How Do We Talk to Animals? Modes and Pragmatic Effects of Communication with Pets

Abstract : This article examines howan interactionist linguistic approach could contribute to the analysis of human/animal communication. Communicative exchanges between humans and animals take place on a frequent, commonplace, and daily basis, whether at home or at work.However, theyhave so far been the subject of fewin-depth investigations, since they are difficult to analyze from either an ethological perspective (which is usually interested in the communicative behavior of a specific species) or a linguistic perspective (which focuses on articulated verbal language, namely that of humans). Usingaudio and video data collected in various contexts and in “natural” situations (as opposed to experimental ones), which give access to forms of address that have been little-documented in the literature to date, this study identifies three recurrent modes of addressingthe domestic animal, and examines their pragmatic effects.