How can a team of shapeshifters communicate? Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern)What sounds would be common for both forms for a human/wolf shapeshifter?How would characters communicate under surveillanceShapeshifters - Shared language between human and animal formsShared body language between humans and wolvesWhy would shapeshifters choose to keep an original form?How can humans and aliens reliably communicate?How to communicate the position of the emitter using light?How fast can a species communicate using only tapping?How would shapeshifters be affected by their abilities?How would photo IDs work for shapeshifters?How would tattoos for shapeshifters work?

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How can a team of shapeshifters communicate?

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One-one communication



How can a team of shapeshifters communicate?



Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara
Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern)What sounds would be common for both forms for a human/wolf shapeshifter?How would characters communicate under surveillanceShapeshifters - Shared language between human and animal formsShared body language between humans and wolvesWhy would shapeshifters choose to keep an original form?How can humans and aliens reliably communicate?How to communicate the position of the emitter using light?How fast can a species communicate using only tapping?How would shapeshifters be affected by their abilities?How would photo IDs work for shapeshifters?How would tattoos for shapeshifters work?










2












$begingroup$


There is a group of people who can shapeshift. They send out hunting parties, scout teams, etc. In a circumstance where a group of ten people can look like ten different species (one human, one wolf, one demon antelope, etc.) Is there any way they can communicate effectively across team members without having to change shape back to a species with greater vocalization ranges? Telepathy is excluded as an option.



The best answer would be that which allows for the most complex information to be shared in the most quick and efficient manner. For example, "scent glands" could feasibly be integrated into just about any form a person takes, and used to emit smells for communication, but one weakness as an answer is that it seems difficult if not impossible to convey more detailed information using this method. My benchmark for a useful method would be the feasibility of saying something basic, but with details, like: "two people, north, armed with spears, riding horses."



I should probably also clarify we are talking all generally "person-sized" animals here, not a three-inch-long mouse trying to communicate with a two-story-high dragon. The shapeshifters are limited in the extent that they can re-proportion their mass, and can only turn into physically possible animal species.










share|improve this question











$endgroup$











  • $begingroup$
    Is their shapeshifting "all or nothing"?
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    2 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Are they constrained to existing species, or can do partial/mixed forms? Submitted to your consideration: Isaac Arthur on Alien senses - in particular consider electroreception and magnetoreception. See also Octopus 101 | Communication!.
    $endgroup$
    – Theraot
    2 hours ago











  • $begingroup$
    You might be interested in my question What sounds would be common for both forms for a human/wolf shapeshifter?
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @aCVn thanks for the link. limited to wolves only, compared to what I'm looking for, but still an interesting and informative topic
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Please edit your question with clarifications. Never assume people will read through the comments before answering. Along with your clarification to @L.Dutch's question, please explain how these creatures communicate when in their native form and whether or not telepathy is permissible for an answer. Finally, note that "something basic" isn't basic at all. Useful communication requires a fair number of verbs and nouns (e.g., "spear"). How intelligent is this species?
    $endgroup$
    – JBH
    29 mins ago















2












$begingroup$


There is a group of people who can shapeshift. They send out hunting parties, scout teams, etc. In a circumstance where a group of ten people can look like ten different species (one human, one wolf, one demon antelope, etc.) Is there any way they can communicate effectively across team members without having to change shape back to a species with greater vocalization ranges? Telepathy is excluded as an option.



The best answer would be that which allows for the most complex information to be shared in the most quick and efficient manner. For example, "scent glands" could feasibly be integrated into just about any form a person takes, and used to emit smells for communication, but one weakness as an answer is that it seems difficult if not impossible to convey more detailed information using this method. My benchmark for a useful method would be the feasibility of saying something basic, but with details, like: "two people, north, armed with spears, riding horses."



I should probably also clarify we are talking all generally "person-sized" animals here, not a three-inch-long mouse trying to communicate with a two-story-high dragon. The shapeshifters are limited in the extent that they can re-proportion their mass, and can only turn into physically possible animal species.










share|improve this question











$endgroup$











  • $begingroup$
    Is their shapeshifting "all or nothing"?
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    2 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Are they constrained to existing species, or can do partial/mixed forms? Submitted to your consideration: Isaac Arthur on Alien senses - in particular consider electroreception and magnetoreception. See also Octopus 101 | Communication!.
    $endgroup$
    – Theraot
    2 hours ago











