Human–animal communication is an aspect of interspecies communication and is the communication observed between humans and other animals, from non-verbal cues and vocalizations through to, potentially, the use of a sophisticated language.



Word repetition in birdsEdit

Although the word repetition skills observed in some birds (most famously parrots) should not be mistaken for lingual communication, this tendency has nonetheless influenced fictional portrayals of animal communication, as sentient talking parrots and similar birds are common in children's fiction, such as the talking, loud-mouth parrot Iago of Disney's Aladdin. Bruce Thomas Boehner's book Parrot Culture: Our 2,500-Year-Long Fascination with the World's Most Talkative Bird explores this issue thoroughly.

The next level: languageEdit


John Lilly and cetacean communicationEdit


Two experiments of this sort are explained in detail in Lilly's popular books (see John Lilly for bibliography). The first experiment was more of a test run to check psychological and other strains on the human and cetacean participants, determining the extent of the need for other human contact, dry clothing, time alone, and so on. Despite tensions after several weeks, the experimenter, Margaret C. Howe, agreed to a two-and-a-half month experiment, living isolated with 'Peter' dolphin.



Animal communication as entertainmentEdit

File:Toby the sapient pig.jpg

Though animal communication has always been a topic of public comment and attention, for a period in history it surpassed this and became sensational popular entertainment. From the late 18th century through the mid 19th century, a succession of "learned pigs" and various other animals were displayed to the public in for-profit performances, boasting the ability to communicate with their owners (often in more than one language), write, solve math problems, and the like. One poster dated 1817 shows a group of "Java sparrows" who are advertised as knowing seven languages, including Chinese and Russian. One pig of the era was so famous that it performed for royalty, and an obituary upon its death claimed that it made more money than any actor or actress of the same time; a fact that, whether strictly true, was at least believable to contemporary readers. By the late 1840s the fad had died down considerably. While the occasional appearance by a "learned" animal continued into the radio and television eras, it was by then generally understood that feats such as using cards to spell words, barking or tapping a hoof to solve equations, and the like were the products of training rather than actual communication. Though the tradition continues to this day on the "Stupid Pet Tricks" segment of Late Night with David Letterman, it seems likely that the era of trained pigs entertaining the crowned heads of Europe are over.


Main article: BowLingual


Human–animal communication in cultureEdit

The concept of human–animal communication has existed in culture for longer than recorded history, being an element of many myths and folk tales of numerous cultures, and continues in modern popular entertainment. This section lists some examples of this, divided by the method of communication (magical/supernatural, innate natural ability, technological, and unspecified/misc). Topics that are beyond the scope of this article and will not be listed here include intraspecies communication (e.g. Watership Down) and interspecies communication not involving humans (e.g. Redwall) or sentient animals who can think but not communicate with humans (e.g. Garfield; Buck of Married… with Children; Blondi of Kingdom Hospital).

Magic and supernaturalEdit

  • In many fantasy role playing games, Druid characters are able to speak with animals through the use of a spell. The Dungeons & Dragons version of this spell is called "Speak with Animals".
  • Eliza Thornberry of Nickelodeon's animated TV series The Wild Thornberrys can speak with animals after a spell is placed on her by an African tribal shaman.
  • In the Harry Potter series of books, Harry is a parselmouth (able to speak with snakes in their own language, parseltongue, which sounds like hissing and spitting to the ears of those without this (apparently hereditary) skill).
  • In The Immortals series of books, Veralidaine Sarrasri (Daine) has "wild magic" which enables her to communicate with animals. After being trained in the use of her wild magic, she learns to enter the minds of animals and shapeshift.
  • In the Obernewtyn Chronicles, some of the characters have the ability to mentally communicate with animals, an ability known as 'beastspeaking'. All animals have the same 'language', which comprises of mental pictures.

Innate abilityEdit

  • Cypher, real name Douglas Ramsey, of Marvel Comics' The New Mutants, has a "mutant" ability to instantly translate any language he hears or sees, including animal languages.
  • Doctor Dolittle, subject of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting as well as various film and stage adaptions, is a doctor whose ability to speak with animals makes him successful in dealing with animals but closes him off from most humans.


  • In Star Trek, the communicator badges worn by Starfleet crew members allow direct translation between humans and various sentient and semi-sentient aliens and creatures, though it is undetermined whether they work with "dumb" animals. It is presumed that this is not possible, as the relatively few domesticated animals seen on the show do not appear to converse with their owners (Data's cat, and Archer's beagle, for example). The council-chamber of the Xindi accommodates her Aquatic members in a water-tank.
  • In issue 285 of DC's Detective Comics, Martian Manhunter fights a brigade of "Martian mandrills" which were being manipulated by villains through the use of a communicator device stolen from the mandrills' rocket.
  • On the television cartoon Krypto the Superdog, Krypto has an "intergalactic communicator" device in his dog tag, which allows Kevin Whitney to communicate with him. The device is technology from Krypton, Superman's homeworld.
  • In the anime, Immortal Grand Prix (IGPX), Team Satomi's Midfielder, Amy, uses a machine to communicate with her cat, Luca, while racing with him in her mech. The same can be said for Team Edgeraid's Forward, Bjorn, and his dog, Sola.

Unspecified and miscellaneousEdit

  • In Hergé's Tintin comics, Tintin's dog Snowy is sentient and able to "think". Although his thoughts are written in word bubbles rather than thought bubbles, it is generally assumed that the human characters cannot understand him. Once, in the early volume Tintin in America, Tintin was able to directly understand Snowy. Hergé did not elaborate on why this was so; presumably it was used simply to advance the plot and not to bog down the story with a "talking dog" element.
  • The American television show Mr. Ed centers around a horse's ability to communicate with his owner, Wilbur. The plot of this television series was inspired by the movie character Francis the Talking Mule.

See alsoEdit


External linksEdit
