Do animals really talk? Sort of, but don’t expect any kind of chat with them, says Arik Kershenbaum in his new book
- Ever wanted a dialogue with your dog? A chat with your cat? Don’t hold your breath. Why Animals Talk, by the Cambridge University zoologist, enters the world of animal communication
“Let’s face it”, writes Arik Kershenbaum, “we all want to believe we can talk to animals – even animal communication scientists like me. I’m guessing that not one of my colleagues hasn’t at some time dreamed of holding a sophisticated conversation with some species or other.”
And on a video link from his base at Girton College, University of Cambridge, the author of Why Animals Talk – The New Science of Animal Communication, admits that he has had the same wish himself.
“Absolutely. You don’t have to delude yourself and think you’re going to talk about Plato, but everyone would like to have a conversation of some kind with some animal. And the truth of the matter is that many of us do. We hold conversations with our pets.”
It’s asymmetric communication, he says. But it’s communication nonetheless.
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The key to understanding what might be possible when talking to domesticated or wild animals is to understand that a creature’s ability to communicate is based on the needs that arise in its environment.