  • $begingroup$
    You might be interested in my question What sounds would be common for both forms for a human/wolf shapeshifter?
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @aCVn thanks for the link. limited to wolves only, compared to what I'm looking for, but still an interesting and informative topic
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Please edit your question with clarifications. Never assume people will read through the comments before answering. Along with your clarification to @L.Dutch's question, please explain how these creatures communicate when in their native form and whether or not telepathy is permissible for an answer. Finally, note that "something basic" isn't basic at all. Useful communication requires a fair number of verbs and nouns (e.g., "spear"). How intelligent is this species?
    $endgroup$
    – JBH
    29 mins ago













2












2








2





$begingroup$


There is a group of people who can shapeshift. They send out hunting parties, scout teams, etc. In a circumstance where a group of ten people can look like ten different species (one human, one wolf, one demon antelope, etc.) Is there any way they can communicate effectively across team members without having to change shape back to a species with greater vocalization ranges? Telepathy is excluded as an option.



The best answer would be that which allows for the most complex information to be shared in the most quick and efficient manner. For example, "scent glands" could feasibly be integrated into just about any form a person takes, and used to emit smells for communication, but one weakness as an answer is that it seems difficult if not impossible to convey more detailed information using this method. My benchmark for a useful method would be the feasibility of saying something basic, but with details, like: "two people, north, armed with spears, riding horses."



I should probably also clarify we are talking all generally "person-sized" animals here, not a three-inch-long mouse trying to communicate with a two-story-high dragon. The shapeshifters are limited in the extent that they can re-proportion their mass, and can only turn into physically possible animal species.










share|improve this question











$endgroup$




There is a group of people who can shapeshift. They send out hunting parties, scout teams, etc. In a circumstance where a group of ten people can look like ten different species (one human, one wolf, one demon antelope, etc.) Is there any way they can communicate effectively across team members without having to change shape back to a species with greater vocalization ranges? Telepathy is excluded as an option.



The best answer would be that which allows for the most complex information to be shared in the most quick and efficient manner. For example, "scent glands" could feasibly be integrated into just about any form a person takes, and used to emit smells for communication, but one weakness as an answer is that it seems difficult if not impossible to convey more detailed information using this method. My benchmark for a useful method would be the feasibility of saying something basic, but with details, like: "two people, north, armed with spears, riding horses."



I should probably also clarify we are talking all generally "person-sized" animals here, not a three-inch-long mouse trying to communicate with a two-story-high dragon. The shapeshifters are limited in the extent that they can re-proportion their mass, and can only turn into physically possible animal species.







creature-design communication shapeshifters






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 42 mins ago









Cyn

11.9k12758




11.9k12758










asked 2 hours ago









MarielSMarielS

821112




821112











  • $begingroup$
    Is their shapeshifting "all or nothing"?
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    2 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Are they constrained to existing species, or can do partial/mixed forms? Submitted to your consideration: Isaac Arthur on Alien senses - in particular consider electroreception and magnetoreception. See also Octopus 101 | Communication!.
    $endgroup$
    – Theraot
    2 hours ago











  • $begingroup$
    You might be interested in my question What sounds would be common for both forms for a human/wolf shapeshifter?
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @aCVn thanks for the link. limited to wolves only, compared to what I'm looking for, but still an interesting and informative topic
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Please edit your question with clarifications. Never assume people will read through the comments before answering. Along with your clarification to @L.Dutch's question, please explain how these creatures communicate when in their native form and whether or not telepathy is permissible for an answer. Finally, note that "something basic" isn't basic at all. Useful communication requires a fair number of verbs and nouns (e.g., "spear"). How intelligent is this species?
    $endgroup$
    – JBH
    29 mins ago
















  • $begingroup$
    Is their shapeshifting "all or nothing"?
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    2 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Are they constrained to existing species, or can do partial/mixed forms? Submitted to your consideration: Isaac Arthur on Alien senses - in particular consider electroreception and magnetoreception. See also Octopus 101 | Communication!.
    $endgroup$
    – Theraot
    2 hours ago











  • $begingroup$
    You might be interested in my question What sounds would be common for both forms for a human/wolf shapeshifter?
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @aCVn thanks for the link. limited to wolves only, compared to what I'm looking for, but still an interesting and informative topic
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Please edit your question with clarifications. Never assume people will read through the comments before answering. Along with your clarification to @L.Dutch's question, please explain how these creatures communicate when in their native form and whether or not telepathy is permissible for an answer. Finally, note that "something basic" isn't basic at all. Useful communication requires a fair number of verbs and nouns (e.g., "spear"). How intelligent is this species?
    $endgroup$
    – JBH
    29 mins ago















