|
After all, if their humans need to
communicate through all this audible chit-chat,
any self-respecting cat is going to have make
noises if it is to stand any chance of getting
attention! And since the owner lacks much of the
necessary apparatus needed for speaking felinese
(tail, mobile ears, whiskers, erectile fur) it is
up to the cat to learn humanese.
One feature common to both cats and people is
the use of a slightly raised tone of voice to
indicate friendliness and a lowered tone of voice
to indicate displeasure, aggression etc. Friendly
chirrup and food-seeking miaow are usually uttered
in a raised tone of voice while the low-pitched
growl of a cross cat is undeniably
unfriendly.
Volume is sometimes used for added emphasis
e.g. a strident miaow for urgency, a gentle "brrp"
for contentment. Cats which simply feel compelled
to add their two penn'orth to a conversation often
do so in a neutral tone of voice to indicate that
they are not being particularly hostile, nor
unduly friendly, nor is there any great urgency
about the subject matter.
Can Cats
Talk People-Talk?
Humans have an instinctive need to communicate
with fellow humans and to receive communication in
return. This drive is often extended to our
interaction with non-humans. Just as we look for
recognisable sounds when babies learn to talk, we
look for recognisable sounds in our cats'
"vocabulary". Rather than simply
distinguishing a "feed me" miaow from a
"let me out please" miaow we try to
interpret some of these sounds as words and are
remarkably good at self-deception, so if the
"I want more grub" noise sounds a bit
like "keow" we think our cat is calling
us a cow for not giving it a big enough helping in
the first place. Cats which "talk" are
probably making native feline sounds that sound a
little like human words and which, if delivered
under the right circumstances, are interpreted as
words by beings geared to verbal communication.
I say probably, because here there is a
slightly gray area. According to American vet Dr
Michael W Fox cats can learn behaviors through
observation. My own observations suggest that some
cats learn to imitate certain sounds as well. Cats
can make sounds and work out which sounds elicit
suitable responses from humans (positive
feedback).
|
