October 4, 2024, 11:40 am | Read time: 3 minutes
When people talk to each other, they want to be understood. The same applies when we speak to our pets. But it doesn’t always seem to work. Speaking slowly to dogs could make understanding much easier, at least according to a study from Switzerland.
Some owners believe that their dogs understand almost every word they say to them. Although we now know that even the most talented dogs can only learn around 300 words, our communication with them could soon become much more effective, namely by simply speaking more slowly with our dogs, according to a study.
Different communication between species
When two people talk, the structure is pretty clear. One articulates words and the other hears them and reacts to what is said. This form of communication is learned in humans and has also been passed on socially over thousands of years.
But how do we best communicate with another species, such as our dogs? Even if the animals like us and respond well to some commands and words, it is still difficult to communicate with them effectively. This is why Eloïse Déaux from the University of Geneva and her colleagues took a closer look at the question of how dogs can understand us (even) better.
First, the researchers looked at how communication differs between humans and dogs. Dogs seem to produce their sounds much more slowly than humans. On average, according to the study, they make a maximum of two verbal utterances per second, such as a “growl” and a “woof.” Humans, on the other hand, speak to each other with up to four meaning units (syllables) per second. For dogs, however, this rapid succession of sounds seems too fast for effective understanding.
Humans use language directed at dogs
Earlier studies have already shown that humans are very aware of this fact. Among other things, we involuntarily speak an easier and much more articulate language with dogs than we would with humans. In many respects, “dog-directed language” is similar to that directed at small children although we are aware that dogs have a lower level of language awareness than humans.
The latest study now shows that slow speech with dogs is also one of these adaptations. Thirty dogs and 27 human test subjects were examined. Using audio and video recordings, the researchers determined the number of syllables in speech situations between humans in five different languages.
The various “woofs” and other reactions of the dogs were also determined to the millisecond. In addition, the dogs were trained to wear an EEG so that the researchers could observe how their brain activity appeared.
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Dogs react noticeably to slow speech
Based on the recorded brain activity, the scientists were able to clearly see that dogs were able to process words spoken slowly much better. This was also reflected in the animals’ behavior when they reacted to certain words.
Another finding was that humans did this automatically, without being instructed to speak more slowly by the scientists. The measurably slower speech seems to have been established in interaction with dogs for a long time.
“Our results also support the hypothesis that humans have adapted their voice production to exploit the neuronal (auditory) capacities of dogs,” the study states. It is, therefore, now clear that canine speech has a slower rhythm and is similar to the rate at which dogs produce sounds. The researchers were also able to prove that the signals between two species subconsciously adapt to the capacities of the other. 1