为什么鹦鹉会说话?而猩猩却不会?

时间:2023-02-14 09:06:37

(单词翻译:单击)

  This is what a macaque monkey would sound like if it suddenly proposed

  如果一只猕猴突然向你求婚的话  这就是它会发出的声音

  "Wiii you marry me?"

  “你愿意嫁给我吗?”

  Yeah, I hate it too

  是的 我也很讨厌这个声音

  Let's play it again

  让我们再播放一遍

  "Wiii you marry me?"

  “你愿意嫁给我吗?”

  Now of course, that's not a real monkey

  当然啦 现在这个不是真的猴子

  it's a computer simulation that was part of a study on monkey vocal1 tracts2

  这是对猴子声道神经束做了部分研究 并最终通过计算机模拟出来的

  And what it shows is that monkeys have a strikingly similar vocal structure to humans

  研究表明 猴子和人类有着惊人的相似的声音结构

  But despite all these similarities, they can't speak

  但是尽管拥有这些相似之处 他们还是不会说话

  So here's a question

  所以问题来了

  Compared to monkeys, birds are nothing like us

  和猴子比起来 鸟类一点也不像我们

  Yet this bird's talking to me right now

  但现在这只鸟就在跟我说话

  How?

  这是为什么呢?

  Birds don't have lips. They don't have teeth

  鸟类没有嘴唇 它们也没有牙齿

  their nose is totally different from ours

  它们的鼻子结构也和我们的完全不一样

  but they do have something we don't

  但同时它们也具备我们没有的东西

  They actually have a different kind of voice box than we do

  事实上 它们有着和我们不一样的喉头

  It's called a syrinx

  它们的喉头 被称作是鸣管

  This is Mya Thompson. She studies birds at Cornell University

  这是米娅·汤普森 她在康奈尔大学进行研究鸟类的相关工作

  They actually have two independent voice boxes

  实际上 鸟类具有两个独立的鸣管

  In birds, and in humans, the lower respiratory system is shaped sort of like an upside down slingshot

  鸟类和人类的下呼吸系统一样 它的形状有点像一个倒置的弹弓

  The top part is the trachea or windpipe and the bottom part is the lungs

  上面的部分是气管 底部是肺

  These two pieces move air in and out

  这两个部分一起工作 使得空气能够循环进出

  In humans, the voice box is called the larynx, and it's located above the trachea

  人类的发声部位被称作是喉头 它位于气管上方

  It contains vocal "folds" that vibrate when air flows through to produce sound

  它包含了发声的“褶皱”  当空气流动时 通过振动来产生声音

  And humans primarily shape that sound with their mouths

  并且人类主要用嘴巴来塑造这个声音

  But in birds the voice box is called the "syrinx"

  但鸟类的喉头则被称作是鸣管

  And it's at the bottom of the trachea

  位于气管的底部

  Instead of just sending air through vocal folds like we do

  和人类直接让空气穿过声带来发声的方式不一样的是

  birds actually control the muscles on the walls of the syrinx to shape and produce sound

  实际上 鸟类是通过控制鸣管壁上的肌肉来塑造和发出声音的

  Take a look at this cardinal3 as it sings

  看看这只主红雀唱歌的样子

  You can actually see that the noise comes directly from the chest

  实际上 你可以看到它发出的声音直接来自于胸腔

  The bird extends and shortens its neck and opens or closes its beak4 to refine the noise

  然后通过伸展或缩短脖子 打开或关闭嘴巴来以细化声音

  but most of the control is actually happening in the syrinx

  但大多数对声音的控制 实际上发生在鸣管中

  It's a powerful sound for such a small animal

  对于这么小的动物来说 它们发出的声音实在是太有力量了

  but that's not even the most impressive part

  但这还不是最令人印象深刻的部分

  Cardinals5 tend to make these "whoop6" notes

  主红雀们往往会发出这种类似于大叫的声音

  and they go by very very quickly

  这种声音持续的时间非常非常短暂

  They're able to produce more pitches than a piano in less than a tenth of a second

  他们能在不到十分之一秒的时间里发出比钢琴更多的音高

  They're actually switching from one side of the syrinx to another seamlessly

  实际上 鸟类可以通过无缝切换控制鸣管的两边

  to make this very very incredible span of pitches

  来完成这段非常非常不可思议的音高跨越

  The syrinx also lets some birds replicate7 sounds with astonishing accuracy

  鸣管还能让一些鸟类以惊人的精确度来复制声音

  For example, BBC Wildlife caught a lyrebird

  举个例子吧 BBC的野生动物频道就曾发现一只野外的琴鸟

  perfectly8 imitating a camera in the wild

  它能够完美地模仿出照相机的声音

  And of course, some of them imitate us

  当然啦 有些鸟类还可以模仿我们的声音

  Parrots are born communicators. From the start their brains are wired for speech

  鹦鹉是天生的交流者 从一出生 它们的大脑就对语言有反应

  So when they're first hatched, they're learning right away

  所以当它们刚孵出来的时候 它们就开始学习了

  and they're learning from everything around them

  它们会学习周围一切东西发出的声音

  But speaking human is no easy feat9

  但要学会说人类的语言并非易事

  We've got our vowels10 A - E - I - O - U

  我们有五个元音 A - E - I - O - U

  Our plosives "pocket"

