Topicalization In Moundsbar—Metalleus SpecGram Vol CLI, No 3 Contents Human Children, Even More So Than Dolphins, Recognize Names—Peter Ur de Males

Chickenese—A Grammatical Sketch

Damon Lord

Many linguists and animal psychologists have sought to discover if mankind is the sole species to have developed language Recent experiments with chickens at University, in , England, have discovered that mankind is no longer alone

The language discovered has been dubbed Chickenese by linguists All attempts to quantify grammar have failed; linguists believe Chickenese has little (if any) grammar The current theory is that, due to the small size of the brain of the domesticated chicken and the limited vocabulary of the chicken species, thought processes are not developed enough to develop grammar, although repetition has been observed Repetition is believed to have no significance grammatically by most Chickenists

Semantically Chickenese is also a curiosity, due to each word taking on such a variety of meanings that it is almost impossible to tie each Chickenese word to an equating idea or concept in a human language On the other hand Chickenese, although a ’s nightmare, provides an excellent foundation for further study of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which states that thought processes are influenced by language and vice versa With the limited and minimalist vocabulary in Chickenese, there is much leeway for further study

The only exception to semantic vagaries is the pejorative Chickenese word paxo With no direct equivalent in a human language, apart from a cultural reference to a brand of stuffing sold in the UK, paxo is extremely pejorative in Chickenese It should be avoided at all costs when talking to a chicken. Use of the word paxo has, on occasion, caused linguists to receive a peck to the ankle from an infuriated chicken

Chickenese—English Dictionary

Due to the vagaries of Chickenese, the English definitions are to be taken as approximations only.

Chickenese     English
b’k General, all-purpose word
bok General, all-purpose word, negative meaning
bwark General, all-purpose word, positive meaning
paxo Pejorative

Chickenese Babel Text

It is common to translate the Babel text from the Bible, Genesis 11:1-9, as an example of a language.

Teach Yourself Chickenese

The Chickenese Babel text is as follows:

  1. B’k
  2. B’k b’k.
  3. B’k b’k bwark.
  4. B’k.
  5. B’k.
  6. Bwark b’k bwark.
  7. Bok b’k bok.
  8. B’k bok.
  9. B’k bok bok.

Teach Yourself Chickenese

The new Teach Yourself Chickenese book from Hodder and Stoughton will soon be available, illustrated on this page, enabling every Chickenist to learn Chickenese fluently.

headings include:

Topicalization In Moundsbar—Metalleus
Human Children, Even More So Than Dolphins, Recognize Names—Peter Ur de Males
SpecGram Vol CLI, No 3 Contents