# what do other animals say?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-other-animals-say/58075>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 15, 2001, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-other-animals-say/58075 "2001-03-15T09:16:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-other-animals-say/58075/1 "2001-03-15T09:16:35Z")

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We all now what common animals say in English. I think the list includes dogs, cats, horses, sheep, goats, ducks, chicks, turkeys, donkeys and pigs. But every now and then my kids will ask me what other animals say – like rabbits.  
For rabbits, I’ll sometimes joke “What’s up doc”, but they don’t really get it. And for giraffes “Hello down there”.

My question is, do other languages have animal sounds for those animals that have no “official” sounds in English?

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**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-other-animals-say/58075/2 "2001-03-15T09:24:28Z")

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Je ne sais pas (Babblefish translates this to “hee haw” but  
I think it loses a little in the process)

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-other-animals-say/58075/3 "2001-03-15T13:41:53Z")

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Ah ha! I knew Cecil had a column on this.

[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950505a.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950505a.html)

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**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-other-animals-say/58075/4 "2001-03-15T14:08:57Z")

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That reminds me of a cartoon I liked, a one-panel entitled “If dogs could talk.” It shows a dog barking, and a speech balloon over it’s head gives the translation:

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!”