Can Humans Ever Truly Talk to Animals?

His little groans sound like squeaking hinges. With his wide eyes locked onto me, there’s no doubt what my 13-year-old dog, Mogwai, is trying to tell me: "5 p.m. It's time for dinner." I give him our hand signal for "no snacks" and his sulky huff tells me he understands that he has to wait a little longer.

It's clear him and I have found a way to communicate, but could we ever have a real conversation?

In Disney and Pixar’s new movie, Hoppers—now playing only in theaters—this dream becomes a reality for main character Mabel. When scientists discover how to “hop” human consciousness into animal-like robots so they can communicate with them, she tries out the technology and joins the animal world as a beaver. Her conversations with wild creatures uncover mysteries she could never have imagined.

But back in the real world, will it ever be possible for us to actually talk to animals? We spoke with a few animal communication experts to learn more about what's conceivable.

Some experts believe communication with animals may one day become possible.

Many other scientists around the world are also studying animal communication. Researchers have taught sign language to captive chimps, documented cuttlefish sending signals using arm gestures, and identified language-like whistles being used by bottlenose dolphins.

Based on these findings, some scientists believe that certain animals, such as dolphins and chimps, may be capable of learning human language. “If that's the case, we might be able to have conversations with trained animals,” says Arik Kershenbaum, a research fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge. But “we're pretty sure that no animals use language in the wild.”

Studying the ways different species communicate—through sight, sound, and scent—is challenging. Many species live in remote habitats, or even underwater, where it’s difficult to observe them; some also use a combination of signals at one time, making it hard to interpret them individually.

We can, however, pick up on dogs’ communication cues—such as posture, facial expressions, and vocalizations—because we spend so much time with them, and thousands of years of domestication have taught them to understand our commands. “In some ways, dogs have had that interspecies communication bred into them,” says Kershenbaum.

But having the ability to recognize words doesn't mean dogs can understand sentences or express sophisticated concepts; that, for now, seems unique to human language. “I don't think there's anything similar in the animal world,” says Yossi Yovel, a zoologist at Tel Aviv University and Chair of the Coller Dolittle Challenge for Interspecies Two-Way Communication. “If you expect to have a conversation with an animal like you and I are talking right now…well, maybe not.”

The sounds animals make, along with their posture and even their scents, can communicate important information to others of their species. This might include feelings—such as that they are hungry or afraid—as well as attracting mates or warning of danger.

Intelligent, highly social animals—like dogs, wolves, dolphins, whales, and primates—are more likely to have complex communication systems. “When you live in a social group, understanding the emotional state of other individuals is really important,” says Kershenbaum.

Yet many experts believe that even animals with sophisticated means of communication do not possess the capacity for language that includes grammar and the ability to convey complicated thoughts or abstract ideas.

Animals’ experience of the world is still alien to ours, which impacts understanding between us and them. “Other species have ways of expressing meaning that don’t map neatly to ours,” says Gruber. “Even if a lion used human words, its very different perceptual world and priorities would render its meaning opaque to us.”

As the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once suggested, speech alone can’t create meaning because our experiences and the context of our lives are so different.

Despite all of this, progress is being made in decoding animal vocalizations and ascribing meaning to them.

Many scientists are excited about AI’s ability to spot subtle patterns in animal communication that humans struggle to see—particularly using deep learning models. “We are on the cusp of being able to hear and translate the millions of other species we inhabit the world with on a new level,” says Gruber.

Noticing slight differences between sounds is just the first step to understanding what variations might mean. “Only the dolphin will tell you whether those differences mean different things,” says Kershenbaum.

Brain scans could help, but they come with logistical challenges. “Having an animal trained to sit quietly in an MRI machine is hardly a natural environment,” he says.

The experts all see the benefits of human-animal communication, such as understanding the needs of pets, livestock, and wild animals, or improving conservation by learning new ways to protect animals and their habitats. “Imagine understanding when a whale is stressed or signaling danger,” says Gruber.

He believes that, although there’s a long way to go, “we will someday be able to carefully understand—and potentially communicate with—animals in their own language.”

But Yovel and Kershenbaum aren’t so sure. “They don't talk,” says Yovel. “We will not be able to talk with them in the way that we usually refer to talking.”

Even if we can’t have a conversation with them, studying animal communication can reveal much about the lives of certain species. “As much as we would love to talk to all of the animals in the world, the reality is that the vast majority of them don't need language, and so don't bother with it,” says Kershenbaum. “Those who really do benefit from complex communication,” such as wolves and whales, “they're the ones that we should be looking at.”