We’re constantly amazed by modern technology that mimics human speech. We’ve had machines that can “speak” language for many years, and now we have virtual assistants such as Siri on Apple devices and Amazon Alexa. Consider a simple question: “Alexa, what is the weather today?” Alexa can retrieve text from a weather forecasting service and turn it into understandable spoken words. It’s astounding when you think about it because we’re the only species that can speak.
Have you ever considered how humans have evolved to speak? Recently, in the “The Scientist” there was an article about the characteristics of humans that allow us to speak. It turns out that changes in the vocal tract combined with alterations in the brain to let us speak.
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Medical Discovery News is hosted by professors Norbert Herzog at Quinnipiac University, and David Niesel of the University of Texas Medical Branch. Learn more at www.medicaldiscoverynews.com.
(1) comment
Apes can learn simple sigh language. Some birds copy sounds people interpret as words. Nothing is more brain intensive than talking. The reason most languages follow simular speach patterns is babies are born understanding the common human speach paterens.
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