VOA慢速英语2021--研究人员发现狗能区分不同的语言

Researchers Find Dogs Can Distinguish Between Languages

Dogs can tell the difference between different languages, researchers in Hungary have found.

For their study, the researchers played recordings² of the story "The Little Prince" in both Spanish and Hungarian to a group of 18 dogs. Then they examined how the animals' brains reacted.

The study was led by Laura V. Cuaya at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest. She moved to Hungary from Mexico a few years ago and brought her dog Kun-kun with her.

"I wondered whether Kun-kun noticed that people in Budapest spoke³ a different language, Hungarian," she said.

She said the study found for the first time that a non-human brain can "distinguish (between) languages."

Raul Hernandez-Perez is a co-writer of the study. He said that when dogs live with humans, they can learn patterns of the language they hear.

During the experiment, Kun-kun and other dogs were trained to lie down in a brain scanner for several minutes.

Every dog in the study had heard only one of two languages spoken by their owners—either Hungarian or Spanish. Then researchers compared how their brains reacted to a highly familiar language and to a completely unfamiliar⁴ one.

Cuaya said that dogs could understand the differences in how the two languages are spoken. Spanish, she said, is more melodic⁵, while Hungarian is more monotone.

"We believe that dogs detect that," she said.

The dogs listened to parts of "The Little Prince" in Spanish and Hungarian. Researchers also played scrambled⁷ versions of the story to test if they could hear the difference between speech and non-speech. To "scramble⁶" a recording¹ means to change it so that listeners are not able to understand it.

When comparing brain reactions, researchers found clear activity in the dogs' primary auditory – or hearing – area of the brain. That suggested that they can distinguish between speech and non-speech.

The dogs' secondary auditory area is for understanding complex sounds. This part of the dogs' brains produced different activity patterns when they heard a familiar language compared to an unfamiliar language.

The researchers also found that the older the dogs were, the better they were able to distinguish between the two languages.

Words in This Story

distinguish — v. to notice or recognize a difference between people or things

pattern — n. a repeated form or design especially that is used to decorate something

scanner — n. a device that is used to see inside something

melodic — adj. having a pleasant musical sound or melody

monotone — adj. a way of talking or singing without raising or lowering the sound of your voice

detect — v. to discover or notice the presence of

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

5 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

6 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

7 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》