Animalese

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Animalese is the default language the NPCs in the Animal Crossing series speak. Generally, each letter spoken is matched and synthesized with the basic sound of the letter, leading to mispronunciation of some words. (For instance, "Animal Crossing" would be pronounced "Ah-n-ih-m-ah-l c-r-o-s-s-ih-n-g".) In the Japanese versions, each kana syllable is matched with its proper sound, making it somewhat more legible to a Japanese speaker than the international versions. (どうぶつの森 would be "Do-u-bu-tsu no mo-ri".) When villagers say numbers, they will pronounce them clearly and legibly, similar to the the sounds heard when typing in letters. However, much of Animalese is mostly unintelligible, recurring phrases can be discerned (such as villager catchphrases and laughter). The name of the player and the name of the town can be clearly discerned as well, although they may also be mispronounced depending on the way each letter of the word is said in Animalese.

Villagers with different personalities (such as cranky or peppy), animals that work in the town (Isabelle, Tom Nook, etc.) and random visitors to the town (Gracie, Wendell, etc.) have distinct pitches to their Animalese, being higher or lower depending on the character. If text is quickly scrolled, the Animalese also speeds up, sounding more high-pitched. Also, a villager's mood can affect their voice; happy or angry villagers will have higher pitch, while sad villagers will have lower pitch. Furthermore, the sound of Animalese differs slightly in each game. In Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing: New Leaf it is spoken very quickly, while in Animal Crossing: Wild World and Animal Crossing: City Folk it is spoken slightly more slowly.

Notably, Animalese in Wild World does not appear to be a proper voice synthesis like other games in the series, instead matching each letter to a random syllable. Because of this, it is entirely unintelligible, even with phrases that are clearly discerned in other games. This is likely due to the Nintendo DS's technical limitations, as proper voice synthesis returns in City Folk.

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Animalese works a little differently than in previous games; the pronunciations are different to the point where Animalese is clearer than it is in previous games, and is nearly legible. In addition, the species of a villager will slightly alter the pitch of their voice, which appears to be linked to the species' body size. For example, Dora (a mouse) has a higher pitch than Chevre (a goat), and Margie (an elephant) has a lower pitch than either, despite all three being normal villagers.

Bebebese or Silence can be spoken as an alternate language in the options in games prior to Animal Crossing: New Leaf.