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Re: ¿Q?: if certain animals could speak...

From:Nokta Kanto <red5_2@...>
Date:Monday, December 23, 2002, 5:21
On Sun, 22 Dec 2002 03:08:07 EST, J Y S Czhang <czhang23@...> wrote:

> For a possible sci-fi short story I will be writing * , I was
wondering
>what possible sounds (phonemes) these following "genetically mutated" >animal-humanoids would be capable of - considering their respective
mouth
>shapes (somewhat betwixt human and animal): > > pygmy chimpanzee-humanoids [_Homo luden Pan paniscus_] >... their name for themselves (both _hommage_ and boastful play on
words):
>"Good-alls" (disparagingly called "bonzos") > > cat-humanoids [_Homo luden Cattus (talkative Siamese, of course ;)_] >... name given to them that they liked: "Bella-Pella" {beauty-fur} > > wolf-dog-humanoids [Homo luden Lupus-Canus_ (timber wolf-German
Shephard
>mix)] ... self-proclaimed "Uldhedhnari" or "Harii" (disparagingly called >"werewolves" and "fidos") > > * the story involves a multi-generational spaceship in 2369 CE... In >order to save certain animal DNA without taking up ultra-valuable space
on
>the ship (and also to utilize/exploit some excellent animal
physiological,
>mental and emotional character traits), mutant "homizoid crew members"
are
>lab-created by "piggy-backing" and "splicing" animal DNA onto human DNA. >
Chimpanzees sometimes vocalize both inhaling and exhaling, the chimp-hybrids might choose to do that as well, probably only for word-initial or word-final consonants. I think the cat and dog hybrids may have trouble with labial and lip-rounded sounds, especially if they have cleft upper lips like genuine animals of the order Carnivora. With their long flexible tongues, they will probably have a larger set of consonants in the range between velar and dental to compensate. I imagine that the cats, at least, would have an interesting set of retroflex liquids with the tongue tip curled down. ---- "Everyone's different, except me." --Noktakanto