科学家破译大熊猫13种语言密码

Can you imagine giant pandas baa like sheep to say "I love you" and warble a cheerful "I do" when wooed by a suitor, and bark like a dog when they are furious?

你能想象熊猫说“我爱你时是“咩咩咩，说“我愿意时像鸟叫，而说“我很生气时又像狗叫吗?

Researchers there have decoded 13 different kinds of giant panda vocalizations in a surprising new insight into the private life of the reclusive creatures.

长期从事大熊猫人工繁育的中国保护大熊猫中心的专家们研究发现，大熊猫至少会用13种不同的声音来表达不同的意思，而“破译了这些“猫言猫语无疑将帮助专家们进一步了解大熊猫生活习性和心理，走进他们的世界。

The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda has been working on a panda linguistics project since 2010. Scientists first made recordings of pandas at the center, vocalizations between cubs and adults in various situations, such as when they were eating, mating, nursing, fighting and so on, said Zhang Hemin, head of the center. Then they collected a large amount of data on pandas' voices and activities, and analyzed the voiceprints. "We managed to decode some panda language and the results are quite interesting," Zhang said.

中国保护大熊猫研究中心主任、卧龙自然保护区管理局局长张和民介绍，在2010年，来自音乐之乡奥地利维也纳的专家和中心合作，已经通过录音和频谱分析，破译了部分大熊猫的语言密码，听懂了它们在采食、求偶、照顾宝宝等不同情景下的“喜怒哀乐。近年来，中心继续与其他国内外的学术研究机构合作继续“破译工程，到目前已初见成效。

Panda cubs can barely vocalize at all except to say things like "Gee-Gee" (I'm hungry), "Wow-Wow" (Not happy!) or "Coo-Coo" (Nice!).

专家们发现，刚出生的熊猫宝宝和人类宝宝一样，基本只能发出“吱吱、“哇哇和“咕咕这三种简单的叫声。一般情况下“吱吱表示“我饿了，“哇哇表示“我不爽了，而“咕咕则是表示愉悦和舒适感受时发出的满意叫声。

"Adult giant pandas usually are solitary, so the only language teacher they have is their own mother," the researcher said. When they grow a little, cubs learn how to express themselves by roaring, barking, shouting, squeaking, bleating and chirping.

而熊猫在成长过程中也和人类一样要跟着母亲“学说话，耳濡目染，它们慢慢地就会学会吼叫、吠叫、嗷叫、嘶叫、咩叫等叫声。

"If a panda mother keeps tweeting like a bird, she may be anxious about her babies. She barks loudly when a stranger comes near," Zhang said. The barking can be interpreted as "getting out of my place", according to the researcher. Pandas can be as gentle as a lamb when they are "in love". Male pandas baa all the time when they are wooing their lovers. The females respond with constant tweeting if they feel the same.

比如，熊猫妈妈如果发出“咩咩声，那可能是在寻找她的宝宝，饲养员需要适时提供帮助;而当大熊猫们发出“汪汪的吠叫声时，则千万不要靠近他们，因为那表示他们很愤怒，想要打架或是威胁对方不要进入自己的领地。而在春季发情季节，熊猫还会使用自己独特的“恋爱语言。雄性熊猫会发出咩叫声，那可是在用“甜言蜜语向自己心上人求爱。被俘获芳心，坠入爱河的雌性熊猫就会发出“唧唧“喳喳的类似鸟鸣声，害羞回应。

"Trust me. Our researchers were so confused when we began the project that they wondered if they were studying a panda, a bird, a dog, or a sheep," Zhang said.

“我们的工作人员也会开玩笑问大熊猫到底是羊、是狗还是鸟啊?张和民说。

The center plans to continue the study and is looking forward to the creation of a panda translator that could use high-tech voice recognition technology. "If we can understand their language, it will help us protect the animal, especially in the wild," he said.

他表示，熊猫语言学的研究还将继续，如能够破译更多熊猫语言，甚至发明“翻译器，那将有助于饲养员更好地理解熊猫各种声音的准确含义，也将有利于更科学地饲养、保护大熊猫，甚至能帮助大熊猫提高自然交配成功率。

(注：本文部分内容为编译)

Vocabulary

baa: 咩咩叫

warble: 以颤音说;鸟啭似地讲

vocalization: 发声，发音;发声法

voiceprint: 声纹;语音特征波纹;语音声谱

bleat: 咩咩叫