The case for speaking politely to animals

© © CC-BY-NC-ND: Marie ROIG-PONS

How we speak matters to animals.

Horses, wild horses and pigs can distinguish between negative and positive sounds from their fellow species and near relatives, as well as from human speech. This is according to new research funded by the SNSF. The study aims to investigate the possibility of "emotional contagion" in animals – a kind of mirroring of emotion.