Words for Pets
Words for Pets
[Caption above the frame:] Words I use to refer to a pet over the years I live with it:
[Inside the box are four diagrams. Each diagram contains three elliptical sections containing the previous one, each section is drawn identical from diagram to diagram and they are labeled the same way from diagram to diagram. A fourth section (a red ellipse) moves from diagram to diagram and its label changes from diagram to diagram.]
[The red section of the first diagram mainly overlaps the innermost section, but about a third of it is in the second section. The labels are written above the three white sections and then inside the red section. The labels from inside and out and last the label of the red section:] The pet's name Words related to the pet Coherent words of any kind First year
[The red section of the second diagram mainly overlaps the right part of the second section, but it just touches both the first and the third section. The labels are written above the three white sections and then inside the red section. The labels from inside and out and last the label of the red section:] The pet's name Words related to the pet Coherent words of any kind Second year
[The red section of the third diagram mainly overlaps the right part of the third section, but about a third of it is inside the second section and a small part is outside of the third section. The labels are written above the three white sections and then inside the red section. The labels from inside and out and last the label of the red section:] The pet's name Words related to the pet Coherent words of any kind Third year
[The red section of the fourth diagram is completely outside the third section and has to be so far to the right, that the other sections has been moved from the center of the frame to the left. The labels are written above the three white sections and then inside the red section. The labels from inside and out and last the label of the red section:] The pet's name Words related to the pet Coherent words of any kind Fourth year onward

The comic shows four similar Euler diagrams , one for each of the first four years of living with a pet . The diagrams depict sets of words which have varying efficacy in actually identifying the pet, and each one shows how the words used by Randall to refer to his pet change year by year and becoming less and less specific as time goes on.
In the first year it is dominated by the actual name of the pet or words closely related. For example, a dog named Lassie might be called either " Lassie ", "dog", "collie" or "boy/girl".
Moving on to the second year, these related words like "dog" and "collie" get more abundant while the actual name is seldom used. Phrases such as "good dog" or "here, boy" are likely common. Giving a dog the name "Dog" is so common that there is a trope about that.
In the third year, the pet's name is no longer used at all and the owner probably uses simple phrases like "come" or "come here" to call the pet, omitting the name. This is also probably referring to expletives.
The fourth year entails the use of just any sound, not coherent words . This may be referring to something like baby talk , attempted mimicry of the pet's vocalizations, or whatever random sounds the owner has discovered that get a response from the pet.
This development can be attributed to the fact that some animals don't listen to their own name but rather react to the sound of the voice of their owner. It could also refer to the growing bond between owner and the pet, as well as the effect described in 231: Cat Proximity .
The title text suggests that the inevitable result of this continuing pattern is that by the seventh year, Randall will be communicating with the pet in its own language. This might refer to the tendency of some pet owners to mimic or imitate their pets' vocalizations, as if speaking to them. Alternatively, this could be interpreted as a joke that pets don't have proper language and the owner has degenerated to a lack of language themselves as time goes on.
The title text and the caption makes it a little difficult to be certain if the comic refers to when you talk about your pet to other people ("my dog is always hungry") or when you call at it, which would be the only time it would make sense to use coherent words in the animal's own language - "Woof" = come here.
[Caption above the frame:] Words I use to refer to a pet over the years I live with it:
[Inside the box are four diagrams. Each diagram contains three elliptical sections containing the previous one, each section is drawn identical from diagram to diagram and they are labeled the same way from diagram to diagram. A fourth section (a red ellipse) moves from diagram to diagram and its label changes from diagram to diagram.]
[The red section of the first diagram mainly overlaps the innermost section, but about a third of it is in the second section. The labels are written above the three white sections and then inside the red section. The labels from inside and out and last the label of the red section:] The pet's name Words related to the pet Coherent words of any kind First year
[The red section of the second diagram mainly overlaps the right part of the second section, but it just touches both the first and the third section. The labels are written above the three white sections and then inside the red section. The labels from inside and out and last the label of the red section:] The pet's name Words related to the pet Coherent words of any kind Second year
[The red section of the third diagram mainly overlaps the right part of the third section, but about a third of it is inside the second section and a small part is outside of the third section. The labels are written above the three white sections and then inside the red section. The labels from inside and out and last the label of the red section:] The pet's name Words related to the pet Coherent words of any kind Third year
[The red section of the fourth diagram is completely outside the third section and has to be so far to the right, that the other sections has been moved from the center of the frame to the left. The labels are written above the three white sections and then inside the red section. The labels from inside and out and last the label of the red section:] The pet's name Words related to the pet Coherent words of any kind Fourth year onward