$begingroup$
Is their shapeshifting "all or nothing"?
$endgroup$
– L.Dutch
2 hours ago




$begingroup$
Is their shapeshifting "all or nothing"?
$endgroup$
– L.Dutch
2 hours ago












$begingroup$
Are they constrained to existing species, or can do partial/mixed forms? Submitted to your consideration: Isaac Arthur on Alien senses - in particular consider electroreception and magnetoreception. See also Octopus 101 | Communication!.
$endgroup$
– Theraot
2 hours ago





$begingroup$
Are they constrained to existing species, or can do partial/mixed forms? Submitted to your consideration: Isaac Arthur on Alien senses - in particular consider electroreception and magnetoreception. See also Octopus 101 | Communication!.
$endgroup$
– Theraot
2 hours ago













$begingroup$
You might be interested in my question What sounds would be common for both forms for a human/wolf shapeshifter?
$endgroup$
– a CVn
1 hour ago




$begingroup$
You might be interested in my question What sounds would be common for both forms for a human/wolf shapeshifter?
$endgroup$
– a CVn
1 hour ago












$begingroup$
@aCVn thanks for the link. limited to wolves only, compared to what I'm looking for, but still an interesting and informative topic
$endgroup$
– MarielS
1 hour ago




$begingroup$
@aCVn thanks for the link. limited to wolves only, compared to what I'm looking for, but still an interesting and informative topic
$endgroup$
– MarielS
1 hour ago




1




1




$begingroup$
Please edit your question with clarifications. Never assume people will read through the comments before answering. Along with your clarification to @L.Dutch's question, please explain how these creatures communicate when in their native form and whether or not telepathy is permissible for an answer. Finally, note that "something basic" isn't basic at all. Useful communication requires a fair number of verbs and nouns (e.g., "spear"). How intelligent is this species?
$endgroup$
– JBH
29 mins ago




$begingroup$
Please edit your question with clarifications. Never assume people will read through the comments before answering. Along with your clarification to @L.Dutch's question, please explain how these creatures communicate when in their native form and whether or not telepathy is permissible for an answer. Finally, note that "something basic" isn't basic at all. Useful communication requires a fair number of verbs and nouns (e.g., "spear"). How intelligent is this species?
$endgroup$
– JBH
29 mins ago










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















2












$begingroup$

Charades



You could have them shape shift into what they are trying to communicate, in the example you used, a shape shifter would turn into: a person, the number two, a compass pointing north, a spear and a horse.



However, this seems too comical and does not feel like it is in the spirit of what you are asking. Instead, i propose a more serious answer:



Morse Code



Perhaps one of the easiest forms of communication, it is simply a series of short stimuli and long stimuli. This could take the form of anything, the flashing of a light, the noise from the tapping on glass, even tapping on someone’s shoulder so they can feel it. With morse code you can say literally anything in the English language (or any language really, assuming you have sequences that correspond to all of the letters in its alphabet).



One issue with Morse code though is it takes a long time to communicate a message, every sentence is made up of a number of words, each word is made up of several letters, each letter is made up of several short and long stimuli. In short, it takes a long time, you want sentences to be as short as possible to be communicated as fast as possible.



Abbreviated Morse Code



As Morse code takes a long time to communicate, you could instead have codes for words or phrases. You would need a list of common words that your shape shifters would communicate and attach codes to them. For example “... - - - ...” means SOS. In English, SOS is not a word, it is however an abbreviation of Save Our Souls, indicating someone is in danger and needs help.



In your case, you may have abbreviations such as SRD (sword), SPR (spear) MAN/MEN (person/people), HRS (horse) etc. If you then string several of these abbreviations together, you can communicate phrases quite quickly.



You may even have secret phrases communicated through abbreviations. For example, “XRT” may mean “Be alert, the king has left the castle, ready your archers” but there is no possible way you could have guessed that is what XRT meant, not in the same way you could guess SPR means Spear. Only those who were told what the code meant would understand it, preventing spies from intercepting it.



