ANIMAL MAGIC
A Dolphin and an Astronomer
One day in 1963, a
dolphin called Elvar and a
famous astronomer, Carl
Sagan, were playing a little
game. The astronomer was
visiting an institute which
was investigating how
dolphins communicate with
each other. Sagan was
standing near one of the
pools where some of these
friendly, intelligent animals
were swimming. EIvar turned on his back.
The dolphin wanted Sagan to scratch his stomach again, as the astronomer had done
twice before. Elvar looked up at Sagan, waiting. Then, after a minute, the dolphin
jumped up through the water and made a sound just like the word 'more'. The
astronomer went to the director of the institute and told him about the incident. 'Oh,
yes. That's one of the words he knows,' the director said, showing no surprise at all.
Dolphins have bigger brains in proportion to their body size than humans have, and
we know that they can make a number of sounds. We also know that these sounds
have different functions, such as warning each other of danger. Sound travels much
faster and much further in water than it does in air. That is why the parts of the brain
that deal with sound are much better developed in dolphins than in humans. But can
we say that dolphins have a 'language'? Scientists don't agree on this.
A language is not just a collection of sounds, or words. A language has a structure
and what we call a grammar. The structure and grammar of a language help to give it
meaning. For example, the two questions 'Who loves Mary?' and 'Who does Mary
love?' mean very different things. You can see that this difference doesn't come from
the words the question but from the difference in structure. That is why the question
'So, can dolphins speak?' is difficult to answer, because we do not know if they use
grammar.
Comprehension Questions
1. What happened when Carl Sagan was playing with the dolphins?
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2. Why are dolphins’ brains different from ours?
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3. What makes language different from other forms of communication?
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4. What are dolphins like?
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VOCABULARY
How do animals communicate with each other and with us?
Bees buzz.
Birds chirp.
pían.
Cats mew/meow.
Cats purr.
Cocks crow.
Cows moo.
Dogs bark.
Dogs growl.
Duck quack.
Elephants trumpet.
Flies buzz.
Horses neigh.
Hyenas laugh.
Lions roar.
Pigs grunt.
Sheep bleat.
Las abejas zumban.
Los pájaros gorjean /
Los gatos maúllan.
Los gatos ronronean.
Los gallos cantan.
Las vacas mugen.
Los perros ladran.
Los perros gruñen.
Los patos graznan.
Los elefantes barritan.
Las moscas zumban.
Los caballos relinchan.
Las hienas aúllan /ríen.
Los leones rugen.
Los cerdos gruñen.
Las ovejas balan.
Onomatopoeic sounds:
English
Spanish equivalent
woof (dogs)
guau (perros)
meow (cats)
miau (gatos)
oink (pigs)
oinc (cerdos)
moo (cows)
mu (vacas)
baa (sheep)
be (ovejas)
cock-a-doodle-doo (cocks)
kikirikí / quiquiriquí (gallos)
tweet-tweet (birds)
pío pío (pájaros)
A PROVERB
What does this proverb mean?
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”
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A Traditional Nursery Rhyme
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full;
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.[
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBnLuOmYML0
OPERA
Cat Duet
The Duetto buffo di due gatti ("humorous duet for two cats") is a popular
performance piece for two sopranos which is often performed as a concert encore.
The "lyrics" are unusual, consisting entirely of the repeated word "miau" ("meow").
The piece is typically attributed to Gioachino Rossini, it was not written by him, but is a
compilation written in 1825 that draws principally on his 1816 opera, Otello. The
compiler was probably the English composer Robert Lucas de Pearsall, who used the
pseudonym "G. Berthold".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtyq-Fy9NTY&feature=related
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