Vocalizations

[Scott Gardener]

I meant to clarify--yes, size of the throat. If a wolf and a human have the same mass, odds are, the wolf will have a bigger throat, and the human will have a smaller neck and jaw as well.

[WolvenOne]

Yeah I'm pretty sure the ability to growl is independent of size, most dogs are smaller then the average human being and can growl just fine.

[Vicious]

We seem to established that growling while hunting is a no no.

Our werewolves likely have enough intelligence for language, though human like speach seem awkward at best.

I would assume the vocal and body language cues of actual wolves would suffice most of the time, with rather stressed english in certain situations to convey fairly complex mesages.

Couldn't any species with sufficeint brain power form thier own full language?

[Lupin]

Yeah I'm pretty sure the ability to growl is independent of size, most dogs are smaller then the average human being and can growl just fine.

Yep. I have an 11-pound cat that can be mistaken for a truck going by outside when she growls.

We seem to established that growling while hunting is a no no.

They could always growl for other things.

grrrrr...

Translation: We appear to be out of cereal again.

grrrrRRRRRRRR...

Translation: My television show was pre-empted during an important plot point.

grrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...*CRASH*

Translation: The computer just stopped operating properly and so I felt it was necessary to remove it from the desk.

[hydrocarbon]

Or:

grrrRR-- *schlorkscrumfomnomnom* = the pizza boy short-changed me but I will eat my pepperoni feast anyway.

[Vehemori]

I would assume the vocal and body language cues of actual wolves would suffice most of the time, with rather stressed english in certain situations to convey fairly complex mesages.

Werewolves might be able to whisper something understandable...


*hhGrr Grr mmrr grhh*



*whisper*

[Scott Gardener]

I would expect whispering to be even harder than plain talking.

But, in theory, werewolves should actually be able to talk. Just not very well, particularly at first, and not in great Shakespearean orations.

Going back to the talking dogs--usually they're trained to say a simple phrase, like "I love you." It sounds like a bark, but it also sounds like the words. A human brain, however, includes a lot of space dedicated to language that the trained dogs don't have. So, goal-oriented speech aiming for a specific sound would likely be better than the dogs on "America's Stupidist Home Videos." But, a werewolf who can speak smoothly and fluidly like in so many werewolf fan stories might be in the same league as the lady in Cirque du Soleil's Allegria, who can bend her feet over her head while doing four hula hoops--someone with an exceptional talent.

If you want to get really out-there, you could suggest that those areas of the brain go away with shifting. The problem then is explaining how they come back. Viruses generally can't cram hundreds of terabites of neurological pattern information into a secret hiding place and then decompress it back into the brain. Anything complex enough to do that would work more efficiently just leaving the neural pathways intact and finding other ways to shrink the brain.

With that in mind, if there's enough werewolves in the world to have a society, there would be a tendancy to work around speech problems, inventing some sort of language, such as gestures with the ears. (Picture Monty Python's Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights.)

And now for something completely different, Freeborn on an Aldus Lamp...

Flash! Flash! Flash-flash! Flash! (subtitle: "You can't take her with you, Jack.")

Flash! Flash-flash! Flash! (subtitle: "I'm not going to leave her behind!")

[Vilkacis]

If you want to get really out-there, you could suggest that those areas of the brain go away with shifting. The problem then is explaining how they come back. Viruses generally can't cram hundreds of terabites of neurological pattern information into a secret hiding place and then decompress it back into the brain. Anything complex enough to do that would work more efficiently just leaving the neural pathways intact and finding other ways to shrink the brain.

If we wanted to go with that idea, rather than say those parts of the brain would go away, I would favor the idea that the neural pathways to those areas are overridden, and the electrical signal hijacked elsewhere. When one shifts back, the offending 'short-circuits' recede and the original connection is left unhindered. I doubt it's any more physically possible, but it sounds much better to me than the idea of losing / regrowing parts of the brain.

Ultimately, though, I would prefer to think that the brain is left untouched as much as possible, and that all that information would be left freely available.

With that in mind, if there's enough werewolves in the world to have a society, there would be a tendancy to work around speech problems, inventing some sort of language, such as gestures with the ears. (Picture Monty Python's Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights.)

As far as speech goes, I would have to agree that I think werewolves should be able to manage at least a passable resemblence of human speech, given an appropriate amount of practice. They might have difficulty, for example, expressing some of the tones and inflections that lend subtlety to the spoken word (it might not be unlike written communication in that manner -- for example, on this board it can sometimes be difficult to determine someone's mood). For this purpose, they would likely adapt body-language to express these things (like emoticons, perhaps -- visual emotion markers). However, I think the adaptations would be mostly intuitive, and complex communication would likely not occur solely by body-language (one could create a system to do so, but it would be unlikely that any would bother with it unless lycanthropy were really common).

And now for something completely different, Freeborn on an Aldus Lamp...

Flash! Flash! Flash-flash! Flash! (subtitle: "You can't take her with you, Jack.")

Flash! Flash-flash! Flash! (subtitle: "I'm not going to leave her behind!")

The light... so pretty... must watch...

-- Vilkacis

[Figarou]

Ah....but aren't you guys forgeting something? The human language also consists the use of the tongue and lips.

If the human brain is still intact as a werewolf, then he/she will know how to use the tongue to produce certain words.


Now...say the alphabet to yourself outloud. Imagine yourself with a muzzle of a wolf while producing these letters. Examine the postion of the tongue and lips. Which ones will be easy to pronounce? Which will be difficult?

I got to the letter "F" and thought....."Hmmmmm....werewolves has fangs. It could interfere with the pronunciation of that letter."

[Kzinistzerg]

It's aslo the vocal cords. Our voicebox is MADE to convey language, animals have them for their own reasons. For some, making certain sounds conveys meaning, (certain monkeys have sounds that mean "run! a lepoard!" or "gaaa! monkey-eating birds!") for some it's a mating call, for tohers it's warnhing or challenge, and for some it's a mark of territory. For still others it's a wqay of rudimentary communication. in any case, they're not built the same way.

[Wolfess]

I believe werewolves would be able to say some few words in human language, or simple sentences. Like "Wow, a cat", "Leave this place", "I love you" or something.

It's because I saw this husky on Animal Planet. I can't remember her name, but she could pronounce a few quite understandable sentences. The one I remember best was "I love Ira!", which was the owner of the dog. Another 'talking dog' is Lupus - a husky/malamute cross. His first word was "NO!" (and yes, he meant it) and his first phrase: "Hi there!"

So, if dogs can 'talk' a little, werewolves should be able too.