If animals could talk, would they even sound like humans?

[Computernaut]

This is a weird question, but it's bugging me so here we go.

Even if animals had vocal cords comparable to those of humans, would they sound human? Not only are their throats shaped differently, but their mouths are too. For starters, the mouths of most mammals are open on three sides (dogs, cats, mice, etc.) rather than on just one side like humans. Also, they have longer mouths and their tongues work differently. They surely don't have all the necessary muscles in their lips/face. So maybe a better question is: Would it be possible for animals to have all the necessary elements to produce human-like speech while still maintaining the same appearance they currently have? If not, how close could they get?

[NinJake]

I mean, parrots?

[Computernaut]

26 minutes ago, NinJake said:

I mean, parrots?

True, and they have beaks which should make it even more difficult. They do sound weird though and have trouble saying some things.

[Guest]

Mynah birds and African Grey parrots can sound exactly like people.

[JZStudios]

Just now, si1enze said:

Mynah birds and African Grey parrots can sound exactly like people.

Not sure what type it was, might've been a gray but my dad had a buddy who had one that would accurately mimic pretty much anything including doorbells and door knocks. We had an Indian ringneck who would whistle close encounters, wolf whistle, and say "I love you" when you walked past his cage. Sometimes in the middle of the night he'd say "Good morning."

[Guest]

If you guys didn't know about the Lyre bird.. check this out:

 

[Mooshi]

They'd sound like this

 

 

[topolinodos]

They better do if they want to be taken seriusly...we humans are kind of picky

[JZStudios]

2 hours ago, Benji said:

My uncle had a grey parrot once but unfortunately it succumbed during an extremely hot summer a few years ago. When I was, like, 4 or 5 years old (which was the first and to date last time that I visited my uncle) I told the parrot "hello" and it responded with "goodbye".

I have an uncle that'll do that do. Say hello and ask him a question and he'll just walk away.

 

In other terms, I'm not sure about inter-animal communication, but there's been plenty of dogs, pigs, dolphins, chimps, gorillas, etc. that have learned basic languages and communication. Some parrots in particular you can actually talk to.

[Rybo]

2 hours ago, si1enze said:

If you guys didn't know about the Lyre bird.. check this out:

 

Holy crapbaskets.  They definitely saved the best for last on that one.  Up until the final imitation, I was like, "that's vaguely impressive, but not exactly amazing."  Then my jaw hit the floor.  If it weren't BBC/Attenborough, I'd have assumed it was dubbed in sound.  

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

 

 

[Intergalacticbits]

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