A guide to wolfspeak and why you shouldn't use it

[MadMoai]

Since I haven't been on much recently, I didn't get exposed to wolf-speak until a couple of days ago, and needless to say it was very difficult for me to understand. One of the wolves was being referred to as an "alpha fae" and I asked myself "what's a fae?"

Of course, some of these can be used in similes or metaphors, as in "her eyes were like pools," but using them excessively to replace the real word would (for me) make the post harder to read. That is, there is a way to use wolf-speak to a good effect, but going overboard with it is just confusing.

[Nemena]

Thanks for the link. I know how to keep busy now.

Would you mind if I add the pictures, along with the written examples, to the guide as examples?

Gotta keep it fabulous.

Feel free to yoink away! It was a friend who found the link after struggling to work out exactly what a summus tergum was during our literal translation bonanza; it's no biological term I've never heard of.

 It apparently means spine. In the post it was mentioned in-... I'm most certain that 'to genuflect' is to bend one's knee- or kneel. So, to 'genuflect her summus tergum', she's essentially bending her knee-... At the spine? Kneeling on her spine? Kneebending her spine? Becoming a contortionist? Twisting her body into unholy positions after an attempted exorcism of a thesaurus from her soul?

/que confused flopping.

Edit:

Of course, some of these can be used in similes or metaphors, as in "her eyes were like pools," but using them excessively to replace the real word would (for me) make the post harder to read. That is, there is a way to use wolf-speak to a good effect, but going overboard with it is just confusing.

And they can serve as great metaphors/similes, as you said; I often swoosh to figurative language during particularly dramatic or emotive scenes. It's not too nonsensical when the terms are used in moderation during comparisons, for example (these are pretty poor, apologies):

"Tall, stoic and stalwart, his legs were pillars of steel as the brute of a wolf desperately rammed into his side; he would not move- not even an inch".

"Her ears prickled like thorns as the omnious noises drew closer- and closer still."

Unfortunately, 99% of the time, they're not used like this at all.

[yakona]

I simply HATE Wolfspeak and those kinds of packs. Anyways,when I join any semi-lit packs,they mostly want me to give a RP sample. I MEAN WHY?! Then when I finally join,they ask me to put a IL at the end of my nametag. I asked why? ''Because you're an ilit thing. Do you think they're lit? I dun think so.
RP SAMPLE THAT I GAVE AWAY:
Blah,blah,blah something,lalalala. *doesn't matter,I have huge miss-spelling problems,but I have imagination and a really good grammar.*
Alphess:
You can join.
Neeloo has joined Beasts Of Flourite.
Someone:''Hey.'' He said. ''Welcome to the pack.''
Me:Thanks.
Someone:I wasn't talking to you.
Alphess:-the fae...lalala....and...blahblah..-
Me:What's a fae?
Alphess:Google it.))
I googled it and it turned out the same. Fae.
Me:Nothing came up.
Alphess:It's a female.))
Me:Okay))
A few minutes later:
Someone:Nee you have a miss-spelling problem and a badz gramar.))
Me:Orlly? -.-))
Someone:-he wentt to the cave where the wolfes sleept and ate.-
Me:That's called a den. And then I have a miss-spelling problem eh?))
Alphess:Don't be mean Neeloo.))
Me:Fine.))
Alphess:-she padded through the forest and her pads were freezing cold.-
Me:What's a pad?))
Yes I'm quiet ilit sometimes.
And so on,for three FH days they used Wolfspeak. And When I said: ''Can we not use these words?'' They said:''No.'' I got kicked out.
But still,
Who thought of Wolfspeak anyways?!

[Tearless]

Though I never played it, I heard it was created out of necessity on WolfQuest because the chat filter was so restrictive that people couldn't form a normal sentence (apparently even the words 'female' and 'male' were blocked, hence 'fae' and 'brute'). For some reason it carried over to FeralHeart, despite the game having no filter at all.

