"How do we talk to animals? Modes and pragmatic effects of communication with pets This article examines the possible contributions of an interactionist linguistic approach to the analysis of human/animal communication. Communicative exchanges between humans and animals take place on a frequent, commonplace, and daily basis (whether at home or at work), and yet have so far been the subject of little in-depth investigation, since they are difficult to analyze from either an ethological perspective (which is usually interested in the communicative behavior of a specific species) or a linguistic perspective (which focuses on articulated verbal language, namely that of humans). On the basis of audio and video data collected in various contexts and in “natural” situations (as opposed to experimental ones), which give access to forms of address that have been little documented in literature to date, this study identifies three recurrent modes of address to the domestic animal, and examines their pragmatic effects. This indicates the need for a re-examination, on the basis of precise empirical data, of some of the more general questions that are usually raised when dealing with human/ animal relationships, including that of the agency of animals, the attribution of intention, and the possible means of mutual adjustment."