Baby seals can change their tone of voice

Hoover the "talking seal" famously imitated human speech. But can baby seals already adapt their voices to sounds? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, the Free University of Brussels ...

To better understand speech, focus on who is talking

Seeing a person's face as we are talking to them greatly improves our ability to understand their speech. While previous studies indicate that the timing of words-to-mouth movements across the senses is critical to this audio-visual ...

Gorillas can tell human voices apart

Many animals recognize the voices of members of their own species, and some can even recognize those of other species, such as humans. But it turns out a few animals, such as gorillas, can not only recognize familiar voices ...

A new perspective on the genomes of archaic humans

A genome by itself is like a recipe without a chef—full of important information, but in need of interpretation. So, even though we have sequenced genomes of our nearest extinct relatives—the Neanderthals and the Denisovans—there ...

Orangutans hold the key to human speech

New research, led by scientists from the University of St Andrews and Indianapolis Zoo, shows that great apes can control their voice in a similar way to humans, giving a unique insight into the evolution of human language.

Speech recognition technology is not a solution for poor readers

About one in five people is considered to be low literate or illiterate, unable to read or write simple statements. Low literacy can be due to reading impairments such as dyslexia or little or no reading practice. For developing ...

Star Trek style translators step closer to reality at gadget show

Once confined to the realms of science fiction, near real-time translation devices that whisper discreetly into your ear during a conversation are finally coming of age thanks to leaps in artificial intelligence and cloud ...

Voice assistants tool up in hope of a bright future

Some two years after stepping into the spotlight, voice assistants are learning new languages and connecting to ever-more devices around the home—but mass adoption and widespread ease with the new technology remain some ...

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