In fact, monkeys, known as the closest animal to humans, display surprisingly similar characteristics from time to time. We can see this in both individual activities and family structures. However, our distinctions on some points that make us who we are can also cause confusion.
The fact that their speaking abilities were not yet as developed as ours was one of our distinctions that caused confusion until recent years. Another puzzling issue that followed was that some birds, despite their resemblance to us, can make the sounds we make. Let’s clear up the confusion about the two issues.
We know they shout and make different sounds. But that means we have to go back a bit to find out why monkeys can’t talk:
For many years, it was known that monkeys could not speak because they did not have the necessary structures in their throats. This conclusion was reached as a result of experiments carried out in the 1960s and 70s. In this experiment, scientists obtained information through calculations by examining the throat structure of a naturally dead monkey. A drugged monkey was also used. This throat structure, which is quite small compared to a human’s, indicated that vowels could not be extracted.
Years later, in a study conducted in 2016, the real truth emerged:
The experiment we just mentioned was done by Philip Lieberman. We can say that this research imitated the same with more advanced techniques. The same species (macaque) monkeys took part in the experiment in question. But this time they were all alive.
The throat structure of the monkeys in question was watched live by X-ray as they communicate with each other, eat and make sounds. As a result, a large number of images were obtained and a three-dimensional model of this throat structure was revealed. Then the air passing through here was simulated in different positions, and as a result, the sounds they could make were theoretically revealed.
A macaque monkey asks you, “Will you marry me?” If he had said (Will you marry me?) you would have heard something like this:
- This sentence was chosen because it contains enough different vowels.
Now let’s come to our main topic: If they have the opportunity, why don’t they talk?
Because the problem isn’t in their throats, it’s in their brains. The brain in question is not developed enough to enable them to imitate sounds. They can understand the situation they are in from certain sounds and produce sounds accordingly, but their brains are insufficient when it comes to using their vocal cords and translating it into a language.
So the bottom line is they have the whole set to be able to speak, but they’re limited by their brains. W. Tecumseh Fitch, lead author of the 2016 study, stated that apes could talk if they had a human brain instead of theirs.
Parrots can make beautiful sounds even if they don’t speak. So what’s different here?
Your parrot can learn to swear, learn to greet and memorize the different words it is constantly exposed to. But remember, they never know the meaning of most of these words. So they just imitate.
We cannot make the ‘p’ and ‘b’ sounds without closing our lips. So how do these parrots with no lips pull it out?
When parrots speak, they play with the air coming from their lungs and thus they make certain sounds. When you think of the respiratory system as an inverted sling, our vocal cords are in our throat, in the larynx. However, the part that enables the parrot to produce sound is located at the fork opening to the lungs.
We direct the air and make sounds with the movements of our vocal cords. Parrots, on the other hand, have muscles at the point of separation we mentioned. In this way, they can produce a certain sound by closing a road at that junction, and a different sound by closing the other road. In this context, we can say that they form the ‘p’ and ‘b’ sounds by compressing the air and releasing it all at once. In addition, they can shape the sound by adjusting the beak and tongue position.
Let’s not forget that they are social animals by nature:
In the wild, we can say that they cannot go beyond the sound of birds. When they are at home, they will imitate them because they bond with their owners. This, of course, is determined by the bond between you and your parrot. However, it should be noted that there is no rule that every parrot will talk.
You can express your thoughts in the comment section.
Sources: Science ABC, Vox, Science, National Post, SciShow, Washington Post,
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