  有爆破音 像是“口袋”这个单词

  And a variety of consonants11 - that we even sometimes struggle to enunciate12 clearly

  还有各种辅音 有时甚至连我们自己都很难清晰地发出这些声音

  Rural?

  乡下的?

  So to pull off such clarity in human speech

  所以 如果想要清晰地说出人类的语言

  parrots really show off their ability to manipulate their vocal tract

  鹦鹉必须要展示出他们操纵声道的能力

  Plosives, for example, require using our lips

  举个例子 想要发出爆破音 就需要使用到我们的嘴唇

  To make up for the lack of lips, parrots use something called esophageal speech

  为了弥补嘴唇的缺失 鹦鹉会使用食管语

  it's almost like burping that comes from within the trachea

  这就像从气管里打嗝一样

  The force of air replicates the plosive

  将空气强行逼迫出食管 复制出了爆破音的效果

  As for vowels, where we use our lips, tongue and jaw

  至于元音 我们需要用到嘴唇 舌头和下颚

  researchers have found that parrots move their tongues forward and backward

  研究人员发现 鹦鹉通过前后移动它们的舌头

  and adjust their beak opening to alter the sound

  和调整嘴的开口来改变声音

  It seems like they are the only birds that are actually using their tongue like humans do

  它们似乎是唯一一种可以像人类一样

  to shape the sound that's coming out

  使用舌头来塑造发出的声音的鸟类

  Parrots have a natural desire to communicate

  鹦鹉有一种天生的交流欲望

  In the wild they form strong bonds with their flocks

  在野外 它们会和自己的族群建立起牢固的纽带

  but in captivity

  但被圈养起来后

  the parrot forms a social bond with you and they want to communicate with you

  鹦鹉就和你形成了一种社会联系 它们想和你进行交流

  and they have the vocal anatomy to start mimicking you

  它们用它们的发声结构来模仿你

  When parrots live with us, we're their flock

  当鹦鹉和我们生活在一起的时候 我们就是它们的族群

  and they're determined to sing our song

  所以它们决定用我们的"语言"


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 vocal vhOwA     
adj.直言不讳的;嗓音的;n.[pl.]声乐节目
参考例句:
  • The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
  • Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。
2 tracts fcea36d422dccf9d9420a7dd83bea091     
大片土地( tract的名词复数 ); 地带; (体内的)道; (尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的)短文
参考例句:
  • vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
  • There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。
3 cardinal Xcgy5     
n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的
参考例句:
  • This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
  • The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火,脸涨得通红。
4 beak 8y1zGA     
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
参考例句:
  • The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
  • This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
5 cardinals 8aa3d7ed97d6793c87fe821585838a4a     
红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 ); 红衣凤头鸟(见于北美,雄鸟为鲜红色); 基数
参考例句:
  • cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
  • A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。
6 whoop qIhys     
n.大叫,呐喊,喘息声;v.叫喊,喘息
参考例句:
  • He gave a whoop of joy when he saw his new bicycle.他看到自己的新自行车时,高兴得叫了起来。
  • Everybody is planning to whoop it up this weekend.大家都打算在这个周末好好欢闹一番。
7 replicate PVAxN     
v.折叠,复制,模写;n.同样的样品;adj.转折的
参考例句:
  • The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
  • It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样,它还可以被轻易的复制。
8 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
9 feat 5kzxp     
n.功绩;武艺,技艺;adj.灵巧的,漂亮的,合适的
参考例句:
  • Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
  • He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。
10 vowels 6c36433ab3f13c49838853205179fe8b     
n.元音,元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
11 consonants 6d7406e22bce454935f32e3837012573     
n.辅音,子音( consonant的名词复数 );辅音字母
参考例句:
  • Consonants are frequently assimilated to neighboring consonants. 辅音往往被其邻近的辅音同化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
12 enunciate jovxd     
v.发音;(清楚地)表达
参考例句:
  • Actors learn how to enunciate clearly in the theatrical college.演员在戏剧学院学习怎样清晰地发音。
  • He is always willing to enunciate his opinions on the subject of politics.他总是愿意对政治问题发表意见。

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