Mavis: Gibberish. Listen to you. You really think all that groaning, sputtering, and teeth gnashing is gibberish?
Sydne: How can it not be?
Mavis: There's the intention behind all these sounds! There's actual meaning. Syntax, grammar, it's all there!
Sydne: Oh? And there are little differences between the tongues of zombies, ghouls, wraiths, and all those other horrible beings? The only difference is the degree to which their tongues have rotted. And there sure isn't a difference when they're hauling people off into the lost woods!
Mavis: Maybe if we understood their languages, we can understand them.
Sydne: I understand that they want to kill us all off! We all do. Except you.
Mavis: If we understand their language, we understand their nature. Then we can find out why they hate us so much.
Sydne: Because they're different. We're human, they're not human. Maybe they envy our humanness, that we're alive, that we can enjoy lemonade on bright summer days and they can only enjoy cold brains in their dark, rotting graves.
Mavis: We are different, yes. Understanding them doesn't mean agreeing with them. It doesn't even mean liking them. It means knowing how they work and how we can protect ourselves as a result of gaining that knowledge.
Sydne: Fine, Miss Monster Tongue, how do you plan on using this knowledge once you've finally translated monster speech?