A study has shown that dogs have a certain talent for languages that had only been associated with people before. Their skills for the recognition of human speech are far more complex than we have been aware of so far.
The researchers claim that dogs and humans share what they call “language talent”. The results of their study prove that dogs can not only recognize words but also different people’s voices. The study was carried out by scientists from the University of Sussex and published in Biology Letters.
The aim of the research was to find out if dogs can instinctively recognize the same word said by different people. More specifically, if they can recognize the same phonemes said by different people, no matter their accent and pronunciation.
For the sake of the study to be objective, the studied dogs didn’t know any of the people – the speakers. This prevented them from having an undesired reaction to a familiar person which might distort the results. Neither were the dogs motivated by treats or attention for the same reason.
They were recorded when reacting to the recordings of men’s and women’s voices saying words with similar sounds (e.g. had, hid, heard, heed). The words used for the study were carefully picked so they would not be related in any way to the typical commands. Therefore, the dogs couldn’t have any reaction to them because of their training.
According to the study, the dogs were able to recognize the same word said by different speakers as well as the speakers themselves on the basis of the sound of their voices. Until then, the ability to recognize vowel sounds said by different people had been considered to be an ability only humans have. It is crucial for the ability to speak. Without this, we wouldn’t be able to recognize the same word said by different people.
The research has shown that despite previous assumptions, this spontaneous ability is not exclusive to humans. Therefore, dogs share a kind of “language talent” with us which implies that the speech perception might not be a special thing only humans can do as we used to think.
We may not feel so weird when speaking to our dog companion as an equal speaker at home after this. The dog might understand us better than we could ever imagine. However, we still don’t have to pay attention to what we tell them – as of now at least. :)
When one says a mini breed, most of you will immediately think of a Chihuahua. And it’s not surprising, its the smallest dog breed in the world. They are popular abroad as well as in the Czech Republic and they are often picked by people whose desire...
The Ragdoll, a cat which reminds you of a dog with its behaviour, was in the top three favourite breeds among keepers in 2017. At the worldwide scale, it is on the second place, right after the Maine Coon. The Ragdoll is a very cuddly pet which is into...
Cats have always been regarded as mystical animals with many mysteries. One of them might be the question why these creatures like sitting in a circle so much.
You might be asking why should a cat learn to walk on a leash in the first place? It doesn’t mean you should go hiking with your cat. However, a short walk might be a great adventure for your cat. And you can’t do that without a leash, especially in a...
Keeping an eye on the weight no longer concerns only us, the two-legged creatures. Vets deal with overweight and obese pets more and more often. Most often, it applies to dogs and cats, but even rodents can easily suffer from obesity. How to prevent...
Toxins are accumulated in body during winter and spring is therefore the best season for detoxification. Everything awakens and people purify their bodies so why shouldn’t we involve our closest companions to it?
The fact that it’s no problem to go for a journey across the whole continent (or even the whole world) together with your pet is well-known to the owners of three cat travellers – Bengal cat Suki, courageous cat Wilow and fearless tom cat Simon. They...
One of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to be more active. A dog is a great companion for an active life. What is a healthy level of exercising with a dog?
These portions seem so small, shouldn’t I give my dog more? And should the dry food be dipped or not? And how many times a day should I feed my dog? And should I supplement the food by something? When should we switch to adult dog food? This is only a...
Do you know how to properly behave with your furry friends in national parks and protected nature areas? Are you sick of all the trash in city parks? And are you considering what you should do to be a more eco-friendly dog owner? You can also...
Siberian Husky is an amazing dog breed. It is a very active dog. Agile, strong and distinctive. That’s why many mushers use them to pull their sledges. It is said that all dogs who like pulling are suitable for a dog sled, but a Siberian Husky really...
Domestic cats don’t go outside as often as dogs and you have to prepare them for travelling. However, they won’t avoid visiting a vet or travelling to a cottage from time to time.
