Vocalizations

[Treads Lightly]

[Vuldari]

With the exeption of perhaps a villain Werewolf, I think making people "run away" would usually be in the wolves best interest, so they probobly would growl.

Good point though. When sneaking up with the intention to attack, they would more likely be almost silent, save some shallow breathing.

[Apokryltaros]

I'm in favor of vocal/growling werewolves...
After all, we don't want big, furred mimes, right?

[LoupGarou]

I think growling gives the wolf a little more character and besides,it just sounds cool.

[Treads Lightly]

I didn’t mean that they should be silent, but rather I was referring to the tendency to use vocalizations incorrectly.

I hope that some realistic werewolf-werewolf interactions make it into the movie: growling, hackles, ears, teeth, tail position, etc. But my point was that these interactions are reserved for communication among wolves, not with intended prey. It just bothers me to see the stereotypical werewolf jump out to attack something snarling and growling, and even howling. I would love to see them growl, just not on a hunt.

[Figarou]

Just don't make it sound like FangFace.

[Terastas]

There could be a few exceptions to the rule; a werewolf might growl at their opponent in order to momentarily paralyze them with fear, but beyond that possibility and the one you mentioned about the evil werewolf, you're right: a werewolf would only growl at someone like they do in the movies if their intention was to scare them off.

[Darksong17]

I think they may growl to scare someone away if they DIDN'T want to kill them., and quietly stalk them if they do want to kill them.

[akujiwolf]

That's a great point. Dogs usually growl when they want someone or something to go away. If they were going to hunt something, they would remain quiet and stealthy.

[kita]

they should have vocal abilitys along with growling and what not but they should have sort of a lisp because truely you cant speak perfect english with a mouth of that shape

[Lurch]

I have been thinking about this more lately, and have decided that some speech is a must. Even if slurred a bit it is still better than subtitles. Wolves don't communicate much vocally, nor should werewolfes if they CAN'T TALK. *ahem* It makes no sense. I think even a little comedic relief is in order about trying to talk with a 8 inch tounge.

BTW, if the script is done, then why does this topic exist?

[NightmareHero]

With the exeption of perhaps a villain Werewolf, I think making people "run away" would usually be in the wolves best interest, so they probobly would growl.

Good point though. When sneaking up with the intention to attack, they would more likely be almost silent, save some shallow breathing.

Correct thinking.

[Silver]

[SGrayWolf]

Here's some information on canines and the reasons for vocal sounds. This is from the book "The Dogs Mind - Understanding Your Dog's Behavior" by Bruce Fogle, D.V.M, M.R.C.V.S.

Dogs make five basic sounds:

1) Infantile sounds - cry - whimper - whine
2) Warning sounds - bark - growl
3) Eliciting sounds - howl
4) Withdrawal sounds - yelp
5) Pleasure sounds - moan

As with scent, sounds can communicate individual, physiological and sexual information. Sophisticated analyses of wolf howls show that each howl is as unique as a fingerprint, that they are complicated sounds that probably serve several functions.

Communicating by sound has the obvious advantage of leaving the body free to do other things. A warning growl can be given as a dog positions himself to defend his territory. In the wild, sound communication had the advantage of not leaving a track for bigger predators, as scent communication does.

Growling however is an uncomplicated warning sound, often associated with warning facial and body expressions.

The howl is the classic elicting communication in dogs. Howling coordinates the pack members' spacing in their territory. Wolves howl to assemble the pack, pass on an alarm, locate each other, communicate personal information over vast distances, coordinate departures, reunions and movements and possibly to celebrate after the chase.

[ANTIcarrot.]

I explain away a furry's ability to talk bygiving them parret-throats. If they can generatesounds with a rigid beak, a similar mechanism should be able to generate understandable or even normal human speach with a muzzle.

The same might apply to a werewolf, especally one intended to represent the best of both worlds, as speach is one of the biggest advantages humans have over wolves.

ANTIcarrot.

