The Miracle of Talking Birds
98
syntax was also a consideration.
This point brings up a contradiction on the subject of evolu-
tionary theory, since in fact, parrots are at least as skilled as Kanzi in
terms of vocalization and mimicry. Furthermore, the vocalizations
that chimpanzees produce are extremely basic when compared with
the skills of parrots. However, no newspaper has made any mention
of an evolutionary relationship between humans and parrots.
Objective opinions of scientists working on the subject for
many years expose the claims seen in Kanzi’s example as pure fan-
tasy. Philip Lieberman, the famous linguist, emphasizes that at-
tempts to teach language to chimps are doomed to failure:
Although animal trainers and investigators since the seven-
teenth century have tried to teach chimpanzees to talk, no
chimpanzee has ever managed it. A chimpanzee’s sound-pro-
ducing anatomy is simply too different from that of humans.
Chimpanzees might be able to produce a muffled approxima-
tion of human speech—if their brains could plan and execute
the necessary articulate maneuvers. But to do this,
they would have to have our brains, which
they obviously do not.
38
As noted, some birds’
ability to imitate sounds
renders the “evolution-
ary tree,” one of the evo-
lutionists’ most impor-
tant claims, meaningless
from another angle. The fact is, a
parrot bears no physical resemblance to a
human; yet if it has an ability such as speech
requiring a high level of intelligence. This does