An image showing the sequences and their corresponding letters or numbers for international morse code
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code



Here is a chart for International Morse Code so you can create your own abbreviations and know how to communicate them.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    Unrelated to your answer per se, but SOS is a prosign, not three distinct letters. Sent properly in Morse code, it's ...---... with no extra spacing (not ... --- ..., as if it were three letters), but with the "dashes" elongenated to be clearly distinguishable from the "dots". Writing it out as SOS is just convention; for example VTB would also come out to ...---... if sent as a prosign.
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Thoughtful answer. You are right that a form of morse might be time consuming, but I think this is a good idea that might work well, especially if their version of morse was specifically developed with short abbreviations and team communication in mind. It also has the capacity to be pretty quiet if necessary, which could be handy for stealth.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    54 mins ago


















1












$begingroup$

Supersonic clicks.



Albeit this is much more efficient in a liquid medium (so it's used by dolphins), an acceptable range might be achieved with a supersonic "clicking" organ and suitable ears (they needn't be too big).



This could also double as an active echo-location sonar, very useful for scouts.



Once the clicking mechanism is in place, you have a choice between a click-language or using clicks to code another language (this would be Morse code for example).






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This could perhaps be combined with Liam Morris' answer for interesting results.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    53 mins ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You probably meant ultrasonic. Sound waves cannot be supersonic.
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    42 mins ago



















0












$begingroup$

Option 1



They can shapeshift their skin to mimic the one of some octopi. In that way the skin can act as a screen, where messages can be displayed and read up to a certain distance. This would enable silent communication, which for certain types of mission is or paramount importance.



Option 2



They can keep a human vocal system, so that they can still articulate speech while in another form.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    Option 1 sounds interesting, displaying messages on yourself. Though if you had fur it might be harder! Option 2 I considered, but I'm not sure that the shape of, say, a wolf's head and mouth would allow some kinds of normal speech, even if a human voicebox, etc. was retained. After all, we make a lot of sounds by manipulating our tongue and lips, not just our vocal tract
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @MarielS A possible work around for that is to use a bird-like voice box, parrots can famously make noises that sound like human speech and they do not posses lips or a tongue like a human’s (even if the noise is not a perfect mimicry of a human’s voice). This may not work in your shape-shifting system though.
    $endgroup$
    – Liam Morris
    9 mins ago












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3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes








3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









2












$begingroup$

Charades



You could have them shape shift into what they are trying to communicate, in the example you used, a shape shifter would turn into: a person, the number two, a compass pointing north, a spear and a horse.



However, this seems too comical and does not feel like it is in the spirit of what you are asking. Instead, i propose a more serious answer:



Morse Code



Perhaps one of the easiest forms of communication, it is simply a series of short stimuli and long stimuli. This could take the form of anything, the flashing of a light, the noise from the tapping on glass, even tapping on someone’s shoulder so they can feel it. With morse code you can say literally anything in the English language (or any language really, assuming you have sequences that correspond to all of the letters in its alphabet).



One issue with Morse code though is it takes a long time to communicate a message, every sentence is made up of a number of words, each word is made up of several letters, each letter is made up of several short and long stimuli. In short, it takes a long time, you want sentences to be as short as possible to be communicated as fast as possible.



Abbreviated Morse Code



As Morse code takes a long time to communicate, you could instead have codes for words or phrases. You would need a list of common words that your shape shifters would communicate and attach codes to them. For example “... - - - ...” means SOS. In English, SOS is not a word, it is however an abbreviation of Save Our Souls, indicating someone is in danger and needs help.



In your case, you may have abbreviations such as SRD (sword), SPR (spear) MAN/MEN (person/people), HRS (horse) etc. If you then string several of these abbreviations together, you can communicate phrases quite quickly.



You may even have secret phrases communicated through abbreviations. For example, “XRT” may mean “Be alert, the king has left the castle, ready your archers” but there is no possible way you could have guessed that is what XRT meant, not in the same way you could guess SPR means Spear. Only those who were told what the code meant would understand it, preventing spies from intercepting it.



An image showing the sequences and their corresponding letters or numbers for international morse code
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code



Here is a chart for International Morse Code so you can create your own abbreviations and know how to communicate them.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    Unrelated to your answer per se, but SOS is a prosign, not three distinct letters. Sent properly in Morse code, it's ...---... with no extra spacing (not ... --- ..., as if it were three letters), but with the "dashes" elongenated to be clearly distinguishable from the "dots". Writing it out as SOS is just convention; for example VTB would also come out to ...---... if sent as a prosign.
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Thoughtful answer. You are right that a form of morse might be time consuming, but I think this is a good idea that might work well, especially if their version of morse was specifically developed with short abbreviations and team communication in mind. It also has the capacity to be pretty quiet if necessary, which could be handy for stealth.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    54 mins ago















2












$begingroup$

Charades



You could have them shape shift into what they are trying to communicate, in the example you used, a shape shifter would turn into: a person, the number two, a compass pointing north, a spear and a horse.



