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Comparison of Species-Specific Bird Signals and Human Speech

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Abstract

We carried out a comparative study of spectral-prosodic characteristics of bird vocalization and human speech. Comparison was made between the relative characteristics of the fundamental frequency and spectral maxima. Criteria were formulated for the comparison of bird's signals and human speech. A certain correspondence was found between the vocal structures of birds and humans. It was proposed that in the course of evolution, man adopted the main structural principles of his acoustic signalling from birds.

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Il'ichev, V.D., Silaeva, O.L. Comparison of Species-Specific Bird Signals and Human Speech. Biology Bulletin 29, 56–61 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013293903038

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