为什么鹦鹉会说话？而猩猩却不会？

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"