The most memorable fantasy literature has used the device of dialogue to convey the probable personalities of talking animals and chimeras: Moby Dick, Animal Farm, Le Petit Prince, Alice in Wonderland and even The Never Ending Story. In this context, the rationalization of these beings has been introduced into the imaginary, and human thoughts that are impossible to conjecture in any animal, but that suggest some kind of lesson or moral for men, have been put into their minds and snouts. Even so, since we were little we have been used to hearing animals speak.
However, the kind of enchantment that mysterious animal communication represents, together with technological advances, could be about to fulfill these fantasies and provide us with an animal language translator. This idea that seems crazy in the eyes of anyone, began with the animal communication studies that the doctor With Slobodchikoff, biologist at Northern Arizona University, made prairie dogs, beings that have a sophisticated vocal system. He discovered that they use different frequencies, for example, to distinguish between predators, including the size of each one, and that they communicate this to their pack with different frequencies.
And how do you create an animal language translator?
From these findings, Slobodchikoff developed an algorithm that, in a very basic way, translates these frequencies into English. So far, it is known that it can be implemented in domestic dogs and cats. And coupled with other translation methods —for example, body language or facial expressions—, eventually we will be able to make a much more accurate translation. That is what Slobodchikoff intends to do from the company he founded last year, Zoolingua, with which he intends to collude a animal language translator sophisticated and precise.
All the knowledge collected by him and his team can be used to create the necessary algorithms for the translator, which will be very precise due to the depth with which they study animal language. In addition, research on canine language has been a recurring topic in science. In wolves, for example, it has been possible to study how advanced their language iswhich, based on howls and looks, expresses almost as much as we express with speech.
The best thing is that, in the case of dogs, there is the advantage that due to the evolution that they have had close to man, They have been generating mechanisms in the brain to understand both some words and the meaning of the intonation with which we pronounce them. Of course, this has its limitations. And although domestic animals are more likely to understand us better than vice versa, this translator puts on the table the scientific promise that very soon it will be possible to communicate directly with them. Can you imagine, what changes would occur in the world, to transmit feelings with animals through speech?
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