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Computers Emulate Neanderthal Speech
Clarence writes "After some 30,000 years of silence, the Neanderthal race is once again speaking thanks to some advanced computer simulation. A Florida Atlantic University professor is using software vocal tract reconstructions to emulate the speech of our long-dead distant relatives. 'He says the ancient human's speech lacked the "quantal vowel" sounds that underlie modern speech. Quantal vowels provide cues that help speakers with different size vocal tracts understand one another, says Robert McCarthy, who was talking at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Columbus, Ohio, on April 11. In the 1970s, linguist Phil Lieberman, of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, inferred the dimensions of the larynx of a Neanderthal based on its skull. His team concluded that Neanderthal speech did not have the subtlety of modern human speech.'"
I'm imagining, then, that it sounded something like "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran."
[ducks]
I can see the fnords!
Computers are already cryptic enough when they speak normal English. I'd rather not have to hear one say "Me get segfault. Me dump core."
Let me guess.. the simulator immediately tried to sell people car insurance.
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Anyone else find it funny that the Neanderthal sounds oddly familiar.
It's remarkable that they were able to get that close to the actual sound. I feel like I've gone back in time hearing that reproduction.
Throw in a Tuvan throat singer, an Aussie with a digidiroo, and Hal, and we'll have oen halluv an ensemble going.
(Oh, throw in Shatner with some Esperanto, too... and some Kirk-being-stunned-on-heavy break dance...)
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Why all the hard work? We see & hear it on David Letterman show every night (great moments in Presidential history, last segment)
It's well-established in our cartoons and such that neanderthals often use the objective "me" rather than nominative "I", i.e. "me doug". Looks like the verb of being wasn't invented yet, either...
Do you have ESP?
Le Ugh? Or El Ugh?!?
That's assuming that "Ugh" is masculine. Maybe, the Neanderthals had different genders for their nouns.
I would not be surprised, if we could go back in time
I would.
It's another remaqrkable point in how hast we gained speech.
It really hasn't been that long, and our speech as evolved an emence amount. Obviously that's because it is advantages.
They may have been suspecting this, but a great many times since has done research to find out something completely unexpected, a 'this is odd' moment.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
"I say, unhand me you confounded, unsanitary homonid!"
Similar to the upcoming US election results
Ow! Me no want micro-sloth windows. Ow! Me no want micro-sloth office.
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
Still hiding away in his cave. Working on his audio format.
http://www.rootstrikers.org/
Vote Republican.
I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
Snu-Snu.
> I would not be surprised, if we could go back in time, to see early humans communicating primarily by signs,
.-. /
> with vocal communication only as a backup.
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I wonder if there are any stack-based langages?
push "this"
push "apple"
is-a
push "red"
has-property
Or is that in fact just Polish in reverse?
sudo ergo sum