fandomhigh | Creature Languages, 2/16, Period 3

"We are now transitioning to the language of cats.

The cat, also called the domestic cat or house cat, is a small feline carnivorous mammal of the subspecies Felis silvestris catus. Its most immediate pre-domestication ancestor is the African wild cat, Felis silvestris lybica. The cat has been living in close association with humans for at least 3,500 years; the Ancient Egyptians routinely used cats to keep mice and other rodents away from their grain, and also believed that cats were sacred to the goddess Bastet. The history of the domestic cat may stretch back even further, as 8,000-year-old bones of humans and cats were found buried together on the island of Cyprus. Because the domestication of the cat is relatively recent, cats may also still live effectively in the wild, often forming small colonies. The cat's association with humans leads it to figure prominently in the mythology and legends of several cultures, including the ancient Egyptians, Vikings, and Chinese.

The unique sound a small cat makes is written onomatopoeically as "meow" in American English; "meow" or "miaow" in British English; "miaou" or "miaw" in French; "miao" in Mandarin Chinese and Italian; "miau" in German, Spanish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Polish, Croatian, Romanian and Portuguese; "miau" or "מיאו" in Hebrew;"miyav" in Turkish; "mjäu" in Estonian; "mowa'a" in Arabic; "nyaa" or "nyan" in Japanese; "meong" or "ngeong" in Bahasa Indonesia; "ngiau" in Malay; "nyau" in Swahili; "yaong" or "nyaong" in Korean; and various ways in other languages. The cat's pronunciation of this call varies significantly depending on meaning. Usually cats call out to indicate pain, request human attention (to be fed or played with, for example), or as a greeting. Some cats are very vocal, and others rarely call out. Cats are capable of about 100 different vocalisations, compared to about 10 for dogs. And that is only the vocal language that humans can detect; when combined with gestures and other means of expression, cats have a vocabulary and culture that nears that of many humans."

Consider this all the next time you encounter a feline. I am playing a documentary on jungle cats with subtitles, so that you may learn to recognize their language."

"Miss Hopeless-Savage, Miss Matthews -- I will expect you in my office on Wednesday to discuss next Thursday's class."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...

Zero signs in.

Walter signs in

Blair signs in

Paige signs in

Stark signs in.

Molly signed in.

Re: Sign in, Creature, 02/16

lovechildblair.livejournal.com - 2006-02-17 03:44 (UTC) - Expand

Draco signs in.

Victor signs in.

Xander signed in. As ordered, like the Creature he is.

Pippi signs in, Mr. Neilson leaves a Paw Print.

Jake signs in.

Cordelia signs in.

Vala signs in.

Sakura signs in.

Listen to the lecture and watch the video.

Zero listens to the lecture and watches the video surprisingly attentively, all things considered. Perhaps she is refreshing her memory before she has to actually teach on this.

Walter pays close attention to the lecture and video, which probably has something to do with the scars on his ankles and a strong desire to get Nadia's cat to be less painfully attached to them.

Blair watches the video and takes notes, and is especially interested when the jaguar appears.

Re: Classwork, creature, 02/16

swerval_zero - 2006-02-16 17:22 (UTC) - Expand

lovechildblair.livejournal.com - 2006-02-16 17:27 (UTC) - Expand

swerval_zero - 2006-02-16 17:29 (UTC) - Expand

walter-n-wires.livejournal.com - 2006-02-16 17:36 (UTC) - Expand

Paige listens to the lecture looking happy, she knew this stuff and felt pretty happy not to feel compeletly out her depth for a change.

She also enjoyed the video and recognised the 'I'm hungry' sounds some of the big cats were aming even if she was better at domestic cat than wild cat. It also makes her miss Lancelot her kitten.

Draco takes notes on the lecture but by the time the video comes on he has completely zoned out.

Victor watched the video and took a few notes. The lion was easiest to read; Doctor McCoy looked like one, and their expressions were similar.

Xander does not think, 'KITTY!' at all as he watches the flick, because he's a boy, and boys don't think, 'KITTY!' Even if the tiger cubs are really, really cute.

game-of-you.livejournal.com - 2006-02-16 19:33 (UTC) - Expand

Pippi Listens to the lecture taking notes

She watches the video with a doofy grin.

Pippi does, indeed think "KITTY".

upforachase.livejournal.com - 2006-02-17 01:09 (UTC) - Expand

aka-vala.livejournal.com - 2006-02-17 02:06 (UTC) - Expand

stykera - 2006-02-17 03:41 (UTC) - Expand

The professor is about.

((ooc- there's a slightly problem with next week, I'm going to Paris on Monday and I'm not sure when I'll be back on Wednesday erm...*flails slightly* Rather than think up an IC excuse for Paige I'll catch up with the lesson when I get back, but I might not be able to post her on Wednesday ready for Thursdays class))