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Bilingual Animal

 Bilingual Animal
type
FeatureClass
 Bilingual Animal
label
Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal
page
BilingualAnimal
 Bilingual Animal
comment
In real life, animals have languages but they obviously don't speak English or any human language.note  The exception is a few African grey parrots, who have been taught to use words meaningfully to a certain extent. Gorillas and chimpanzees have also been taught to communicate using sign language. Nevertheless, fictional animals are often shown as being able to speak to humans. However, there may be times when an animal character, who has previously been established as having the ability to speak to humans, is also shown speaking to other animals. This trope makes it clear to the audience that the animal really is speaking English and it's not just realistic animal noises being translated into English. If not, it's human speech being translated into English.
One gag involving the Bilingual Animal is a variation on Baby's First Words where a baby animal either learns to communicate with humans after exclusively using Animal Talk or learns the animal language when previously it could only communicate with humans.
Bilingual Animals can also serve as interpreters between humans and animals and a Silly Animal Sound might be treated as them speaking a "foreign language". In some cases, the animal can't speak a human language but knows how to write, like Snoopy in Peanuts or Charlotte in Charlotte's Web.
If an animal makes its "natural" sounds instead, that's a Furry Reminder. Compare Speaks Fluent Animal for when a human can speak both human and animal languages.
 Bilingual Animal
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2024-03-17T23:47:40Z
 Bilingual Animal
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2024-03-17T23:47:40Z
 Bilingual Animal
processingComment
Dropped link to AnimalTalk: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Bilingual Animal
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DBTropes
 Bilingual Animal / int_3d642b10
type
Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_3d642b10
comment
Harry's Mad: Being an African Gray Parrot, Madison (or Mad) is fully capable of speaking English (though he has a pronounced American accent and has to remember that Americans and the English use different words for the same thing), but after returning home and meeting the family's other parrot Fweddy, reminds the Holdman family that he can also speak fluent parrot. He uses his talents to help Fweddy learn better English.
 Bilingual Animal / int_3d642b10
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1.0
 Bilingual Animal / int_3d642b10
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1.0
 Harry's Mad
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Bilingual Animal / int_3d642b10
 Bilingual Animal / int_468bebb0
type
Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_468bebb0
comment
Discworld: Recurring character Gaspode the Wonder Dog learned to speak Morporkian (i.e. English) via magic, but has no trouble speaking to other dogs, or even wolves. On several occasions, he acts as a cross-species translator.
 Bilingual Animal / int_468bebb0
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1.0
 Bilingual Animal / int_468bebb0
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1.0
 Discworld
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Bilingual Animal / int_468bebb0
 Bilingual Animal / int_503d5009
type
Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_503d5009
comment
Ayakashi Triangle: Shirogane is a cat that became a sapient, talking ayakashi, but he's occasionally shown he can speak to regular cats as well.
 Bilingual Animal / int_503d5009
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1.0
 Bilingual Animal / int_503d5009
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1.0
 Ayakashi Triangle (Manga)
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Bilingual Animal / int_503d5009
 Bilingual Animal / int_525c9c7a
type
Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_525c9c7a
comment
Dinotopia:
Bix and others of her subspecies, Protoceratops Multilinguis, can speak both human and saurian languages and act as translators. Chaz is another of this species who pops up in the novels. The film and T.V. series replaces them with a multilingual Troodon.
One of the digest novels, Windchaser, has a Skybax with the unique ability to speak to humans. It hurts his throat, though.
 Bilingual Animal / int_525c9c7a
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1.0
 Bilingual Animal / int_525c9c7a
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 Dinotopia
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Bilingual Animal / int_525c9c7a
 Bilingual Animal / int_750ce27d
type
Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_750ce27d
comment
The Golden Hamster Saga:
Freddy the hamster is a downplayed example. He can't speak like a human, but he can read and type, which allows him to translate for the other animals.
Freddy's Final Quest has Tjark the robotic hamster, who's programmed to speak many human languages and picks up Interanimal in minutes. He can translate more quickly than Freddy and doesn't need a computer to do it, so when the protagonists time travel to the Middle Ages, Tjark talks to humans and translates dialogue in Old French or Old Arabic for the other animals. Once they get back to the present day, he becomes the guinea pigs' translator so they can perform their skits for a human audience.
 Bilingual Animal / int_750ce27d
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1.0
 Bilingual Animal / int_750ce27d
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 The Golden Hamster Saga
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Bilingual Animal / int_750ce27d
 Bilingual Animal / int_79620aaa
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Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_79620aaa
comment
In Sandra and Woo, Woo the raccoon and his kits is uniquely capable of talking to both humans and animals.
 Bilingual Animal / int_79620aaa
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 Bilingual Animal / int_79620aaa
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 Sandra and Woo (Webcomic)
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Bilingual Animal / int_79620aaa
 Bilingual Animal / int_9d10bcab
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Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_9d10bcab
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Garfield's Judgement Day: This book reveals that all of the neighborhood animals can speak to humans, but have always chosen not to do to a "rule". They consider breaking the rule to warn their owners about the impending disaster.
 Bilingual Animal / int_9d10bcab
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 Bilingual Animal / int_9d10bcab
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 Garfield's Judgement Day
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Bilingual Animal / int_9d10bcab
 Bilingual Animal / int_a131f925
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Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_a131f925
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In 101 Dalmatian Street, Animal Talk is played entirely straight while at one point, dialogue suggests that understanding humans is like learning a second language for them. A human character is shown having learned to at least speak dog, unfortunately for the Dalmatian family, as he's an antagonist.
 Bilingual Animal / int_a131f925
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1.0
 Bilingual Animal / int_a131f925
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 101 Dalmatian Street
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Bilingual Animal / int_a131f925
 Bilingual Animal / int_fd191ee0
type
Bilingual Animal
 Bilingual Animal / int_fd191ee0
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In Charlotte's Web, most of the animals can only speak in Animal Talk, but Charlotte the Spider can write words in her web and thus communicate with humans.
 Bilingual Animal / int_fd191ee0
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1.0
 Bilingual Animal / int_fd191ee0
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 Charlotte's Web
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Bilingual Animal / int_fd191ee0

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Bilingual Animal
processingCategory2
Animal Tropes
 Bilingual Animal
processingCategory2
Language Tropes
 The Great Muppet Caper / int_fec700da
type
Bilingual Animal
 Charlie and Lola / int_fec700da
type
Bilingual Animal
 Discworld / int_fec700da
type
Bilingual Animal
 Garfield's Judgement Day / int_fec700da
type
Bilingual Animal
 Harry's Mad / int_fec700da
type
Bilingual Animal
 The Golden Hamster Saga / int_fec700da
type
Bilingual Animal
 Bumble / int_fec700da
type
Bilingual Animal
 Infinity Train / int_fec700da
type
Bilingual Animal