为什么鹦鹉会说话?而猩猩却不会?
教程:英语演讲集萃  浏览:546  
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    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 vocal tracts
    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 cardinal 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 beak 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

    Cardinals tend to make these "whoop" 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 replicate 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

    perfectly 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 feat
    但要学会说人类的语言并非易事

    We've got our vowels 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 consonants - that we even sometimes struggle to enunciate 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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