can a familiar that can speak with its master use command words?

[ohako]

I asked a similar question very recently, and I think I nearly have an answer that satisfies me, but I think I should just double-check. This is all about getting non-improved familiars to be able to use wands. Please bear with me.

Speak with Master wrote:

If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.

What's weird about this ability is that if you captured a familiar, and it said, 'Give me food' to you once every day, then you could never understand it without casting comprehend languages or similar. Effectively, the familiar can speak, but only in an uncrackable (without magic) cypher.

The other thing to know is that this is actual speech. It's not an empathic link, it's not half-Betazoid-senses (whatever those are), it's real speech. Words. Sentence structures. Language. The whole shebang.

Command word wrote:

Command word activation means that a character speaks the word and the item activates.

The language in the spell trigger section is very similar to this.

My questions:

1. Can a familiar who can speak to its master (but not otherwise talk intelligibly) activate a command word (or spell trigger, given a UMD check) wondrous item?

2. Can a vermin familiar, who can still speak to its master, but only

Small and Vermin Familiars wrote:

by way of a strange combination of behaviors, slight changes in coloration, and even the excretion of scents, subtle and otherwise

also activate a command word item?

3. Can a command word (or spell trigger) wondrous item be keyed to use a command word in Drow Sign Language?

[Mystic Lemur]

1) If you consider "as if they were using a common language" to mean "in a language unique to the master and familiar" then yes, but only if the command words are keyed to that language. That would make the item useless to anyone else.

2) and 3) No.

PRD (emphasis mine) wrote:

Command Word: If the activation is on command or if no activation method is suggested either in the magic item description or by the nature of the item, assume that a command word is needed to activate it. Command word activation means that a character speaks the word and the item activates. No other special knowledge is needed.