http://game-of-you.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] game-of-you.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2006-02-16 11:47 am

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."

Re: After class, Creature, 02/16

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-02-16 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Okay then, I guess I kinda interpenetrated that correctly." she mused.

"I did try speaking casual dragon to one of them, and it did seem to understand and respond. But we didn't get a chance to converse because they were trying to eat us. As far as meeting them goes, you'd have to ask Mr. Crawley at the hotel. The only one we were able to capture alive we gave to him to take care of... Is there any chance for extra credit?"

Re: After class, Creature, 02/16

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-02-16 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well I should think that talking to things that want to eat you makes the best kind of sense. 'Cause maybe you could reason with it?"


Re: After class, Creature, 02/16

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-02-17 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Pippi nodded.

"I can certainly see that something though enough to want to try to eat one isn't likely to listen to reason. But in this case, knowing how to speak Dragon was very helpful."