Do You Think That Animals Truly Understand Human Language?

by minimus 11 years ago 35 Replies latest 11 years ago jw friends

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  minimus 11 years ago

  They say horses communicate with their ears. Mr. Ed talked, though.

  Pet owners, do you think that your cat or dog or goldfish really understands you?

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  cultBgone 11 years ago

  Mine understands me but chooses to ignore me...lol

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  James Brown 11 years ago

  Most communication is non verbal up to 93%.

  I think some animals deffinitely understand the non verbal part of communication.

  My dog understands do you want to go for a walk?

  Do you want a treat?

  Lets go to bed.

  Mommys home.

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  Zoos 11 years ago

  "Go outside?"

  "Nite! Nite!"

  "Sit on my lap."

  "Cuddle."

  "Get down!"

  ... and

  "No!"

  My feline beast knows every one of them and responds.

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  blondie 11 years ago

  Dogs respond to your tone of voice not actual words....positive words in a negative tone will be perceived as negative.

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  blondie 11 years ago

  I'm not sure children understand human language

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  BluesBrother 11 years ago

  Lots of experiments done with great apes in captivity that purport to show they can understand and communicate. I am not convinced that it is not an development of normal animal training, though.

  The pets I have known can certainly make their wants clear enough !

  In response to Zoos ... My feline beast knows every one of them and responds ignores them completely !

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  cha ching 11 years ago

  My cat has trained me to talk her language

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  MadGiant 11 years ago

  Nope: Theory of mind refers to a creature understanding that other beings have different perceptions, and that those perceptions can be valuable. It's a shockingly advanced societal concept.

  But dogs:
  http://m.livescience.com/5093-dogs-catch-human-yawns.html

  http://m.livescience.com/20823-canine-comfort-dogs-understand-emotion.html

  http://redwood.berkeley.edu/bruno/animal-eyes/left-gase-bias-in-dogs.pdf

  http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1865847,00.html

  http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201111/do-dogs-feel-jealousy-and-envy

  http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(11)01393-5

  Ismael

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  jgnat 11 years ago

  Heck, yes. Short phrases and commands most certainly. Dogs may not use language to plan as we do, however. My dog friend knows Walkies, Outside, Car Ride, and Dinner very well. Besides commands like Up, Around, Go, Stand, and GeteOuttaThere.

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