Still Waters Posted November 1, 2012 #1 Share Posted November 1, 2012 (edited) Cases of mammals being able to make human-like sounds are extremely rare, because even close animal relatives like chimpanzees do not have enough vocal control to match our pitch and tone. But Koshik overcame sizeable anatomical hurdles – the fact that elephants have no lips, for instance – to mimic human sounds by placing his trunk in his mouth and massaging his vocal tract into a different shape. The unusual technique, which has never before been seen in animals, allows him to imitate human word sounds and match the pitch of his trainers' voices despite being much larger, and having a longer vocal tract and bigger larynx. http://www.telegraph...aks-Korean.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20142858 Edited November 1, 2012 by Still Waters Additional source link added Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis914 Posted November 1, 2012 #2 Share Posted November 1, 2012 When and if he ever says, "안녕하세요!!" I will fall out of this chair... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted November 2, 2012 #3 Share Posted November 2, 2012 The animals are learning and they are going to take over. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlis Posted November 2, 2012 #4 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Here is >another article concerning this story. An Elephant That Speaks Korean ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2012) — An Asian elephant named Koshik can imitate human speech, speaking words in Korean that can be readily understood by those who know the language. The elephant accomplishes this in a most unusual way: he vocalizes with his trunk in his mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salami Swami Posted November 2, 2012 #5 Share Posted November 2, 2012 The animals are learning and they are going to take over. Hopefuly not take over, imagine animals learning to talk like humans. Animal concious shift or evolution out of necesity? Would be cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted November 2, 2012 #6 Share Posted November 2, 2012 I truly wish my dog could talk to me in English. Or "laugh" when I tickle it's belly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted November 2, 2012 #7 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Brilliant! May elephants take over the earth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highdesert50 Posted November 3, 2012 #8 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Amusing how a "dumb" animal can communicate in a complex human language and how few "intelligent" humans can communicate in "elephant" or any other non-human communication medium. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little_dreamer Posted November 3, 2012 #9 Share Posted November 3, 2012 OK, time to teach him "Gangnam Style"! He's got to learn the dance step as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllJay Posted November 3, 2012 #10 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Cases of mammals being able to make human-like sounds are extremely rare, because even close animal relatives like chimpanzees do not have enough vocal control to match our pitch and tone. Nice. Didn't we have a "talking" whale just a while ago? EDIT: Found the link. He is pretty chatty as well. He even blows heart-shaped bubbles >> http://www.dailymail...act-humans.html Listen to this>> He might sound a bit like this right now, but with a good speech therapist we might get a conversation going soon. >> [media=] 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missi NuNu Posted November 3, 2012 #11 Share Posted November 3, 2012 When and if he ever says, "안녕하세요!!" I will fall out of this chair... Agreed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosswings Posted December 3, 2012 #12 Share Posted December 3, 2012 @Taylor-Reints That will probably never happen. If it does then gosh, I wouldn't know what to say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosswings Posted December 3, 2012 #13 Share Posted December 3, 2012 @Taylor-Reints That will probably never happen. If it does then gosh, I wouldn't know what to say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leupgaru Posted December 13, 2012 #14 Share Posted December 13, 2012 anyangasayo, anyangasayoka, kamsamida. did i spell it right or the elephant spells it better ?! >" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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