Animal Languages - Readings

Description

'A rich compendium of incidents, anecdotes and studies illustrating the linguistic abilities of animals . . . a rewarding book' Sunday Times Dolphins and parrots call each other by their names. Fork tailed drongos mimic the calls of other animals to scare them away and then steal their dinner. In the songs of many species of birds, and in skin patterns of squid, we find grammatical structures . . . If you are lucky, you might meet an animal that wants to talk to you. If you are even luckier, you might meet an animal that takes the time and effort to get to know you. Such relationships can teach us not only about the animal in question, but also about language and about ourselves. From how prairie dogs describe intruders in detail -- including their size, shape, speed and the colour of their hair and T-shirts -- to how bats like to gossip, to the impressive greeting rituals of monogamous seabirds, Animal Languages is a fascinating and philosophical exploration of the ways animals communicate with each other, and with us. Researchers are discovering that animals have rich and complex languages with grammatical and structural rules that allow them to strategise, share advice, give warnings, show love and gossip amongst themselves. Animal Languages will reveal this surprising hidden social life and show you how to talk with the animals.

About the Author

Born in 1980, Eva Meijer is an artist, writer, philosopher and singer-songwriter.She works in different media, ranging from performance art, music theatre, installations, video's, drawings and photographs to toys for pigs.Eva released four albums and two EP's, and she played concerts in The Netherlands, England and the US (NYC, Texas, California). More information and music can be found here.Her first novel Het schuwste dier (Prometheus) was published in 2011 and was nominated for the Academica Literatuurprijs, the Gouden Boekenuil and the Vrouw&Proza DebuutPrijs. Short stories and poems have been published in Dutch and Belgian literary magazines, such as De Revisor, Tirade and De Brakke Hond. Her second novel Dagpauwoog was published in November 2013.Eva is working on a PhD project in philosophy, titled 'Political Animal Voices', at the University of Amsterdam. She also has a weblog (in Dutch, but with drawings and photographs) and she plays many shows.