#and starts doing some sort of sign language or tapdance or both at once that roughly translates to “wtf was that”

[ihavetoomuchhomeworkforthis]

Crazy humans are weird idea I just had while I was brushing my teeth. Okay, so what if our world is the only one where people and animals are designed to be able to create and communicate with sound? Not that the other alien species can't hear or make sound at all, if they step on a twig it still snaps, if they clap their hands it still makes a sound, their breathing can still be audible, and a stampede of elephant-equivalents will still make a thunderous stampede noise you'd need to be able to feel and hear, but what if none of them have vocal cords? What if the closest they can get is a sort of hoarse screech of unconventionally forceful breathing? What if we're the only ones with speech and birdsong?

Alien species communicate through tap-stomp dancing and facial expressions and sign/body language and rhythmic drumbeat patterns and little handpats on whatever surface is available (including themselves).

Nothing could have prepared them for our thousands of languages, the sheer volume we're just effortlessly capable of, the precision and variety and eloquence in the sounds we can produce. The apparent cacophony of birdsong and crickets chirping and cats meowing and lions roaring and dogs barking and whalesong, and just all the vastly different sounds everything on our planet can make. The musical instruments which aren't just percussion and string, but also wind instruments.

Just- what if we were the only ones with speech?

If I were more creative and less tired right now I'd write a mini-fic thing, if anyone sees this and somehow gains that kind of inspiration, PLEASE do, I'd be honored, thank you.

#humans are weird #what if we're the only ones with speech #that would be so cool #like they send their ambassador to make first contact and our human ambassador sticks out a hand to shake #and that's all well and good- they aren't sure what the right response to that is but it seems like a friendly gesture #but then the human says something normal like “hi welcome to Earth we're so excited to finally meet another intelligent life form” #and the alien just freaks out and screeches awkwardly and takes a huge step back staring in disbelief #and starts doing some sort of sign language or tapdance or both at once that roughly translates to “wtf was that” #“what do you mean you can make sounds that specific and meaningful out of your eating hole” #the linguists we brought along and the hopeful attempts at universal translators we made based on Star Trek are both having a hard time #all the other humans are weird things that I've seen never seem to have mentioned language barriers #our sound is both beautiful and horrifying #humans are space orcs #aliens