08/2017, https://www.lci.fr/sciences/understanding-animals-grace-a-translator-that-will-be-possible-by-10-years-ago-estimates-amazon-2060240.html

Animal Language, Vikidia, https://fr.vikidia.org/wiki/Langage_animal

Illustrations: The Dance of the Bees, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Cat Body Language,
Talk à your pets,