Re: Howling In The Wild

Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:

Purl Gurl wrote:
Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
Purl Gurl wrote:
Chuck Riggs wrote:
Purl Gurl wrote:

Coyotes are not physically capable of howling.

If not howling, what do you call that sound they make?

Singing.

Coyote - cóyotl - singing dog.

I can't find an source that says that that's what Nahuatl "coyotl"
meant.

[...]

There are hundreds more references,

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=coyotl+singing+dog&btnG=Search

If you put the "singing dog" in quotes, there are precisely 17, of
which 5 say "may have meant". None of them look terribly
authoritative. There are no hits in Google Books.


Should you use "barking dog" for a search term, you will enjoy
three-billion-two-hundred-million complaints filed with various
dog pounds, about barking neighborhood dogs.

I tend to doubt you will discover many complaints about
barking coyotes.


Wikipedia notes that the *species* name, "Canis latrans" means
"barking dog", and I suspect that that's where those pages ultimately
got it from.

canis latrans - dog barker

Ultimate source for singing dog or song dog is thousands of years
of culture specific language usage and lore, amongst original
indigenous peoples of the Americas.

canis latrans is a Latin based Anglican expression forced upon
the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Seems an off topic stretch, but this reminds me of my peoples
describing our Earth as a ball, our moon as a ball and our universe
as a ball for thousands of years, and reminds me of my peoples
describing the motion of our Earth as a circular orbit around
our sun and the motion of our moon as a circular orbit around
our Earth. This is part of our "circle of life" beliefs.

Only a handful of centuries back, Anglicans described our Earth
as flat and as the center of our universe. Anglicans were so
adamant about our Earth being the center of the universe, those
who disagreed were often beheaded for being heretics.

Our song dog and singing dog expressions predate this Anglican
barking dog notion by thousands of years. Seems you are confusing
Anglican "center of the universe" thinking as being superior to
thinking of indigenous peoples of thousands of years.

Amuses me indigenous peoples of the Americas knew what took
Anglicans thousands of years to discover.


Especie de lobo que se cría en México y otros países de
América, de color gris amarillento y del tamaño de un perro
mastín.

Wolf species rearing in Mexico and other places of America,
color of gray yellowish size of dog breed.

Species of wolf native to Mexico and other American countries,
yellowish gray in color and the size of a mastiff.


cría - rearing, growing, living rather than "native".
otros paises - various places.
gris amarillento - gray yellowish
mastín - breed rather than "mastiff".
de perro mastín - the dog breed.


Especie de lobo que se cría en México y otros países de América,
de color gris amarillento y del tamaño de un perro mastín.

Species the wolf which grows up in Mexico and various places
the America, the color gray yellowish and the size of the
dog breed.

Evan, you need to work on the mechanics of translation; there
is no mention of "native" nor "American countries" nor "mastiff".


Mamífero carnicero, parecido a la zorra, de color leonado
por el lomo y blanco amarillento por el vientre.

Carnivorous mammal, seems a fox, tawny color back with
yellowish belly

Carniverous mammal, foxlike, with a tawny back and yellowish white
belly.

A coyote.

Really? A foxlike mammal, no mention of it being a wolf?

Not "fox like" rather "seems a fox".

Your "fox like" is traditionally a physical description
while "seems a fox" is traditionally a behavioral description.

A coyote and a fox do behave a lot alike. A coyote and a fox
do not look at all alike. Highly unlikely the author of your
quoted passage is mistaking a coyote for a fox, based upon
physical looks.

Contextual intent is critical for interpretations and translations.

To close, "song dog" or "singing dog" are expressions thousands
of years in the makings. Your "canis latrans" is an Anglican
expression of recent making which is imposed over indigenous
expressions. Your translations are a bit off target.

Coyotes do not howl. Coyotes sing and our Earth is round, not flat.

--
Purl Gurl
--
About the only chance you have at an education
is to read what I write.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dealing with noisy neighbors
    ... A dog's barking at an intruder on its master's ... This dumb dog drove me crazy. ... at the neighbor cats that "trespass" in the yard. ... That doesn't usually bother me because, since cats run away when barked ...
    (misc.consumers)
  • Re: Bad behaviour.....wits end...jack russell.
    ... When I AM home this dog barks at a leaf falling ... outs.....treats and reinforcment when she stops barking or doesn't ... house she will bark, hit or go after that animal to get my attention. ...
    (rec.pets.dogs.behavior)
  • Re: How do you do action scenes?
    ... opposing ends, I fail. ... changed into a dog, so all the dog's emotions don't really matter. ... An Earth Priest is an Earth ... I've got a Shan (Magic Earth series) who likes to alter his appearance ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Bad behaviour.....wits end...jack russell.
    ... Hello I hope someone on this forum can give me some advice. ... When I AM home this dog barks at a leaf falling ... outs.....treats and reinforcment when she stops barking or doesn't ... hit or go after that animal to get my attention. ...
    (rec.pets.dogs.behavior)
  • Re: How to deal with neighbors dog barking
    ... there and bark as he can see any other activity on the street near my house. ... dissuade the dog from barking by "my" corner? ... coordinate the times that she lets her min pin out in the yard. ... And her supervison will have a *much* bigger impact on the dog, ...
    (rec.pets.dogs.behavior)