[SteampunkWolfdog]

Though I never played it, I heard it was created out of necessity on WolfQuest because the chat filter was so restrictive that people couldn't form a normal sentence (apparently even the words 'female' and 'male' were blocked, hence 'fae' and 'brute'). For some reason it carried over to FeralHeart, despite the game having no filter at all.

I stopped going on WolfQuest because of this. Though I didn't encounter people using Wolfspeak they were using odd and random words or a combination of words to say something like 'female' or 'male'. I was talking to someone a few weeks back about this and apparently now (because they go on WQ), people use 'alas' or female and...something else for male (I've forgotten what it was XD). But it is pretty much the same as Wolfspeak, in my eyes.

(I'll see if I can remember that word.)

[liontamer1]

I simply HATE Wolfspeak and those kinds of packs. Anyways,when I join any semi-lit packs,they mostly want me to give a RP sample. I MEAN WHY?! Then when I finally join,they ask me to put a IL at the end of my nametag. I asked why? ''Because you're an ilit thing. Do you think they're lit? I dun think so.
RP SAMPLE THAT I GAVE AWAY:
Blah,blah,blah something,lalalala. *doesn't matter,I have huge miss-spelling problems,but I have imagination and a really good grammar.*
Alphess:
You can join.
Neeloo has joined Beasts Of Flourite.
Someone:''Hey.'' He said. ''Welcome to the pack.''
Me:Thanks.
Someone:I wasn't talking to you.
Alphess:-the fae...lalala....and...blahblah..-
Me:What's a fae?
Alphess:Google it.))
I googled it and it turned out the same. Fae.
Me:Nothing came up.
Alphess:It's a female.))
Me:Okay))
A few minutes later:
Someone:Nee you have a miss-spelling problem and a badz gramar.))
Me:Orlly? -.-))
Someone:-he wentt to the cave where the wolfes sleept and ate.-
Me:That's called a den. And then I have a miss-spelling problem eh?))
Alphess:Don't be mean Neeloo.))
Me:Fine.))
Alphess:-she padded through the forest and her pads were freezing cold.-
Me:What's a pad?))
Yes I'm quiet ilit sometimes.
And so on,for three FH days they used Wolfspeak. And When I said: ''Can we not use these words?'' They said:''No.'' I got kicked out.
But still,
Who thought of Wolfspeak anyways?!

Well, 'pad' is short for 'paw pad' and isn't really wolf speak. But 'fae' is and really means fairy or fairy-like. 

[Woofley]

Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes.

-hands you cookie for making this thread.-

Though, I personally wouldn't say 'pad' is wolfspeak, because, as liontamer said, it'd be short for 'paw pad' xD

(I usually can decipher at least some wolfspeak, but some rp posts just make me go "._. wat")

[EpicPeanut]

-in general- Looking for a wolf rp? -someone replies and I join- *This is sure to be a great pack!* -the brute grunted as several fae's passed by. He blinked his orbs and lifted his banner in a sign of dominance. Bending down, he grabbed the earlier killed rabbit in his dial.- *Me= wait wut?*

[yakona]

~Le noms on cookie~
 Well yeah. iPad. Someone should have a 'broken' keyboard and then write the i. iPad.

[Goldchocobo]

I generaly hate Wolf-Speak. It's confusing and plain annoying.

Thankfully, I've never been in a wolf RP where they used wolf-speak (and if it was my group, I wouldn't allow it)

Some of the wolf-speak for the body parts they describe, I think is 'ok'
like Jowels and Chops for lips (though Chops is an informal term and I've only heard Brittons use that- expecially South Londoners)
Flank for the side (even I use that sometimes, though mostly as 'flanked')
abdomen for stomach or belly, (even humans has 'abdomens' though it a term mostly assositated (at least for me) for insects)
and Haunches for the back leg or bottom (eg: sat on his haunches).

But others is just like dafu did I just read?

and until I read this, I always thought Fae was a term for a female deer (other than doe) for some reason, hence my confusion when I was around some wolf-speak wolves useing the term 'fae'. i was just stiing there thinking "why are those wolves calling themselves deer?"