{"id":1899,"date":"2026-07-20T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bkbc.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/20\/chatty-cats-and-talking-dogs-could-one-day-speak-in-our-language\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T10:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T10:30:00","slug":"chatty-cats-and-talking-dogs-could-one-day-speak-in-our-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bkbc.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/20\/chatty-cats-and-talking-dogs-could-one-day-speak-in-our-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Chatty cats\u00a0and talking dogs\u00a0could one day \u2018speak\u2019 in our language\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the animated movie Up<\/em>, a yellow, tail-wagging dog shows up wearing an electronic collar. The main character, a curious and cheerful 8-year-old boy named Russell, tells the dog to sit. The dog sits. Russell tells the dog to shake. The dog extends a paw. Russell then tells the dog to speak.  <\/p>\n

\u201cHi there,\u201d says the dog.  <\/p>\n

To Russell\u2019s amazement, the dog\u2019s collar translates his doggy thoughts into actual human words. \u201cMy master made me this collar,\u201d Dug the dog tells his new acquaintances. \u201cHe is a good and smart master, and he made me this collar so I may talk \u2014 SQUIRREL!\u201d <\/p>\n

This is a common piece of technology in stories \u2014 a translator that can decode animals\u2019 barks, squeaks, meows, clicks and such, into human language.  <\/p>\n

Back here in the nonfiction world, anyone with a pet has probably wondered at some point what\u2019s going on in that cute little animal head. Scientists can\u2019t say. But there are reasons to think that an animal-human translator won\u2019t stay a work of science fiction forever. \u201cI think these things may be one day doable,\u201d says Erich Jarvis. He\u2019s a neurogeneticist at The Rockefeller University in New York City.<\/p>\n

One day, pets may wear little devices like Dug\u2019s collar. Or an app on a phone might translate pet sounds into words. This neat trick could finally let you learn the answer to why your cat is staring at that empty corner of the living room.<\/p>\n

Learning languages <\/h2>\n

Advances in computing power, artificial intelligence (AI) and fancy tools that measure sounds promise to bring people closer to conversing with other animals. These advances could turn animal chatter into bits of information that can be decoded by humans.  <\/p>\n

Of course, some animals can already talk to us \u2014 in our preferred languages, too. Jarvis tells the story of a parrot that left its California home. It returned years later speaking Spanish, he says.  <\/p>\n

Such language skills are rare. Thinking up a message and making intricate vocal sounds to convey it<\/a> take special mental skills and a great flexibility of body systems. These traits are present in fewer than 1 percent of vertebrate species, says Michael Long. He\u2019s a neuroscientist at New York University in New York City.  <\/p>\n

Not all animals may be good conversationalists. Take vervet monkeys. \u201cTheir cognitive abilities are huge,\u201d Long says. But they flounder when it comes to producing complex sounds. \u201cSo they have one of those requirements, but they need to get the other one,\u201d Long says.  <\/p>\n

And with rare exceptions, none really speak our language. But that gap can be overcome. It may just take a slight shift in what we consider talking. \u201cAnimals are speaking, often \u2014 to use speaking in a very loose way \u2014 more vibrantly than we had ever given them credit for,\u201d Long says. <\/p>\n

\"A
In the Pixar movie Up<\/em>, a golden retriever named Dug wears a collar that translates his thoughts to speech. Dug\u2019s collar translates all of his thoughts, even mid-sentence distractions like \u201cSQUIRREL!\u201d<\/span>ALBUM\/ALAMY<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Understanding animals <\/h2>\n

Like parrots, dolphins and whales may similarly make good conversation partners with people<\/a>. In 2023, scientists used a decoded whale \u201chello\u201d to enjoy a short conversation with an Alaskan humpback<\/a>. This exchange consisted of a volley of whale whups, translated into English as \u201chello.\u201d Still, both parties engaged in this interspecies chat. <\/p>\n

Another group of researchers has since discovered that whale language shares statistical properties<\/a> with those spoken by humans. With these sorts of advances, perhaps we\u2019ll soon be swapping krill recipes.<\/p>\n

Some of Jarvis\u2019 research includes mice that have been genetically changed to produce more complex sounds. He is part of a team that\u2019s closely examining key genes that are active in good vocal learners. Mice with a human version of a protein called NOVA1, for instance, made more complex vocalizations<\/a>. To be clear, this is not yet a talking mouse. But the research is moving fast.<\/p>\n

Some animal messages are clear even without a fancy sci-fi gadget. \u201cAnimals are broadly expressive,\u201d Long points out. Anguished yowls of a cat sitting by her unfilled food dish are no great mystery.  <\/p>\n

Messages don\u2019t even require a vocal tract. Mongolian gerbils, for instance, beat out messages by thumping the ground percussively. Dances, posture, color and even objects can all carry messages. Just think about it: You can probably figure out the message when a dog holds his leash in his mouth and sits by the front door. <\/p>\n

So while we wait for a gizmo that translates our pets\u2019 thoughts into words, consider the wildly variable ways animals already communicate. Long\u2019s formerly stray Brooklyn cats, for instance, have plenty to say. Their needs and wants are \u201cvery, very transparent,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Should a cat-human translator ever exist, Long\u2019s message to one of his cats would be short, sweet and practical: \u201cI would tell him not to sit too close to the stove when I’m cooking. I think that’s it.\u201d  <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Source: Science News Explores<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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