[Scott Gardener]

Parrots, like other birds, have a syrinx instead of a larynx. It's a different structure anatomically, and it's a bit of a jump for a creature that's mix of wolf and human to have bird thrown in. OK, I do admit that shapeshifting is itself a stretch. (sorry, had to say it.)

However, dogs can talk. I've seen footage of dogs trained to say phrases like "I love you." It usually has a yowly quality, though occasionally it sounds more like a bark. In each case, though, the dog is learning to speak phonetically, like Bela Lugosi's dialogue in Dracula, but without neccessarily even Bela's advantage of knowing that he's speaking words. A werewolf with any inclination at all to speak would essentially by neccessity retain certain parts of human consciousness.

Speech requires two things: the right hardware and the right software. We've all run through our heads the hardware debate and generally concluded that with practice it might be doable, but it would sound funny, especially at first try. As far as the hardware goes, it's not just a matter of cognition. The human brain has two very sizable sections that have dedicated themselves to processing language--Brocca's and Weirnike's regions. If either of these go out, such as after a stroke or a brain injury, the person looses speaking ability. Brocca's region handles blunt processing--think of it as the software driver for the tongue and mouth for the OS of the brain. Wernike's region handles meaning; if it goes out, the stroke victim or injured individual also loses the ability to understand others.

But, I've generally thought of werewolf stories with extensive dialogue in hybrid animal form as a bit cheesy. My werewolves in my extensive present and future timeline stories limit their dialogue in hybrid animal form to short statements like "I've shifted and I can't stand upright," until around the 22nd century, when both technology and language itself has changed enough to make it work smoothly.

It may be tempting to say that these two parts of the brain are part of what has to go in squeezing a 1400 milliliter brain into a 400 milliliter space, but there's a big problem with that idea; it takes years to grow the neurons right and develop speech and language. If a shapeshifter had to give those parts of the brain up with the first shift, he or she would have to spend the next few years babbling like a toddler again.

[mielikkishunt]

[Aki]

[Figarou]

In the inbetween form, the speech, IMHO< should be hard to understand, lots of rolling of the r's, harsh sounding. . .

R's?

Hehe....

So, Werewolves talking like Scooby Doo then?

No, rolling of the "R's" is not talking like Scooby Doo. Its common in the spanish language. (Thats if mielikkishunt is refering to the spanish language. If not, carry on then.)

[Aki]

So, spanish Werewolves then....

...

Hehe....

[Figarou]

So, spanish Werewolves then....

...

Hehe....

I wonder how a spanish werewolf would sound like if he/she was growling?


GRRR *rolls R* RRRR *rolls R* RRR *rolls R*

[mielikkishunt]

not talking like scooby doo, but gutteral sounding. . i speak german, not spanish LOL The rolling of the R's. .

[Figarou]

Heh, thought I'd bring this back up to the top because I have a question.

Humans can have different tones when talking. Some may have a deep voice while others have a high pitched voice.


Now, if a human with a high pitched voice becomes a werewolf, will he have a high pitched voice as a werewolf?


How about a human with a deep voice? Will it be even deeper as a werewolf?

[Scott Gardener]

It depends on the size factor. If you go with conservation of mass, (that is, if Officer Newton doesn't have to issue a citation for violating the first law of thermodynamics), then you'll shift mass proportionately, which means your voice might deepen by an octave, or it might stay the same.

A 160 lb. wolf (160 lbs, or about 70 kg, is fairly typical of human weight in a physically fit individual) would have a fairly deep voice.

[Figarou]

It depends on the size factor. If you go with conservation of mass, (that is, if Officer Newton doesn't have to issue a citation for violating the first law of thermodynamics), then you'll shift mass proportionately, which means your voice might deepen by an octave, or it might stay the same.

A 160 lb. wolf (160 lbs, or about 70 kg, is fairly typical of human weight in a physically fit individual) would have a fairly deep voice.

size factor of the person?

I thought it had to do with the size of the throat. I've seen heavy people with a high pitched voice and light people with a deep voice.

That singer with The Oak Ridge Boys has a very deep voice. And he is not a big person.