> [mailto:CONLANG@listserv.brown.edu] On Behalf Of Matthew Martin
be
> restricted to phonemes that real house cats actually use. (And
yes, I
> know real cats use them in the context of instinctive signals, not
> human like language and probably can't use their phonemes to
create or
> learn new words)
As the owner of 7 of the little critters, I've thought about this
idea myself. I have even seen a feline conlang on the net before
(don't have a URL. it was a long time ago).
I have one cat that I could almost swear understands English. When
I talk to him he acts like he knows what I'm saying, including
taking a leap off the roof one time after I told him I wasn't going
up to get him.
> In my references I have to links that say linguists have
identified
> 15-23 phonemes [1] [2] that cats use-- but unfortunately no tidy
> lists, at least none I can find for free on the net.
>
> I have a lousy ear for IPA sounds, especially outside of my native
> tongue, can anyone on the list suggest a list of IPA phonemes that
> they have heard cats use?
I'm not sure IPA applies well to non-human sounds.
Let's see:
laryngeal trill (=purring) /R:/??
"meow" sounds more like [N_jao] to me.
Strange two-tone sound they make when they jump up on the
desk and want to greet me.
hiss /h:/
I'll have to work on the others.