Michael,
=C2=A0
I find your study fascinating,
in particular in regards to the identification of the different 'modes' tha=
t birds
communicate.
=C2=A0
I regret the fact I
can't contribute to your investigations supplying audio samples at present,=
but
I'll disseminate the idea of recording speaking birds, now that
I'm aware of this field of research.
=C2=A0
Luis
From: Michael Dalton <>
To: Nature Recordists <>
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 8:09 AM
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: Composite detection
=C2=A0
Luis,
=C2=A0
Thanks for the information.
=C2=A0
It would have been interesting to be able to examine a recording of the bir=
d's statements. Is it interesting that people did not think to record the b=
ird's speech to examine what it said?
=C2=A0
Your comment about "mumbling" is what most people say about bird speech. He=
re is my evaluation of what occurs in instances. When the bird interacts wi=
th people it sticks to a certain routine of speech that brings the greatest=
amount of approval for the parrot. Part of the speech is repetitious, so p=
eople understand what the bird says.
=C2=A0
When the parrot is alone, it speaks according to its own concept of languag=
e (birds have innate linguistic abilities). The birds often make advanced, =
complicated, statements, which owners and other listeners miss. The bird ca=
n speak rapidly (4 to 10 times faster than we do)=C2=A0and that adds to con=
fusion about what the parrot says. Some parrots speak in up to about five d=
ifferent sounding voices. The many factors, including that most people have=
no concept that birds can use language, causes people to perceive the bird=
's statements as "mumbles."
=C2=A0
In my experience, I have been successful in decoding bird speech. In one re=
cent clip, I told the owner that the bird used a peculiar phrase that is de=
cidedly not "American," Included in the speech was the phrase "eh," which i=
s NOT typically American (US). She wrote back that she had a volunteer from=
Canada who was English who worked with her birds during the summer. This i=
s one example of what we might learn if more people paid attention to what =
parrots say during free speech.
=C2=A0
>From my research, I find that many birds are learning language. The evidenc=
e comes from a number of factors including general use of cognitive speech,=
pronoun substitution, conjugation of verbs, attribution, humor, synonyms, =
asking questions and answering appropriately, statements about deception, a=
nd sequences of sentences about a single topic. The main problem for birds =
who do not learn well is not the parrots=C2=A0 but rather a deficiency of t=
he bird's human keeper.
=C2=A0
Mike
Florida
www.ParrotSpeech.com
=C2=A0
Re: Composite detection
Posted by: "Luis" lecarmo
Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:27 pm (PDT)
Michael Dalton <mdaltonarielle@ ...> wrote:
>
> About Amazona Aestiva ... there is a problem in life ... that is the
difficulty people have understanding bird speech that is not a hackneyed
phrase. Consequently, what sounds like "walla" to many people, might, in
fact, be a statement made by the bird. I have considerable experience
listening to bird speech; sometimes owners send me clips of what they
call "mumbles."
Mike,
That made me recollect my experience and yes, the bird sounded as if he
(a male parrot) was "mumbling". It occurs to me that the bird could be
"talking to himself". This speculation rises from the fact that this
specific bird used to speak in a very intelligible manner (I know
Amazona Aestivas are known for being articulate, but every being is
unique) and the "mumblings" only occurred while he was by himself, not
addressing to anyone. Among people he used to speak a very broad
repertoire and was capable of singing long pieces of songs, all
performed in a well-articulated manner.
>
> Luis, if you have a clip featuring "walla," I'd like to hear it. Of
course if it is in a language other than English, my effectiveness is
greatly reduced, but I still might perceive something of interest.
Unfortunately the bird is deceased for many years and I don't have
any recordings, which would be, in this specific case, in Portuguese.
Luis
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