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本帖最后由 sunsong7 于 2011-1-23 17:11 编辑 , K# d9 \( x: r
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- y& ?; p7 ?" _& u( U) z2 B6 z# W& ]近日科学家发现，土拨鼠(prairie dog)除了有自己的语言以外，字汇至少高达100个单字，还可以警告同伴“敌人来了！”据台湾“今日新闻网”报道，北亚历桑那大学(Northern Arizona University)的研究人员指出，在土拨鼠的语言里，甚至还可以形容不同人类的长相。! S1 x, R M0 U2 J3 @5 e9 u
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土拨鼠的各式叫声如吠叫、鸣叫，其实背后存在着复杂的语言结构，因此当有敌人入侵它们的地盘时，它们可以发出警告声，呼吁同伴赶紧逃命。
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研究人员提到，它们语言的丰富程度，可以让它们形容敌人的体型、大小、颜色以及入侵的速度。不管是土狼(coyote)、狗、还是各种鸟类，它们都有自己一套形容的方式，要同伴多加准备。6 J/ W% e3 W1 Q" a( U
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研究人员将自己藏身至土拨鼠的窝当中，然后把土拨鼠发出的声音录下来，然后再对声音中的音调以及频率加以研究，随后发现它们在不同敌人入侵时，会发出不同的声音。
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( a @; k2 ^8 Y3 v7 U除此之外，研究人员还请来4位自愿者，充当“要入侵的敌人”，穿上不同颜色的衣服，发现土拨鼠对此反应也不同；同时，土拨鼠也能分辨不同身高的敌人。8 C$ b) P# v( i" h
3 o- b8 h A ?( E+ u研究人员打趣地表示，虽然人类听不懂土拨鼠的各式叫声，但是它们可能就是再说“有个高个穿着蓝T恤来了”或是“有个矮子穿着黄T恤来了”。
5 U) X* C) r& s' b0 G1 P" {8 BPrairie dogs have a language all of their own and 'can describe what humans look like'
+ Y2 ]4 D& j" w! k" V' E/ _By Graham Smith Last updated at 5:49 PM on 21st January 2011
3 T. x& W% z( B! p) k mIt's a language that would twist the tongue of even the most sophisticated linguist.4 k) U3 ^* f" S X3 ~7 `8 l: M" T
Prairie dogs talk to each other and can describe what different human beings look like, according to scientists.
; l* t* n# |. H' oThe species - only found in North America - call out to warn their friends when a predator approaches their habitat.
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Rodent species: Prairie dogs - only found in North America - call out to warn their friends when a predator approaches their habitat, scientists believe# {9 c) f$ S3 U* m/ T5 u
Not only that, but they have calls for 'human', one for 'hawk' and another for 'coyote', radio station NPR reports.
, P, P3 z, F2 h# gProfessor Con Slobodchikoff, of Northern Arizona University, has been studying prairie dogs for 30 years.+ o4 p" C- k8 e3 j6 ~ D8 e5 Z& p
He is particularly interested in deciphering their language because to do so would 'open the door for understanding how other species communicate'.3 `/ x, l" _. x! }( }9 M
The prairie dog's barks, yips and chirping sounds are really a sophisticated form of communication that contains a vocabulary of at least 100 words, Professor Slobodchikoff claims.9 J% r, i# ?; f6 l9 D% o" w; S! k. A
'The little yips prairie dogs make contain a lot of information,' he said.
$ t$ f( P% C( S' E$ o7 z Professor Con Slobodchikoff, of Northern Arizona University, has been studying prairie dogs for 30 years
+ f N9 k. t6 z- S6 w- I9 X; T/ r'They can describe details of predators such as their size, shape, colour and how fast they are going./ D! z0 r& x" d5 o( b1 e( L
'They also can discriminate whether an approaching animal is a coyote or a dog, and they can decipher different types of birds.'
) u# t- x1 F; D z; ~+ vProfessor Slobodchikoff and his students hid themselves in prairie dog villages and recorded the noises the rodents made whenever a human, hawk, dog or coyote passed through." A5 b8 @: t/ H, X+ M. n# _
What they found was that the prairie dog issues different calls depending on the intruder. The researchers discovered this by analysing the recorded calls for frequency and tone.
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They concluded that it doesn't have one call for 'danger', rather it has a collection of warning noises - or a language.: e2 Q- F. v3 q
To further develop this line of investigation, Professor Slobodchikoff gathered four volunteers and had them walk through a prairie dog village four times. On each occasion they wore the same clothing, except for different colour shirts.
r! k8 E4 z% P! i, G2 BThe prairie dogs responded by issuing different calls, depending on the colour of the volunteers' shirts.! K: V' @, K% L5 ?' A' [
Professor Slobodchikoff then discovered they also issued different calls for varying heights, and even for abstract shapes including cardboard circles, squares and triangles.
( G, J( c! M2 z0 g% o, R" W7 l2 wHe told NPR: 'Essentially they were saying, "Here comes the tall human in the blue," versus, "Here comes the short human in the yellow."'4 \- [$ ]# p/ f' Y) Y/ x. L+ l
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/scien ... mans-look-like.html! m3 A" c8 G3 ^1 U: y- P7 x; m
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发表于 2011-1-23 17:07
发表于 2011-1-23 19:36
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