Parrots’ Language

Sophomore C 94121306 林雅雯 (Vanessa) 94121318 楊于萱 (Eva)

94121344 楊蕙萍 (Synthia) 94121348 侯怡婷 (Rachel) 94121358 余孟璇 (Candy)Junior C 93121305 廖朝弘 (Howie)

Professor : Jane King

OutlineThe definition of parrotsParrots’ body languageParrots’ pronunciation and articulatorsBrains of human and birdsImitationTrainingsCreativity

What is PARROT ?Psittaciformes( 鸚鵡科 ) Birds bright in luster, nearly have 330 kind

s, originate in the warm area. The beak has hooks, the nostril is in wax membrane( 蠟膜 ); Perching in the forest or the open ground, eat the fruit and seed mainly, some eat insects, fetch the food with the foot , is good at imitating the human voice.

ParrotsAfrican Grey Parrot The AmazonsEclectus Parrot Quaker (Monk) ParakeetThe MacawsBudgerigars

Non-Parrots

MynaIndian Grackle Skylark

Body LanguageSwing the tail I am very glad to see you. ／ My

tail is messy.

Spread the body

See how glad I am to see you.

Rubbing the mouth

I will sleep, good night. ／ Just the same as we have a manicure.

Sleep with a foot

Very normal, it is the going to bed.

Flutter its wings up and down

It may be that it is angry. ／ want to sleep ／ aches ／ or the feather is messy

Spread wings of one side

I think I am not prepare well.

Pat wings which move both sides

I think I can make it.

Pat and move wings continuously

Don't act foolishly or you will regret.

Swing the tongue Good taste! I like it.

Step (Can use the mouth sometimes)

You go nearing me very much, this is my house.

Parrots’ Pronunciation Parrots are similar to human

beings. They use their tongue to pronounce vowels( 元音 ). However, human beings pronounce not only vowels but also consonants( 輔音 ).

Parrots’ Articulators Syrinx ( 鳴管 )1. It is a voice box ( 喉頭 )organ nestled between

the trachea ( 氣管 )and lungs.2. It operates similarly in all parrots. Formants ( 共振峰 ) 1. They are small ranges of frequencies that rema

in strongly audible as sound travels past the throat, tongue, mouth and nasal cavities.

2. Human voices also have formants.

Tongue A change of just a fraction of a

millimeter in tongue position could significantly affect the qualities of the emerging sound. By analogy, it is larger than the difference between an “A” and an “O” in human speech.

http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/1604.html

Brains of Human and BirdsImmediate early gene, IEG ： ZENK( 即刻

早基因 --ZENK)1.ZENK participates in the cells’ control of gr

owth and differentiation ( 分化 ). It has a lot to do with animals’ learning and memorizing of the brain.

2.When the singing birds are stimulated by the signals or pronounce the sounds by themselves, the IEG can operate immediately.

http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%84%91

Cortex ( 皮質 )

1.It is the most biggest part in birds’ brain. The cortex and the tissue ( 組織 ) which is below the cortex control the complex behavior. The bigger the cortex is, the smarter the animals are.

2.In mammals, the more the cerebral cortex ( 大腦皮層 )are, the better the cognition ( 認知 ) of animals are.

Gyrus (Gyri)( 腦回 )

1. There are many sulci (sulcus)( 腦溝 ) on the cerebral cortex. The threadlike parts between the sulci call Gyri.

2. The more the Gyri are, the stronger the cognition are.

http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%84%91

ComparisonTheir shapes are similar to each other.Humans’ Gyri are more than birds’.Their nervous system ( 神經系統 ) have gre

at differences in the structure. However, their functions are similar to each other.

When parrots are learning new pronunciations, the operated tissues are similar to the human beings’.

ImitationBirds’ sounds are not born nature. They

imitate their parents like the way human do.They just imitate what they hear. They do

not know the meanings. Example: a contest for parrotsParrots are imitative animals which imitate

unconsciously.

Environmental Factor

Continuous pitch

Example: 1. ringing tone

2. bee

3. knocking doorStress

Example: 1. a gray parrot caught into

trap

Birds’ Mutual Imitation Ι

Many birds can imitate other birds’ sounds or songs. However, they do not exactly know the meanings of those sounds or songs.

Mockingbird ( 模仿鳥 )

Mockingbird ( 模仿鳥 )

圖片來源 : http://museum.utep.edu/archive/birds/DDmockingbird.htm

Birds’ Mutual Imitation II

According to a study from Science, some scientists find that birds imitate other birds’ helping-signal, and further get those birds’ help.

Eben Goodale ( 依本．古代爾 ) Great racket-tail drongo ( 大盤尾 ) in Sri La

nka

Great racket-tail drongo ( 大盤尾 )

圖片來源 : http://www.naturestops.com

Parrot’s classroom

1+2=3

•Teach your parrot to do a sum.

•Talented or imitative?

•Can it really do a sum?

Training 1: Teach your parrot to count from one to three.

Step1: Use its favorite food. (For example, apples.)

Step2 : When it squawks three times, you have to stuff the apple into its mouth.

Step3: The training of other numbers is the same.

1 、 2 、 3

Training 2: Teach your parrot to do the sum. 1+2=3 2+1=3

Step1: Talk to your parrot, “One plus two equals three.” “Two plus one equals three.”

Step2: Repeat and repeat until your parrot remembers.

For parrot, 1+2 ≠ 2+1

Why I have to learn math！

Training 3: Teach your parrot to recognize and pick up the number tag with its beak.

Step1: Put the tag of three in front of it. Step2: Ask it, “One plus two equals?” Step3: If it picks up the tag with its mouth, you

have to give it some rewards.Step4: Each question has to be trained

separately.

1 2 3

Your talented parrotYou: One plus two equals?Parrot: * * * (And It would pick up the tag

of three from other tags.)Audience: Wow ！ Genius ！ How smart it

is ！

Am I smart?I just imitate your voice.

And Remember the tag’s

look.

A talking parrot: AlexAlex is an African grey

parrot. Alex has a vocabulary of

around 1000 words, but is exceptional in that he appears to have understanding of what he says.

He could identify 50 different objects and distinguish 7 colors and 5 shapes.

Color, shape, material

Same and differentAndVerb

Creativity He has even coined a new

word. At first, he did not associate an apple with the word “apple” but instead with the word “bannery,” and since the other fruit names he knew at the time were “grape,” “banana,” and “cherry,” it could be considered to be a linguistic elision/portmanteau of “banana” and “cherry.”

Reference http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/1604.html http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%84%91 圖片來源 : http://museum.utep.edu/archive/birds/DDmockingbird.

htm 圖片來源 : http://www.naturestops.com.tw

Thanks for your attention.