However, this seems too comical and does not feel like it is in the spirit of what you are asking. Instead, i propose a more serious answer:



Morse Code



Perhaps one of the easiest forms of communication, it is simply a series of short stimuli and long stimuli. This could take the form of anything, the flashing of a light, the noise from the tapping on glass, even tapping on someone’s shoulder so they can feel it. With morse code you can say literally anything in the English language (or any language really, assuming you have sequences that correspond to all of the letters in its alphabet).



One issue with Morse code though is it takes a long time to communicate a message, every sentence is made up of a number of words, each word is made up of several letters, each letter is made up of several short and long stimuli. In short, it takes a long time, you want sentences to be as short as possible to be communicated as fast as possible.



Abbreviated Morse Code



As Morse code takes a long time to communicate, you could instead have codes for words or phrases. You would need a list of common words that your shape shifters would communicate and attach codes to them. For example “... - - - ...” means SOS. In English, SOS is not a word, it is however an abbreviation of Save Our Souls, indicating someone is in danger and needs help.



In your case, you may have abbreviations such as SRD (sword), SPR (spear) MAN/MEN (person/people), HRS (horse) etc. If you then string several of these abbreviations together, you can communicate phrases quite quickly.



You may even have secret phrases communicated through abbreviations. For example, “XRT” may mean “Be alert, the king has left the castle, ready your archers” but there is no possible way you could have guessed that is what XRT meant, not in the same way you could guess SPR means Spear. Only those who were told what the code meant would understand it, preventing spies from intercepting it.



An image showing the sequences and their corresponding letters or numbers for international morse code
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code



Here is a chart for International Morse Code so you can create your own abbreviations and know how to communicate them.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    Unrelated to your answer per se, but SOS is a prosign, not three distinct letters. Sent properly in Morse code, it's ...---... with no extra spacing (not ... --- ..., as if it were three letters), but with the "dashes" elongenated to be clearly distinguishable from the "dots". Writing it out as SOS is just convention; for example VTB would also come out to ...---... if sent as a prosign.
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Thoughtful answer. You are right that a form of morse might be time consuming, but I think this is a good idea that might work well, especially if their version of morse was specifically developed with short abbreviations and team communication in mind. It also has the capacity to be pretty quiet if necessary, which could be handy for stealth.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    54 mins ago













2












2








2





$begingroup$

Charades



You could have them shape shift into what they are trying to communicate, in the example you used, a shape shifter would turn into: a person, the number two, a compass pointing north, a spear and a horse.



However, this seems too comical and does not feel like it is in the spirit of what you are asking. Instead, i propose a more serious answer:



Morse Code



Perhaps one of the easiest forms of communication, it is simply a series of short stimuli and long stimuli. This could take the form of anything, the flashing of a light, the noise from the tapping on glass, even tapping on someone’s shoulder so they can feel it. With morse code you can say literally anything in the English language (or any language really, assuming you have sequences that correspond to all of the letters in its alphabet).



One issue with Morse code though is it takes a long time to communicate a message, every sentence is made up of a number of words, each word is made up of several letters, each letter is made up of several short and long stimuli. In short, it takes a long time, you want sentences to be as short as possible to be communicated as fast as possible.



Abbreviated Morse Code



As Morse code takes a long time to communicate, you could instead have codes for words or phrases. You would need a list of common words that your shape shifters would communicate and attach codes to them. For example “... - - - ...” means SOS. In English, SOS is not a word, it is however an abbreviation of Save Our Souls, indicating someone is in danger and needs help.



In your case, you may have abbreviations such as SRD (sword), SPR (spear) MAN/MEN (person/people), HRS (horse) etc. If you then string several of these abbreviations together, you can communicate phrases quite quickly.



You may even have secret phrases communicated through abbreviations. For example, “XRT” may mean “Be alert, the king has left the castle, ready your archers” but there is no possible way you could have guessed that is what XRT meant, not in the same way you could guess SPR means Spear. Only those who were told what the code meant would understand it, preventing spies from intercepting it.



