Non-language-using animals must think humans are the worst songbirds ever.
Non-language-using animals must think humans are the worst songbirds ever.
To clarify: I’m not suggesting animals think all sounds are songs—just that songbirds and humans are the only common animals that combine sounds into arbitrary sequences where each individual sound doesn’t have a single fixed meaning.
Animals are generally good at understanding that not everyone is them.
A great example is the best animal: The House Cat. Cats are pretty famous for catering their sounds to different targets. Mom not paying attention? Squeaky cry. Something needs to be taught who the big err... cat is? Growl. Content and happy? Purr.
Need something from a human? Meow. Because they understand that humans don't understand purrs and body language to the same degree.
Animals are good at interpreting other animals’ nonverbal cues, and can often pick up a human’s general intentions without understanding their speech. But the speech itself probably seems like a bad attempt to create an accompanying musical score.
I'm pretty sure most humans understand what purring and growling means
A great example is the best animal: THE DOGGO
Fixed
Have you heard dogs?
Oh, birds are mostly screaming at each other in their equivalent of Italian. They'd do rude gestures - but no hands.
Sometimes they flap their wings!
Why songbirds and not other vocal mammals like squirrels? Do you think they know that some bird calls sound annoying as shit? Do you think animals cannot differentiate other animals apart and just assume anything that makes noise is a "songbird"?
Go back in the shower, this one needs more time to cook.
See my comment here.
They probably think we’re all speaking German
Ich kann hier kein Problem erkennen.