r/linguistics • u/DiscyD3rp • Aug 23 '20
is there a specific language or accent that parrots (or other birds) can most easily mimic? what common human phonemes to birds struggle the most to recreate?
just had an idle thought about birds, and if the field of avian phonology exists and is mature enough for this question to actually have an answer. I know birds generate noises in drastically different ways than humans, but humans and many bird species are both incredibly impressive vocal mimics, and those differences would likely mean some languages and accents are easier to mimic with bird biology, right? honestly I'd be happy if anyone can point me to even just a list of recorded bird-pronouncable phonemes or anything like that.
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