An image showing the sequences and their corresponding letters or numbers for international morse code
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code



Here is a chart for International Morse Code so you can create your own abbreviations and know how to communicate them.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



Charades



You could have them shape shift into what they are trying to communicate, in the example you used, a shape shifter would turn into: a person, the number two, a compass pointing north, a spear and a horse.



However, this seems too comical and does not feel like it is in the spirit of what you are asking. Instead, i propose a more serious answer:



Morse Code



Perhaps one of the easiest forms of communication, it is simply a series of short stimuli and long stimuli. This could take the form of anything, the flashing of a light, the noise from the tapping on glass, even tapping on someone’s shoulder so they can feel it. With morse code you can say literally anything in the English language (or any language really, assuming you have sequences that correspond to all of the letters in its alphabet).



One issue with Morse code though is it takes a long time to communicate a message, every sentence is made up of a number of words, each word is made up of several letters, each letter is made up of several short and long stimuli. In short, it takes a long time, you want sentences to be as short as possible to be communicated as fast as possible.



Abbreviated Morse Code



As Morse code takes a long time to communicate, you could instead have codes for words or phrases. You would need a list of common words that your shape shifters would communicate and attach codes to them. For example “... - - - ...” means SOS. In English, SOS is not a word, it is however an abbreviation of Save Our Souls, indicating someone is in danger and needs help.



In your case, you may have abbreviations such as SRD (sword), SPR (spear) MAN/MEN (person/people), HRS (horse) etc. If you then string several of these abbreviations together, you can communicate phrases quite quickly.



You may even have secret phrases communicated through abbreviations. For example, “XRT” may mean “Be alert, the king has left the castle, ready your archers” but there is no possible way you could have guessed that is what XRT meant, not in the same way you could guess SPR means Spear. Only those who were told what the code meant would understand it, preventing spies from intercepting it.



An image showing the sequences and their corresponding letters or numbers for international morse code
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code



Here is a chart for International Morse Code so you can create your own abbreviations and know how to communicate them.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 1 hour ago

























answered 1 hour ago









Liam MorrisLiam Morris

2,339431




2,339431











  • $begingroup$
    Unrelated to your answer per se, but SOS is a prosign, not three distinct letters. Sent properly in Morse code, it's ...---... with no extra spacing (not ... --- ..., as if it were three letters), but with the "dashes" elongenated to be clearly distinguishable from the "dots". Writing it out as SOS is just convention; for example VTB would also come out to ...---... if sent as a prosign.
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Thoughtful answer. You are right that a form of morse might be time consuming, but I think this is a good idea that might work well, especially if their version of morse was specifically developed with short abbreviations and team communication in mind. It also has the capacity to be pretty quiet if necessary, which could be handy for stealth.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    54 mins ago
















  • $begingroup$
    Unrelated to your answer per se, but SOS is a prosign, not three distinct letters. Sent properly in Morse code, it's ...---... with no extra spacing (not ... --- ..., as if it were three letters), but with the "dashes" elongenated to be clearly distinguishable from the "dots". Writing it out as SOS is just convention; for example VTB would also come out to ...---... if sent as a prosign.
    $endgroup$
    – a CVn
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Thoughtful answer. You are right that a form of morse might be time consuming, but I think this is a good idea that might work well, especially if their version of morse was specifically developed with short abbreviations and team communication in mind. It also has the capacity to be pretty quiet if necessary, which could be handy for stealth.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    54 mins ago















$begingroup$
Unrelated to your answer per se, but SOS is a prosign, not three distinct letters. Sent properly in Morse code, it's ...---... with no extra spacing (not ... --- ..., as if it were three letters), but with the "dashes" elongenated to be clearly distinguishable from the "dots". Writing it out as SOS is just convention; for example VTB would also come out to ...---... if sent as a prosign.
$endgroup$
– a CVn
1 hour ago




$begingroup$
Unrelated to your answer per se, but SOS is a prosign, not three distinct letters. Sent properly in Morse code, it's ...---... with no extra spacing (not ... --- ..., as if it were three letters), but with the "dashes" elongenated to be clearly distinguishable from the "dots". Writing it out as SOS is just convention; for example VTB would also come out to ...---... if sent as a prosign.
$endgroup$
– a CVn
1 hour ago




1




1




$begingroup$
Thoughtful answer. You are right that a form of morse might be time consuming, but I think this is a good idea that might work well, especially if their version of morse was specifically developed with short abbreviations and team communication in mind. It also has the capacity to be pretty quiet if necessary, which could be handy for stealth.
$endgroup$
– MarielS
54 mins ago




$begingroup$
Thoughtful answer. You are right that a form of morse might be time consuming, but I think this is a good idea that might work well, especially if their version of morse was specifically developed with short abbreviations and team communication in mind. It also has the capacity to be pretty quiet if necessary, which could be handy for stealth.
$endgroup$
– MarielS
54 mins ago











1












$begingroup$

Supersonic clicks.



