Animals Speak

by Lila Prap

Did you ever wonder what animals say in different languages? In German a sheep says MC$h, but in Spain a sheep says Bee. Speaking of bees, in English they buzz, but in Swedish, bees say Surr. Complete with a guide to animal ""languages"" around the world, children and adults alike will enjoy seeing and hearing how animals ""speak"" in other lands.

Genres: Picture Books, Language, Childrens, Nonfiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Born in 1955, Slovenian artist and children's book author Lilijana Praprotnik Zupančič, who publishes under the name "Lila Prap," studied architecture at the Ljubljana Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering, and worked as a graphic designer for a number of years. Her debut title, Animal Lullabies, was published in 2000, and was soon followed by others. Her books have been translated into many languages, worldwide, and have made her one of Slovenia's most popular authors. Included in IBBY's honor list, Prap has been nominated for a number of international children's books awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, and the Astrid Lindgren Prize. In Slovenia, she has been awarded the Levstik Prize, the Most Beautiful Book Prize, and the Original Slovenian Picture Book Prize.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently Slovenia - the country from which the immensely talented children's author and illustrator Lila Prap hails - is one of the highest ranked European nations, when it comes to knowledge of foreign languages. Somehow, after reading through this multilingual dictionary of animal speech, I'm not surprised! Originally published as the Animals' International Dictionary, this innovative picture-book asks the question: what do animals "say," in other languages? If a donkey says "hee-haw" in English, what does he say in Slovenian, or Catalan? If a pig says "ruik" in Estonian, what does he say in Swahili, or Norwegian? This book answers those questions and more, highlighting fourteen animal species, and forty-one languages.

As a language lover, Animals Speak was pretty much guaranteed to appeal to me, with its exploration of linguistic diversity! It's pretty heavy on European languages, and light on the rest of the world - although Africa and Asia are represented, neither of the American continents are (not atypical, in books of this type) - but that didn't surprise me, since this is a (central) European picture-book, and has a natural focus on that part of the globe. I was impressed that it wasn't just the "big" world languages (in terms of numbers of speakers) represented, but that the list included things like Irish, Mokshan, and Romany (which is a protected language, in Slovenia). I was also impressed that, within the text of the book itself, languages were represented in their own writing systems - Chinese characters, Hebrew and Arabic syllabaries - with transliteration (and pronunciation) reserved for the tables on the highly useful end-papers.

I did wonder that the translator let "Retoromanian" (one of the languages included) slip through, as we refer to this Swiss Romance language as "Romansh" (its linguistic sub-family is described as "Rhaeto-Romance") in English. An odd mistake, in a book about languages! Leaving that issue aside, this is an outstanding title, one that will highlight the diverse languages of the world in a fun way. Less of a story than a reference tool, it is the sort of book that curious young readers will enjoy flipping through (and flipping back and forth), to discover what animals "say" in other languages!

[Jaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful way of seeing the world through some of the amazing languages we have.

[Karen A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think its fascinating how many different ways there are to say hello? This book explores how many different ways there are to bark, meow, or crow. Great illustrations of the animals with strong outlines and very universal features bring home the point that not only language but sound has international intonations. Fun book.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different animals make different sounds in different languages. The flag of the country is presented and many countries are mentioned in this book. there is a long list of many of the animals in the front and back. Could be used in story time.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting concept and fun illustrations... but no pronunciation guide, so I have no idea how to read or share this book.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that shows you the different sounds animals make in different languages (with pronunciation help). This is currently Davis' favorite book.