Dogs can recognize different languages, study reveals
WeirdNews
The extent of (dogs) abilities in speech perception is unknown, suggest researchers.
(Web Desk): A new study by Hungarian researchers shows that dogs can distinguish between languages. According to the study dogs are so familiar to human behavior that can actually detect when their owner is talking in a different language.
According to researchers, “the extent of (dogs) abilities in speech perception is unknown,”
The actual purpose of the study was to understand the functioning of an animal brain in terms of speech detection and reorganization of language.
To conduct the research 18 dogs got their brains scanned via a functional magnetic resonance imagining machine (fMRI). Afterwards the animals were exposed to natural speech and scrambled speech in familiar and unfamiliar languages.
Dogs familiar with Spanish-speaking owners were exposed to Hungarian speech and vice versa. The researchers read The Little Prince to them in both languages. The study concluded that dogs are able to distinguish between speech and non-speech along with the ability to differentiate between languages.
It’s the first time that the evidence of distinguishing between languages has been found in a non-human brain, researchers suggested.
