| Aside from 'hello' (now one of his least frequent utterances) I've never actually had to try to teach Henry to talk. But I talk to him constantly. As some recent studies have shown, talking birds seem to acquire speech the same way humans do-- by hearing words in context, so they learn to associate the sounds with objects or situtations. Henry was 7 months old when I bought him, and though he seemed to mumble now and then, he didn't say anything really recognizable until he had been with me for about four months. Since then his progress has been fairly amazing. He almost always speaks in meaningful phrases (the first one he picked up, and still uses today,is "I'll be right back!" whenever I dash from his room). . Almost always, he uses the words and phrases he knows in the proper context. To believe this you only have to observe him saying "want some water?" and, after drinking it, saying "it's good." One day I gave him a toasted almond as a treat for the first time; he immediately dropped it without tasting it in his treat cup (typical parrot behavior). Several minutes later while in another room I heard his little voice say "it's good". Sure enough he and eaten (and obviously enjoyed) the nut. Based on my experience with Henry, if your pet is capable of talking he'll be more likely to do so if you talk to him as if he already understands what you say-- and do it in the most animated, expressive way possible. I think parrots are fascinated by the fact that our face can make so many interesting shapes, and it's common knowledge that parrots love drama. The worst advice I've ever read is to repeat a word or phrase over and over and over again, in exactly the same way every time. I doubt any creature, human or avian, would find interest in that; and devoid of any context, there is no way to acquire any understanding of what the sounds mean-- or that they have any meaning at all. The best advice I ever read is to sing to your bird. It might be embarrasing (and horrifying to anyone nearby, depending on your vocal abilities) but I think it's one of the best ways you can bond with your pet. You'd be surprised what they pick up... |
| Bird Talk, Bird Sing |
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