One of the many things people love about their parrots is that they can talk like humans. Or can they? Parrots communicate through sound. They use sound to communicate with their peers, with other species, and even with us! They also communicate exceedingly well using body language, but that's for another post.
Humans have a larynx. Parrots also have a larynx, but it doesn't create sound the way a human's larynx does. Instead, parrots have a syrinx, a muscular vocal organ that allows them to mimic words and imitate sounds while using their tongues and beaks to modulate frequency. Furthermore, a bird's brain structure contains an area specifically designed to imitate sounds. Put the two together and voila!
Debate within the scientific community continues over whether parrots also have a cognitive understanding of human language. Or is it just mimicry? Researchers have studied whether parrots are capable of using words meaningfully in linguistic tasks. Indeed, some species, have been known to acquire more than 1,000 words, roughly the equivalent of a 3 to 4 year-old human child.
But although parrots have the ability to reproduce sounds with a high degree of accuracy, it's unlikely you'll be carrying on a "conversation" with your bird any time soon. What does happen is known as social learning. Parrots not only imitate words, they observe in what context those words are used. They pick up on "social cues" and "learn" the proper situation during which they can appropriately use specific sounds. Pretty cool, right?
So, even though a full on conversation with your feathered friend isn't likely, you can rest assured in the knowledge that your parrot will have a very good idea what your trying to say based upon how you approach them and they will definitely respond with a full awareness that they are, in fact, speaking your language.
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