A short summary of the project

Hello!  My name’s Jenny and I’m a Linguistics Postgrad student entering the second year of my three-year part-time course at Bangor University, Wales.  My research interest is Animal Communication, as this exciting new subject will:

• ·          tell us more about what language is and how it works,
• ·          open up a world of information that currently only other species have access to, and,
• ·         most importantly, finally allow animals to - literally - have a voice!

It is my goal, in my MA, PhD, and beyond, to bring Animal Communication to the fore as a distinct field of research, and especially within Linguistics – so far, a very 'human' subject. 

In so doing, I am hoping to achieve better animal rights, and the chance – one day – to ‘talk’ to other animals.  It would be incredibly exciting to know if birds might be singing laments about the morning queues for the seed tray, or if dogs were checking their ‘Sniffbook’ updates at the nearest lamppost, or if cows were sounding out their enjoyment of their children frolicking in the fields. 

Not to mention how much of a relief it would be when people eventually question, for instance, the merits of intensive farming, testing cosmetics, or the right to hunt for sport once we know that animals really do think, feel, and communicate like us humans.

For more detail on my studies, as well as some cute cartoons, please view my initial crowdfunding project: https://hubbub.net/p/TheDrDolittleChallenge

successes so far

Firstly, I would like to say a massive thank you, once again, for the support I gained with my prior project: https://hubbub.net/p/TheDrDolittleChallenge  The funds I achieved covered the cost of a 10-credit module studied in my first year, which was an amazing contribution!  More so, though, I gained immense emotional support from the many animal lovers who funded, retweeted, and chatted with me.  Quite a number of them even urged me to try out crowdfunding again...so here I am.

I am also very happy to report a Distinction for my efforts in the course so far, which I obviously aim to maintain throughout the rest of my MA.

In addition, I was invited to give a couple of well-received talks about my research at the Catholic Concern For Animals Conference, and this was an ideal opportunity to get to know even more wonderful, caring people and their fantastic anecdotes of animals in their own lives.

Across the summer then, besides Waitressing (my day job while I am a student), I have been preparing for the upcoming year.

And what am I up to next?  Check back for updates on this project page.  Better yet, donate just £5 to help me cover the MA’s steep study costs, and I will send you detailed quarterly newsletters with fun facts for the rest of my course into autumn 2017!

where will the money go?

Happily, so far, I've completed one year of this MA.  One down, but two to go! 

The MA costs a total of £4,610 (without study materials).  This is broken down into £128 per month.  As I am funding the course myself, on top of living costs, any assistance – or funding advice – is greatly appreciated. 

Your kind donations strictly go towards covering the costs of the MA, in which I am building a strong scientific foundation for Animal Communication studies within Linguistics, and a fairer future for our neighbours in the Animal Kingdom.

To contribute, please click 'SPONSOR PROJECT' at the bottom of this page.

rewards

In addition to my regular Tweets (@AnimalLinguist), there are animal and gift-friendly rewards available if I can achieve certain levels of funding (listed in the right-hand column of this page).

Be sure to select your reward when making a donation!

will you help me help animals?

In addition to contributions, I need as many people as possible talking about this project. So please share this project with anyone you know who cares about animals – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, your blog, by telephone, during your dog walk, or even in a chat at the bus stop.  Help me spread awareness of the value of Animal Communication, dare I say, Animal Language research. 

Long have we spoken for animals, made choices on their behalf, sadly often ignored them too.  Now it’s their time, their turn.

Let’s not be a voice for animals, but recognise that animals have a voice.