為什么鸚鵡會說話？而猩猩卻不會？

This is what a macaque monkey would sound like if it suddenly proposed
如果一只獼猴突然向你求婚的話  這就是它會發(fā)出的聲音

"Wiii you marry me?"
“你愿意嫁給我嗎?”

Yeah, I hate it too
是的 我也很討厭這個聲音

Let's play it again
讓我們再播放一遍

"Wiii you marry me?"
“你愿意嫁給我嗎?”

Now of course, that's not a real monkey
當然啦 現(xiàn)在這個不是真的猴子

it's a computer simulation that was part of a study on monkey vocal tracts
這是對猴子聲道神經(jīng)束做了部分研究 并最終通過計算機模擬出來的

And what it shows is that monkeys have a strikingly similar vocal structure to humans
研究表明 猴子和人類有著驚人的相似的聲音結(jié)構(gòu)

But despite all these similarities, they can't speak
但是盡管擁有這些相似之處 他們還是不會說話

So here's a question
所以問題來了

Compared to monkeys, birds are nothing like us
和猴子比起來 鳥類一點也不像我們

Yet this bird's talking to me right now
但現(xiàn)在這只鳥就在跟我說話

How?
這是為什么呢？

Birds don't have lips. They don't have teeth
鳥類沒有嘴唇 它們也沒有牙齒

their nose is totally different from ours
它們的鼻子結(jié)構(gòu)也和我們的完全不一樣

but they do have something we don't
但同時它們也具備我們沒有的東西

They actually have a different kind of voice box than we do
事實上 它們有著和我們不一樣的喉頭

It's called a syrinx
它們的喉頭 被稱作是鳴管

This is Mya Thompson. She studies birds at Cornell University
這是米婭·湯普森 她在康奈爾大學(xué)進行研究鳥類的相關(guān)工作

They actually have two independent voice boxes
實際上 鳥類具有兩個獨立的鳴管

In birds, and in humans, the lower respiratory system is shaped sort of like an upside down slingshot
鳥類和人類的下呼吸系統(tǒng)一樣 它的形狀有點像一個倒置的彈弓

The top part is the trachea or windpipe and the bottom part is the lungs
上面的部分是氣管 底部是肺

These two pieces move air in and out
這兩個部分一起工作 使得空氣能夠循環(huán)進出

In humans, the voice box is called the larynx, and it's located above the trachea
人類的發(fā)聲部位被稱作是喉頭 它位于氣管上方

It contains vocal "folds" that vibrate when air flows through to produce sound
它包含了發(fā)聲的“褶皺”  當空氣流動時 通過振動來產(chǎn)生聲音

And humans primarily shape that sound with their mouths
并且人類主要用嘴巴來塑造這個聲音

But in birds the voice box is called the "syrinx"
但鳥類的喉頭則被稱作是鳴管

And it's at the bottom of the trachea
位于氣管的底部

Instead of just sending air through vocal folds like we do
和人類直接讓空氣穿過聲帶來發(fā)聲的方式不一樣的是

birds actually control the muscles on the walls of the syrinx to shape and produce sound
實際上 鳥類是通過控制鳴管壁上的肌肉來塑造和發(fā)出聲音的

Take a look at this cardinal as it sings
看看這只主紅雀唱歌的樣子

You can actually see that the noise comes directly from the chest
實際上 你可以看到它發(fā)出的聲音直接來自于胸腔

The bird extends and shortens its neck and opens or closes its beak to refine the noise
然后通過伸展或縮短脖子 打開或關(guān)閉嘴巴來以細化聲音

but most of the control is actually happening in the syrinx
但大多數(shù)對聲音的控制 實際上發(fā)生在鳴管中

It's a powerful sound for such a small animal
對于這么小的動物來說 它們發(fā)出的聲音實在是太有力量了

but that's not even the most impressive part
但這還不是最令人印象深刻的部分

Cardinals tend to make these "whoop" notes
主紅雀們往往會發(fā)出這種類似于大叫的聲音

and they go by very very quickly
這種聲音持續(xù)的時間非常非常短暫

They're able to produce more pitches than a piano in less than a tenth of a second
他們能在不到十分之一秒的時間里發(fā)出比鋼琴更多的音高

They're actually switching from one side of the syrinx to another seamlessly
實際上 鳥類可以通過無縫切換控制鳴管的兩邊

to make this very very incredible span of pitches
來完成這段非常非常不可思議的音高跨越

The syrinx also lets some birds replicate sounds with astonishing accuracy
鳴管還能讓一些鳥類以驚人的精確度來復(fù)制聲音

For example, BBC Wildlife caught a lyrebird
舉個例子吧 BBC的野生動物頻道就曾發(fā)現(xiàn)一只野外的琴鳥

perfectly imitating a camera in the wild
它能夠完美地模仿出照相機的聲音

And of course, some of them imitate us
當然啦 有些鳥類還可以模仿我們的聲音

Parrots are born communicators. From the start their brains are wired for speech
鸚鵡是天生的交流者 從一出生 它們的大腦就對語言有反應(yīng)

So when they're first hatched, they're learning right away
所以當它們剛孵出來的時候 它們就開始學(xué)習了

and they're learning from everything around them
它們會學(xué)習周圍一切東西發(fā)出的聲音

But speaking human is no easy feat
但要學(xué)會說人類的語言并非易事

We've got our vowels A - E - I - O - U
我們有五個元音 A - E - I - O - U

Our plosives "pocket"
有爆破音 像是“口袋”這個單詞

And a variety of consonants - that we even sometimes struggle to enunciate clearly
還有各種輔音 有時甚至連我們自己都很難清晰地發(fā)出這些聲音

Rural?
鄉(xiāng)下的？

So to pull off such clarity in human speech
所以 如果想要清晰地說出人類的語言

parrots really show off their ability to manipulate their vocal tract
鸚鵡必須要展示出他們操縱聲道的能力

Plosives, for example, require using our lips
舉個例子 想要發(fā)出爆破音 就需要使用到我們的嘴唇

To make up for the lack of lips, parrots use something called esophageal speech
為了彌補嘴唇的缺失 鸚鵡會使用食管語

it's almost like burping that comes from within the trachea
這就像從氣管里打嗝一樣

The force of air replicates the plosive
將空氣強行逼迫出食管 復(fù)制出了爆破音的效果

As for vowels, where we use our lips, tongue and jaw
至于元音 我們需要用到嘴唇 舌頭和下顎

researchers have found that parrots move their tongues forward and backward
研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn) 鸚鵡通過前后移動它們的舌頭

and adjust their beak opening to alter the sound
和調(diào)整嘴的開口來改變聲音

It seems like they are the only birds that are actually using their tongue like humans do
它們似乎是唯一一種可以像人類一樣

to shape the sound that's coming out
使用舌頭來塑造發(fā)出的聲音的鳥類

Parrots have a natural desire to communicate
鸚鵡有一種天生的交流欲望

In the wild they form strong bonds with their flocks
在野外 它們會和自己的族群建立起牢固的紐帶

but in captivity
但被圈養(yǎng)起來后

the parrot forms a social bond with you and they want to communicate with you
鸚鵡就和你形成了一種社會聯(lián)系 它們想和你進行交流

and they have the vocal anatomy to start mimicking you
它們用它們的發(fā)聲結(jié)構(gòu)來模仿你

When parrots live with us, we're their flock
當鸚鵡和我們生活在一起的時候 我們就是它們的族群

and they're determined to sing our song
所以它們決定用我們的"語言"