Albeit this is much more efficient in a liquid medium (so it's used by dolphins), an acceptable range might be achieved with a supersonic "clicking" organ and suitable ears (they needn't be too big).



This could also double as an active echo-location sonar, very useful for scouts.



Once the clicking mechanism is in place, you have a choice between a click-language or using clicks to code another language (this would be Morse code for example).






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This could perhaps be combined with Liam Morris' answer for interesting results.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    53 mins ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You probably meant ultrasonic. Sound waves cannot be supersonic.
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    42 mins ago
















1












$begingroup$

Supersonic clicks.



Albeit this is much more efficient in a liquid medium (so it's used by dolphins), an acceptable range might be achieved with a supersonic "clicking" organ and suitable ears (they needn't be too big).



This could also double as an active echo-location sonar, very useful for scouts.



Once the clicking mechanism is in place, you have a choice between a click-language or using clicks to code another language (this would be Morse code for example).






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This could perhaps be combined with Liam Morris' answer for interesting results.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    53 mins ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You probably meant ultrasonic. Sound waves cannot be supersonic.
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    42 mins ago














1












1








1





$begingroup$

Supersonic clicks.



Albeit this is much more efficient in a liquid medium (so it's used by dolphins), an acceptable range might be achieved with a supersonic "clicking" organ and suitable ears (they needn't be too big).



This could also double as an active echo-location sonar, very useful for scouts.



Once the clicking mechanism is in place, you have a choice between a click-language or using clicks to code another language (this would be Morse code for example).






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$



Supersonic clicks.



Albeit this is much more efficient in a liquid medium (so it's used by dolphins), an acceptable range might be achieved with a supersonic "clicking" organ and suitable ears (they needn't be too big).



This could also double as an active echo-location sonar, very useful for scouts.



Once the clicking mechanism is in place, you have a choice between a click-language or using clicks to code another language (this would be Morse code for example).







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 1 hour ago









LSerniLSerni

30.2k25398




30.2k25398







  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This could perhaps be combined with Liam Morris' answer for interesting results.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    53 mins ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You probably meant ultrasonic. Sound waves cannot be supersonic.
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    42 mins ago













  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This could perhaps be combined with Liam Morris' answer for interesting results.
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    53 mins ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You probably meant ultrasonic. Sound waves cannot be supersonic.
    $endgroup$
    – L.Dutch
    42 mins ago








1




1




$begingroup$
This could perhaps be combined with Liam Morris' answer for interesting results.
$endgroup$
– MarielS
53 mins ago




$begingroup$
This could perhaps be combined with Liam Morris' answer for interesting results.
$endgroup$
– MarielS
53 mins ago




1




1




$begingroup$
You probably meant ultrasonic. Sound waves cannot be supersonic.
$endgroup$
– L.Dutch
42 mins ago





$begingroup$
You probably meant ultrasonic. Sound waves cannot be supersonic.
$endgroup$
– L.Dutch
42 mins ago












0












$begingroup$

Option 1



They can shapeshift their skin to mimic the one of some octopi. In that way the skin can act as a screen, where messages can be displayed and read up to a certain distance. This would enable silent communication, which for certain types of mission is or paramount importance.



Option 2



They can keep a human vocal system, so that they can still articulate speech while in another form.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    Option 1 sounds interesting, displaying messages on yourself. Though if you had fur it might be harder! Option 2 I considered, but I'm not sure that the shape of, say, a wolf's head and mouth would allow some kinds of normal speech, even if a human voicebox, etc. was retained. After all, we make a lot of sounds by manipulating our tongue and lips, not just our vocal tract
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @MarielS A possible work around for that is to use a bird-like voice box, parrots can famously make noises that sound like human speech and they do not posses lips or a tongue like a human’s (even if the noise is not a perfect mimicry of a human’s voice). This may not work in your shape-shifting system though.
    $endgroup$
    – Liam Morris
    9 mins ago
















0












$begingroup$

Option 1



They can shapeshift their skin to mimic the one of some octopi. In that way the skin can act as a screen, where messages can be displayed and read up to a certain distance. This would enable silent communication, which for certain types of mission is or paramount importance.



