This was inspired by the collection of 'talk with dolphin' threads, and their talk of the differences between our world and theirs. Well, i say fake it. A swimmer nowadays has oxygen tanks, goggles, flippers, etc. Add to the collection some information device that converts between our linquistic world and theirs.
Sonic clicks and whistles get turned into recognizable syllables (given maybe half a second) that the swimmer hears. "Click, click, whistle, bang" gets tuned into "zig zig pof nig". Somehow, it should also go the other way (preferably without the swimmer drowning).
Dolphins use echolocation to not only to see, but to draw simple pictures and point at items. The diver's suit is equipped with a couple of microphones, a CPU and an on-googles projector, showing in 3D what is being pointed at.
With all this assistance, and probably others that i haven't thought of yet, a xenonaut is better equipped to learn one of the dolphin languages out there (and also the differences between them).-- sadie, Oct 03 2002 Yes! Yes! Yes! http://www.nytimes....ircuits/31voic.htmlBaked. [You will need to log in to see the article, but accounts are free.] [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004] Bowlingual http://www.takaratoys.co.jp/bowlingual/Translation collar for dogs. [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004] Dolphin Rosetta http://www.popsci.c...dolphins-and-humans [theircompetitor, May 16 2011] I figure, the more angles of attack on a problem, the better the chance of solveing it. Cheers.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 08 2002 I'm reminded of Arthur Dent finding that birds chatter inanely about wind speed and direction, and Glen Larson's hypothesis that a dog's language is limited to saying "hey" at everything it sees. Would dolphins have anything to say to us? They are generally credited with being intelligent, kindly, wise and gently humourous, but it would be a humbling experience if all they talked about was pollution, tuna fishing and the incessant, throbbing hum from the shipping lanes which gets click inside your head until you can't click beep sleep or even think and it's enough to bweep you clak clak clak mad beeeetzzzzweeaapp (attacks).-- egbert, Oct 08 2002 I've met enough members of the human race who have nothing interesting to say. I'm willing to start looking elsewhere.-- sadie, Nov 07 2002 I say, give 'em a chance to dictate phonic semantics and syntax by urging unique phonic responses, then simply "listening" (w/computers) and mimicing.-- bistromathics, Feb 26 2004 We should begin by trying to communicate the prime numbers to them.-- phundug, Feb 26 2004 random, halfbakery