Re: CHAT: Using cats for practice

James Campbell wrote:

> Oh dear, this was meant to be a daft posting (with a practical point to
> make). Looks like I'd better explain myself...
>
> On the subject of conversation with cats, I wrote:
>
> > * It is essentially one-sided,
>
> Diana responded:
>
> > don't be too sure of that.  i defer to sally's expert opinion.
> ...and now adds her own oh dear as she isn't sure it was clear she had her
> tongue firmly embedded in cheek.  however, reading further between the lines,
> i recognize the tendency which i share to put some of embed some of one's
> truly "serious" thoughts in gratuitous fun.
your comments, all of them, have clearly stirred the gratuitous fun instinct,
with the really fascinating "serious" thoughts coming out as well.  and the
bamboo thread.
ta,
the resident dingbat

>
> Okay... I've been offlist for most of this year, so there may have been
> discussions that didn't reach me, but I assume this is Sally Caves. IIRC,
> we had an interesting onlist chat about the subject of feline vocalization
> (and their other methods of communication) some while ago, and we agree on
> much. I've tried before to work out my cats' vocabularies. The "essentially
> one-sided" comment, now I think about it, reflects my own limited
> understanding of what they're trying to tell me. I'm *positive* that
> there's loads of detail in what they say that goes way over my head. :) The
> conversation's one-sided because of *me* (although, dare I say it, the cat
> probably misses most of the detail in what I say to her).
>
> > please don't confuse "ambiguous" for "subtle"  or "highly metaphorical,
> in a
> > slippery sort of way"
>
> Quite correct, Diana... although, of course, being the dim non-feline I am,
> I misinterpret that which is, in fact, subtle as being unclear. Shame
> really. If only I could understand properly...
>
> Carlos added:
>
> > I would disagree at some extent... most cats I've meet including my own
> > little son, are either asking for food, marking me as territory, looking
> at
> > my fingers for a surprising attact or asleep.  Not very receptive to make
> a
> > one-sided dialog.  (I guess my girlfriend is having the same problem
> speaking
> > to me... )
>
> Point taken, but it depends on the cat. It seems as if the more you speak
> to your cat, the more s/he will communicate in return, and the relationship
> grows. One of my cats (by which I mean, of course, one of the cats which
> has chosen to tolerate my company) is either asleep on shelves or off out,
> so we don't talk much; the other, however, prefers to hang around, sitting
> on my lap or keyboard or snuggling up to another member of the family, and
> she talks all the time, looking directly at you and positively encouraging
> communication.
>
> Sorry, I've rambled on there a bit (hence the topic tag). I still think
> it's useful to talk to the cat, when practising a conlang.
>
> James
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> + James Campbell            + Zeugma: http://www.zeugma.force9.co.uk    +
> + james@zeugma.force9.co.uk + Jameld: http://www.zeugma.force9.co.uk/zm +
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++