A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage. – Alexander Tyler
Posted:
November 3, 2008 10:03 AM | Post #160263—in reply to #160223 |
Theo Bernards
 Regular  Mother tongue: DutchPosts: 69 Joined: October 1, 2008 Location: France | RE: Language: communication or articulation  . I think the key here is that I feel communication works in both directions and I haven't had any experiences with animals expressing their thoughts towards me but then again, I am not a farmer. Your story of the whales is very interesting, I must say that I wasn't aware of the musical properties of these mammals. Since my move to France the documentary channels have changed language into French, which is not my strongest point, and I have missed out on many documentaries which I used to watch in Netherlands ans in Ireland. Which documentary was that?
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Posted:
November 3, 2008 10:13 AM | Post #160264—in reply to #160263 |
J. K.
 Mother tongue: Polish
Joined: February 18, 2003
Location: Poland
(removed) | RE: Language: communication or articulation Originally written by Theo Bernards on November 3, 2008 4:03 PM
I am not sure if interacting with animals is the same as communicating with them .... |
Apparently, there might be some examples of the latter in the Interspecies communication thread. Here, I have voted for both...
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Posted:
November 3, 2008 11:29 AM | Post #160278—in reply to #160264 |
Nanna Mercer
 Mother tongues: English, Danish
Joined: February 12, 2005
Location: Denmark | RE: Language: communication or articulation Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on November 3, 2008 4:13 PM
Originally written by Theo Bernards on November 3, 2008 4:03 PM
I am not sure if interacting with animals is the same as communicating with them .... |
Apparently, there might be some examples of the latter in the Interspecies communication thread. Here, I have voted for both... |
Me too! Anyway, Aria (an Alsatian) communicates in various ways: she 'snaps' her upper and lower jaw very gently in my face: supposedly she's being affectionate. When I do the same to her, she repeats the movement while looking very calm and loving. Whenever I let her out in the garden, she does an interesting parameter check: she runs alongside the fence the whole way 'round. With raised hackles and a stiff 'beware' posture, she barks as loud as she can. When she has finished the round, she stops and looks at me. I reinforce this particular communication by loudly approving. Very good! She smacks her lips loudly when I get annoyed at her. Supposedly it's a way to pacify members of the tribe: calm down, Nanna! She does the smacking lip thing with her ears pulled way back when I get very wired about the mud she drags in from the by now always wet and muddy garden. To reassure her that she has managed to calm down the alpha, I step away from her and then smack my lips in return: she relaxes, and allows me to clean her huge paws without any fuss. Nanna
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Posted:
November 4, 2008 7:42 AM | Post #160382—in reply to #160223 |
Dodo Kaipdodo
TC Master
 Expert    Mother tongue: LithuanianPosts: 1814 Joined: August 8, 2007 Location: Lithuania | RE: Language: communication or articulation
The primary purpose of language in general is making simple things intricate and making intricate things inextricable. But different languages exist so that translators might land jobs.
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Posted:
November 4, 2008 9:13 AM | Post #160389—in reply to #160382 |
Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov
Expert  Mother tongues: Polish, EnglishPosts: 3080 Joined: September 13, 2008 Location: United States | RE: Language: communication or articulation I basically think that languages are like music: like the ancient rhythm of the drum talking to you in different forms. Liliana
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Posted:
November 4, 2008 10:59 AM | Post #160403—in reply to #160389 |
Maxi Schwarz-Bastami
Expert  Mother tongues: English, GermanPosts: 8160 Joined: September 26, 2003 Location: Canada | RE: Language: communication or articulation
I basically think that languages are like music: like the ancient rhythm of the drum talking to you in different forms. Liliana |
That's music to my ears. 
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Posted:
November 4, 2008 12:03 PM | Post #160412—in reply to #160382 |
Jonathan Downie
 Elite Veteran Mother tongue: EnglishPosts: 855 Joined: March 9, 2008 Location: United Kingdom | RE: Language: communication or articulation Originally written by Dodo Kaipdodo on November 4, 2008 7:42 AM
The primary purpose of language in general is making simple things intricate and making intricate things inextricable. But different languages exist so that translators might land jobs.
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I love the ending to that sentence. I do sometimes wonder whether God thought to Himself, after the Tower of Babel incident, "never mind, at least now they can give money to translators and interpreters."
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Posted:
November 4, 2008 1:16 PM | Post #160415—in reply to #160412 |
Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov
Expert Mother tongues: Polish, EnglishPosts: 3080 Joined: September 13, 2008 Location: United States | RE: Language: communication or articulation I think He thought it was Art.
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