DailyDirt: Talking Animals Are Real
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Parrots are well-known as non-human animals that can speak our language with some degree of intelligence, but there are a few other examples of animals that can perform similar feats. So far, the vocalizations of these animals are a bit difficult to understand, but it's clear that there are some non-human species that want to imitate us. Before anyone else says it... I, for one, welcome our new _____ overlords.- An Asian elephant named Koshik can say five Korean words -- "annyong" ("hello"), "anja" ("sit down"), "aniya" ("no"), "nuo" ("lie down") and "choah" ("good"). This 22-year-old male elephant was born in captivity, and this may be the first time researchers have heard an elephant use its trunk to modify its vocalizations. [url]
- Some dog owners have trained their dogs to speak short English words and phrases. In a few more (hundred) generations of human-directed breeding, maybe we'll have dogs that are fluent in human languages. [url]
- Hoover the seal was famous for being the first non-human mammal to speak recognizable English words. He lived at the New England Aquarium and spoke with a thick Bostonian accent.... [url]
- Beluga whales are sometimes referred to as "sea canaries" because they're so vocal, but now there's recorded evidence that at least one of these creatures can mimic human speech. A beluga whale in captivity didn't actually say anything recognizable, but it made sounds in an audible range of normal human speech -- which is much lower than usual whale noises. [url]
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Filed Under: beluga whale, biology, dog, elephant, intelligence, parrot, seal, smart animals, talking animals, vocalization
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A think Boston accent?
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Re: A think Boston accent?
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*ducks*
I'M JUST KIDDING!
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Re:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)
Alex was able to do some simple math and was arguably as smart as a very young human child.
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The elephant's actual name is Hel Lo.
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Re: animal speech
He would say "I want it" "Hamburger" "I love you" and "Momma" this is what I can recall off the top of my head but he (the dog) would speak without prompting at times I know he knew other words and sentences
The Dog and I learned to speak at the same time
My sister won a talent contest with this animal and I think my father still has the reel to reel audio recordings to this day.
My uncle also taught his dog to talk 40 years later
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Talking Animals
There are records dating to the ancient Greeks describing birds learning human language (Greek). I am an independent investigator of talking birds. Given the proper education many birds can learn language and assemble original ideas and express thought. For more information consult my book called "Another Kind of Mind: A Talking Bird Masters English" for specific examples from recorded data, some of which is on the Internet site:
www.ParrotSpeech.com/Another_Mind.html
The problem is man's arrogance to think like Descartes that other animals are just robots and we are superior. I subscibe to Darwin's idea that all characteristics are on a continuum. I reepeat a famous line about animal research: The absence of evidence is not evidence of the absence of a capability for animals. Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us!"
Mike
Florida
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