DIALECTS OF BARNYARD ANIMALS: DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS – JOSH (THOMAS1 BELLIC) REPORTING

 

One of the really neat things about SecondLife is that it caters to a truly international group of residents. People who live thousands of miles apart in the Real World, can come within a pixel’s distance of each other at the click of a mouse.  Different people from all over the globe can get together in coffee shop or a bar in SecondLife, and discuss the world’s problems.  While these eclectic groups of individuals may rarely solve any of the world problems, at least they are willing to shed light on the most contentious of issues. Take the issue of animal sounds, for instance….
I was hanging out at Fogbound the other day with a group of my friends, and in walks a drop-dead gorgeous friend of ours.

“Woof Woof” John said as she approached. 
“And what does THAT mean” she asked?
“Oh, That’s the sound a dog makes.”, John replied. “I was barking in delight at seeing you”.
“You are silly AND mistaken” my French friend said.  “Dogs don’t sound like that.  Dogs say ‘Ouah Ouah’”
At that point, my Hebrew pal spoke up and said “You are BOTH mistaken.  Dogs don’t sound like either of those.  A Dog says ‘Hab Hab’”.

My Japanese friend chimed in with “I don’t know where you get your information, but dogs don’t sound like any of those. Dogs sound like ‘Wan Wan”, pigs say ‘Bu’ and ducks say ‘Ga-Ga’.  Have you never been to a farm before?

Then a Bulgarian, certain we were joking said “You must be pulling of the leg.  Everyone knows pigs say ‘Gruh Gruh’, ducks say ‘Kvak’ and the noble turkey says ‘Biyi Biyi’.
Then it hit me.  I needed to do an article on how animal sounds are perceived around the world. 

My first stop was at the Dr. Doolittle Center for Animal Linguistics. It was there I learned that while animals may not actually MAKE different sounds (allowing for regional dialects of course), the people near them may HEAR different sounds.
Then came the HOURS of painstaking research, hanging out in some of the seediest bars and shopping malls all across the grid, scanning profiles in the hopes of stumbling upon non-native English speakers who would be willing to complete my “Sounds of the Barnyard” survey.  The chart below summarizes my findings. (click on the table to enlarge)

So then, after exhaustive research, we can tell a couple of things from the information gathered.
First off, individuals who speak a common language, often assign the same sound to our animal friends.  Note how, despite being separated by thousands and thousands of miles, Americans, Britts, and Australians all have the same spelling for the sounds made by all f the barnyard animals.
Second, of all the animals listed and the various sounds they make, most people surveyed agreed on a common set of sounds for the humble Cow and the noteworthy Cat. It is pretty universally accepted that Cows say “Mooo”, and Cats say “Meow”. 

The repercussions of this are significant.  It means that wherever you go in the world, whatever the native language for that area, you will already know TWO words in that language.  Use these two words proudly and often, as it will help identify you as a “Global citizen”.  Locals will be impressed that you have taken the time to study and learn some of the local languages.

Just Do it.  You’ll be glad you did.
Aloha - JB

Contributors to this story included:
Amanda Szczepanski – Norwegian
Belladarkside resident – French Canadian
Meilssa212212 – Spanish
Aylla Baldwin – Afrikaans
Rose Krimau – Catalan
Saskia Silverweb – British English
Mara Missmara – Hungarian
Tanya (maratana) – Dutch
Narelle Brenner – Australian English
Vickster Kuhn – German
PanteraPolnocy – Polish
Paterne Lefavre – French
Nikolina Bulloch – Bulgarian
Akiko Yuki – Japanese