I spoke Na'vi to my cat
 

Congratulations :P

awesome

I wonder what the cat was thinking. :P

"Skxawng"

- Mikko

Brilliant :)

Animals can pick up words if they are used around them enough, there's no requirement for them to all be the same language.

I "talk" to my cat all the time, growls, meows and the like. She talks back! We sometimes talk for a good five minutes or so. No I am not crazy.

I started weaving various Na'vi "curses" into my daily vocabulary. Of course I am also fond of shouting, bugger, bollacks, Frell(Farscape), Gorram/Shiny/Ruttin(Firefly), and Frakk(Battlestar Galatica) so its nothing that special.

Yay!! The cat might of stood to attention. ;)
Speaking of cats..

http://images.cheezburger.com/comple...8988720126.jpg

I lol'd. :D

funny thing, I found that talking Feline to my cat gives much better results than talking Human. This was quite a while before Avatar; it logically inspired me for more "cattalk". When the cat is naughty I hiss & raise my "paw" she drops & keeps her ears tight. She understands "hissssssssss" much better than "Bad cat!" To show her that I am happy I... purr. & the cat purrs back. It's funny to try to talk the other being's language. Sometimes the cat has the air of being condescending (imho): she looks like, "Your accent is awful but don't worry - I understand. Keep practicing & one day you'll "speak" fine Feline..." :P

whahahaahaha! :xD: excellent!

Making cat sounds actually makes sense. They can't understand human language (although they can build associations with specific words, such as their name - when saying not to do something, they pick up on the tone of voice and body language), while they communicate with each other in terms of general feelings rather than a language, which are easier for a human to pick up on the cues and transmit back.

Here's a slightly different take at the cat vs. Neyney theme... looks like this kitty indeed was her mimics coach :D

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/avatar/catoohhhh.gif

About talking to cats: I did that too, when growing up with them... it's fun to have a dialogue with cats, really. And it's mostly the tone of voice rather than the words that makes them respond. So, shouting "Kehe!" indeed works, if it's with the same tone as shouting "No!". ;)

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

You know what I find interesting & cute? when the cat is taking care of... me: she would bring me a mouse or a bird that she had killed & look up with an air of: "Here, have something to eat... See, i take care of you! Ain't I a good cat!" :xD:
Like EywaBlessMe's cat, she lives in the street & comes occasionally to say "hi" or "miaow", & see if she can get something to eat. But sometimes it's the other way around & she brings me "lunch". I guess she thinks that the garden, the porch, the armchair on it, & me in it actually belong to her! :shock:
I am a hippy peace & love person, & I don't really like anybody killed - & certainly not a dead mouse on my porch. "Let nobody be dead today, it will look very bad on my report!" But what to do! The cat is a predator, a hunter, she has the streets & the whole forest to play - & that's the way she shows she cares! So, what can I do? I purr :) she purrs back.

And I don't want to miss this out:
^^^this! it's SO natural now, isn't it. Like I said somewhere, rather than becoming a part of me, Avatar triggered some sort of reaction, & now I am like an alloy. I don't know where I end & when Avatar begins. "I don't even know who I am anymore... - & I pray in my heart that this world never ends!"

I have a cat named Na'vi. And three more. I've had cats for years now. I have the same experiences as apache.

cool! is the cat blue?

Stunning :D Once I yelled "Oiss !!" (@ Tsu'Tey - Ikran training scenes) at my dog for barking too loud at some neighbours xD

I've inadvertently commanded my dog around in german before, but never na'vi.

Well, if it's a German shepherd it might work...
*running for cover after throwing a bad pun*

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress...erds-sheep.jpg

Mit nackten Zehen wackelnd,

~*Txim Asawl*~

lol, part german shepherd, and loads of other breeds in the mix, one of which had webbed feet :D

Interestingly, a lot of dogs are actually trained in German for work purposes. Maybe it's easy for words to be understood rather than context/emotion like when people normally speak to animals in other languages.

German is excellent for commands; it has a lot of rhythm, if that's the right word. "Zurück! Halt! Hände hoch!" Yer man make no mistake - this is Not rock-n-roll :P

I once hissed at a little doggy - she was playing with her girl owner & wanted to follow me. I wanted it to stay behind, turned around, made big round eyes, "clawed" my fingers & hissed! - it came out very naturally, for that matter. The dog looked :shock:, said *oops* & quickly ran back to the girl for protection. She didn't know what to expect of a crazy hissing human :shock:

You hissing? :shock: It your hiss worst than your bite?:xD:

MOMS

wait till the moon is full... :shoop:

Oh, well, here's one of the clichés about my native tongue... unfortunately, just like the German shepherd, there are some connotations with German language and "typically German" things. Well, it's true, that German has a lot of monosyllabic words which are great as orders for dogs, such as "Sitz!" (sit. obviously), "Platz!" (lie down), "Fuß!" (heel) or "Fass!" (attack!)...

But my native language can do more, as past and contemporary love poetry clearly proves:


Secret Garden

komm nach Hause
und ohne fremdes Beigemisch
bewohnen wir uns innig
im geheimen Garten unserer Liebe

bring mich zum Schlafen
bevor du gehst
und lass mich den letzten Gedanken atmen
unter dem Blütenfall deiner Berührung

(by Christiane Herbst)

come home
and without strange admixture
we dwell in each other, deeply
in the secret garden of our love

make me fall asleep
before you leave
and let me breathe the last thought
under the falling blossoms of your touch

(translated by me... and not bad, either, I think).

OK, granted, love poems are not quite apt to be used as commands for dogs - but they're beautiful, aren't they? I hope I could dispel the myth of German only sounding good, when barked as orders.
;)

More German love poetry from the 16th to 20th century can be found here:
Deutsche Liebeslyrik

Maybe that dog had a cat phobia... I remember our black cat holding a Newfoundland dog at bay... that dog had been pawed and clawed on his nose by a cat once... dogs remember that and therefore hissing and claws can be a traumatic memory for dogs... even for big ones.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

oh goody no offense was intended! Sorry if I made you (& other Germans) feel bad. :( I like German because of its sound, I didn't say it was good only for orders! altho yes it is very "to the point" :P if it has to come to it.

Here is Ode to Joy poem - & Beethoven's music to it is one of the best masterpieces. It's beautiful! & you people have some wonderful musicians in Germany, so of course there is a lot of beauty & love, too!

Oh, no offense taken at all... I should have used more smilies to make the humorous nature of my reply somewhat clearer.
:D

I saw a TV report once about a dog searching for mold infestations in houses and apartments - dogs noses are not only great for searching drugs, money or explosives. That particular dog was trained in Denmark, therefore German commands wouldn't work for that one... different languages have their specialties when it comes to intonation and modulation.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

I have three, "Midnight", "Zula" and "Neytiri". I have spoken Na'vi (what limited vocabulary I have had the time to learn) and none of the cats seem impressed. HNM pretty much has the right idea, they recognise certain words mostly, the sounds of those words.
Neytiri is a "Sealpoint Siamese" with the deepest blue eyes I have ever seen. Those eyes earned her the name. Midnight is a "Balanese" (Kinda like a Siamese only very dark brown/black in colour) and Zula, A "Russian Blue" chases dragons down the stairs... This is a real sight to behold!

Tey'Kan

Oh, I am betting that it is! :D
Do you have any photos? I am curious to see what Russian Blue looks like... (arent' Russians supposed to be red?)