Thể thao, Khoa học & Nghệ thuật

Monkeys 'talk in turns'

They can chat too

Recordings of monkeys calling to one another have revealed that they take it in turns to make sounds, in a pattern very similar to human conversation. Scientists from Princeton University recorded marmosets as they called each other. The animals would wait several seconds before responding.

Nov 25,2013

listen

. (Sound made by a monkey)

These very high-pitched squeaks could provide a clue about theevolutionary route of our own conversational turn-taking.

The Princeton University team recorded these exchanges between marmosets as they sat in opposite corners of a room.

The animals were separated by a curtain, so they could hear but not see one another.

After one of the diminutive monkeys called out, the other waited several seconds before responding.

(Sounds made by a two monkeys, one after the other)

The scientists suggest that sounds might contain information that the listener needs to take time to digest.

Whatever the reason for this polite pausing, these simple, squeakyexchanges could illustrate the foundations of the way we communicate - by talking and, perhaps more importantly, listening.

Vocabulary

high-pitched: (of a sound or voice) very high
evolutionary route: gradual change and development over time
turn-taking: from one to another
exchanges: brief conversations
diminutive: very small
to digest: to consider
foundations: basic elements

Thể thao, Khoa học & Nghệ thuật

Vocabulary

Bài liên quan