They do to me. And those who would care to listen. Not in spoken words, animals do not need words nor are they capable of it. The way your dog comes to you for affection speaks volumes if you are a loving human being. When the cat settles contentedly on your lap and purrs...that is communication. The chickadee who sounds a call for food when you are at the bird feeder is making it's needs known. The deer along the trail who stops and looks yet does not run is telling you you are accepted, at least for now. Yes, they talk, in their own way.
Another View
Only if you think that the noises they make are talking.
Another view
They are capable.
Another view
Did you see or read the story of Jill Bolte Taylor? She was a brain scientist who had a stroke and she was conscious through much of it and had an amazing story to tell. As her brain functions for speech deteriorated she heard herself talk like a 'golden retriever' for example, everyone who was talking sounded to her like barking dogs.
So without human brain capacity we humans sound like barking dogs. So I ask the question, without a dog's brain capacity how do we know that dogs or even any animal doesn't have a specific language much like our own? I believe they do.
And I don't believe it is as simple as human language translation. We are talking about different brains here, completely different to our own that if we experienced it we would probably think we were living in a different dimension, much like Jill experienced during her stroke.
