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Re: Morse Code, Silbo and Whistled languages

From:Arthaey Angosii <arthaey@...>
Date:Thursday, January 6, 2005, 19:50
In the interest of on-topic posts... :)

Emaelivpeith Gary Shannon:
> All this led me to wonder about a language (from some > alien civilization, obviously) devised by a > civilization that had no vocal chords, but carried > around little two-tone or three-tone penny whistles to > talk with. > > Just idle ruminations at this point. But it's an > interesting thought.
Quite interesting. I like the idea of having a species that is cognitively capable of language but that lacks the physiology to produce it. Requiring some object to communicate *at all* (as opposed to needing special apparatus only for long-distance communication) could make for an unusual conculture. Does anyone know of Earth animals without vocal cords that still make a wide range of sounds? One website suggested whales and some dinosaurs. -- AA