Augmentative interspecific communication (AIC) from zoosemiotic perspective. Perspectives of canine-human communication via talking buttons.

Abstract

This contribution puts reflections on the issue of interspecies communication between human and dogs. It employs an interdisciplinary approach to understanding an intersemiotic translation between human and animals, especially in the case of domestic or companion animals which have adapted to human-animal communication so far.

The first part of the contribution deals with interspecies communication between dogs and human. The second part focuses on human-canine interspecies communication from a zoosemiotics perspective. It presents the theories of T. A. Sebeok, Charles Peirce and others in the context of interspecies communication. The last part presents talking button, which is an augmentative interspecific communication device. This section includes transcripts of specific conversations between owners and their dogs using talking buttons.

Although most dog owners can interpret dog's messages quite accurately, they cannot be sure i.e., why the dog is sad, where he is hurting or who he misses. Although dogs can understand many different words from human, they are no longer able to give a response to that extent with their limited means of expression. Talking dog buttons are a form of augmentative interspecies communication devices, which aim to help nonhuman animals communicate in language-like ways. Although dogs and other animals can understand the words we say, with customizable talking buttons dogs can say words too.