评论
打印
Monkeys Should Be Able To Talk, If Only They Had The Brains To Do So
猴子也可能会说话，只是声音略可怕
It is a question that many have asked (well, in film at least): What would happen if a chimpanzee could say “No”? Previous research suggested their inability to talk was due to limitations in their vocal tract anatomy. Well, new research suggests that it could be more to do with their brains than their mouths, as experiments with macaque monkeys have found that they have the vocal capability, but not the cognitive know-how to speak.
每当看到电影里有类似情节时，很多人都会好奇：如果一只猩猩用人话说“不”会是什么样。起初，科学家认为它们是因为音域有限才无法说话。但最新研究发现，这种观点是错误的。猕猴也有可以说话的音域条件。它们之所以说不出人话，是因为没有人脑的认知能力，问题主要出在它们的大脑上。
The international team of scientists looked into the vocal capabilities of macaque monkeys by using X-ray videos to record the movements and changes in their lips, tongue, and larynx when making noises. This is a marked change from previous experiments into the vocal abilities of primates, which have tended to use dead specimens to examine their vocal anatomy.
为此，国际科学家专门组成团队，来研究猕猴的说话能力。猕猴发声时，他们用X光对不同发生部位进行追踪，包括舌头、嘴唇和喉咙。这项实验跟之前对灵长类动物研究大有不同，因为以前都是用死去动物的样本进行观察的。
The data gathered from the videos was then fed into a computer model that could simulate the macaques' vocal ability and range based on their physical attributes. They found that the primates possessed the anatomy to produce sounds used in human speech, such as vowels, and would even be able to produce full sentences. The resulting noises are “clearly intelligible” even if they do sound fairly creepy to our human ears.
随后，X光拍摄的数据被输入可以模拟猕猴音域的电脑模型中。分析之后，科学家发现灵长类动物拥有说人话的发声器官（可以发元音，甚至整句话）。它们发出的声音可以被人类解读，只是听起来略可怕。
This, they claim, means that what is lacking is not the vocal apparatus, but the cognitive ability instead.
因此，他们得出结论，猴子说不出人话，缺失的不是发声器官，而是大脑的认知能力。
Because the researchers carried out their work on the vocal anatomy of macaques, they think it could have implications for many other species of monkeys. Macaques are classed in a group known as “old world monkeys”, which includes the likes of baboons and langurs, but which eventually gave rise to the apes, including chimpanzees and, obviously, us. This suggests that the vocal anatomy may be shared by our closest living relatives.
虽然科学家只在猕猴身上做了实验，但他们推断其他种类的猴子也是如此。猕猴属于旧大陆猴类，该类属下还有狒狒和叶猴，以及再上一级的猿类，比如大猩猩和人类。这证明我们的近亲也有类似我们的发声器官。
译文属可可英语原创，仅供学习和交流使用，未经许可，请勿转载。