Option 2



They can keep a human vocal system, so that they can still articulate speech while in another form.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    Option 1 sounds interesting, displaying messages on yourself. Though if you had fur it might be harder! Option 2 I considered, but I'm not sure that the shape of, say, a wolf's head and mouth would allow some kinds of normal speech, even if a human voicebox, etc. was retained. After all, we make a lot of sounds by manipulating our tongue and lips, not just our vocal tract
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @MarielS A possible work around for that is to use a bird-like voice box, parrots can famously make noises that sound like human speech and they do not posses lips or a tongue like a human’s (even if the noise is not a perfect mimicry of a human’s voice). This may not work in your shape-shifting system though.
    $endgroup$
    – Liam Morris
    9 mins ago














0












0








0





$begingroup$

Option 1



They can shapeshift their skin to mimic the one of some octopi. In that way the skin can act as a screen, where messages can be displayed and read up to a certain distance. This would enable silent communication, which for certain types of mission is or paramount importance.



Option 2



They can keep a human vocal system, so that they can still articulate speech while in another form.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$



Option 1



They can shapeshift their skin to mimic the one of some octopi. In that way the skin can act as a screen, where messages can be displayed and read up to a certain distance. This would enable silent communication, which for certain types of mission is or paramount importance.



Option 2



They can keep a human vocal system, so that they can still articulate speech while in another form.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 2 hours ago









L.DutchL.Dutch

92.2k29213443




92.2k29213443











  • $begingroup$
    Option 1 sounds interesting, displaying messages on yourself. Though if you had fur it might be harder! Option 2 I considered, but I'm not sure that the shape of, say, a wolf's head and mouth would allow some kinds of normal speech, even if a human voicebox, etc. was retained. After all, we make a lot of sounds by manipulating our tongue and lips, not just our vocal tract
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @MarielS A possible work around for that is to use a bird-like voice box, parrots can famously make noises that sound like human speech and they do not posses lips or a tongue like a human’s (even if the noise is not a perfect mimicry of a human’s voice). This may not work in your shape-shifting system though.
    $endgroup$
    – Liam Morris
    9 mins ago

















  • $begingroup$
    Option 1 sounds interesting, displaying messages on yourself. Though if you had fur it might be harder! Option 2 I considered, but I'm not sure that the shape of, say, a wolf's head and mouth would allow some kinds of normal speech, even if a human voicebox, etc. was retained. After all, we make a lot of sounds by manipulating our tongue and lips, not just our vocal tract
    $endgroup$
    – MarielS
    1 hour ago










  • $begingroup$
    @MarielS A possible work around for that is to use a bird-like voice box, parrots can famously make noises that sound like human speech and they do not posses lips or a tongue like a human’s (even if the noise is not a perfect mimicry of a human’s voice). This may not work in your shape-shifting system though.
    $endgroup$
    – Liam Morris
    9 mins ago
















$begingroup$
Option 1 sounds interesting, displaying messages on yourself. Though if you had fur it might be harder! Option 2 I considered, but I'm not sure that the shape of, say, a wolf's head and mouth would allow some kinds of normal speech, even if a human voicebox, etc. was retained. After all, we make a lot of sounds by manipulating our tongue and lips, not just our vocal tract
$endgroup$
– MarielS
1 hour ago




$begingroup$
Option 1 sounds interesting, displaying messages on yourself. Though if you had fur it might be harder! Option 2 I considered, but I'm not sure that the shape of, say, a wolf's head and mouth would allow some kinds of normal speech, even if a human voicebox, etc. was retained. After all, we make a lot of sounds by manipulating our tongue and lips, not just our vocal tract
$endgroup$
– MarielS
1 hour ago












$begingroup$
@MarielS A possible work around for that is to use a bird-like voice box, parrots can famously make noises that sound like human speech and they do not posses lips or a tongue like a human’s (even if the noise is not a perfect mimicry of a human’s voice). This may not work in your shape-shifting system though.
$endgroup$
– Liam Morris
9 mins ago





$begingroup$
@MarielS A possible work around for that is to use a bird-like voice box, parrots can famously make noises that sound like human speech and they do not posses lips or a tongue like a human’s (even if the noise is not a perfect mimicry of a human’s voice). This may not work in your shape-shifting system though.
$endgroup$
– Liam Morris
9 mins ago


















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