Could we speak the language of dolphins? | Denise Herzing

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

譯者: Yi-Hsuan Wu 審譯者: Marssi Draw

Well, now we're going to the Bahamas to meet

現在要請大家和我一起到巴哈馬

a remarkable group of dolphins that I've been working with

認識一群相當優秀的野生海豚

in the wild for the last 28 years.

我們已經相處了 28 年

Now I'm interested in dolphins because of their large brains

我對海豚十分感興趣因為牠們的腦子大

and what they might be doing with all that brainpower

我想知道牠們是如何在野外

in the wild.

發揮智能的

And we know they use some of that brainpower

我們知道海豚應用某部份的智能

for just living complicated lives,

解決複雜生活上的難題

but what do we really know about dolphin intelligence?

但對海豚的智力 我們到底知道多少？

Well, we know a few things.

我們目前知道幾件事。

We know that their brain-to-body ratio,

我們知道 如果用身體的質量衡量智力

which is a physical measure of intelligence,

海豚的大腦和身體的比例

is second only to humans.

僅次於人類

Cognitively, they can understand

基本上，

artificially-created languages.

牠們懂人造語言

And they pass self-awareness tests in mirrors.

牠們可以在鏡子中認出自己

And in some parts of the world, they use tools,

在某些地方 牠們還會使用工具

like sponges to hunt fish.

例如用海綿捕魚

But there's one big question left:

但還有個很重要的問題：

do they have a language, and if so,

牠們有自己的語言嗎？

what are they talking about?

如果有，那牠們都在說些什麼呢？

So decades ago, not years ago,

所以幾十年前，不是幾年前而已

I set out to find a place in the world

我下定決心要找個地方

where I could observe dolphins underwater

讓我能在水底下觀察海豚

to try to crack the code of their communication system.

解開牠們的溝通系統之謎

Now in most parts of the world, the water's pretty murky,

現在大部分的海域都非常混濁

so it's very hard to observe animals underwater,

因此要想在水底下觀察動物比登天還難

but I found a community of dolphins that live

但我發現有一群海豚

in these beautiful, clear, shallow sandbanks of the Bahamas

居住在這片美麗潔淨的巴哈馬沙灘

which are just east of Florida.

剛好位在佛羅里達的東邊

And they spend their daytime resting and socializing

白天時海豚在安全無虞的淺水區

in the safety of the shallows, but at night,

社交休憩

they go off the edge and hunt in deep water.

但到了晚上，他們會離開邊界到深水區狩獵

Now, it's not a bad place to be a researcher, either.

這裡也是個不錯的研究地點

So we go out for about five months every summer

我們每個夏天花五個月的時間

in a 20-meter catamaran, and we live, sleep and work

在 20 米長的雙體船上生活、睡覺、工作

at sea for weeks at a time.

每次在海上漂泊好幾個禮拜

My main tool is an underwater video with a hydrophone,

主要工具是備有水聽器的水下攝影機

which is an underwater microphone, and this is so

簡而言之 就是一個水下麥克風

I can correlate sound and behavior.

讓我找出牠們聲音和行為的關聯

And most of our work's pretty non-invasive.

大部分的研究作業不會造成任何傷害

We try to follow dolphin etiquette while we're in the water,

我們小心翼翼的跟著海豚

since we're actually observing them physically in the water.

因為我們只需要在水裡實際觀察就好

Now, Atlantic spotted dolphins are a really nice species

我們發現大西洋斑海豚

to work with for a couple of reasons.

是最棒的研究夥伴

They're born without spots, and they get spots with age,

因為牠們出生時沒有斑點 斑點隨著年歲增長而出現

and they go through pretty distinct developmental phases,

而且牠們有明顯不同的成長階段

so that's fun to track their behavior.

因此觀察牠們的行為變得十分有趣

And by about the age of 15, they're fully spotted black and white.

在 15 歲的時候 牠們身上會布滿黑白斑點

Now the mother you see here is Mugsy.

現在你看到的這位海豚媽媽叫瑪格西

She's 35 years old in this shot,

這個時候她 35 歲

but dolphins can actually live into their early 50s.

但其實海豚可以活到 50 多歲

And like all the dolphins in our community,

就像族群裡的其他海豚

we photographed Mugsy and tracked her little spots

我們拍照紀錄追蹤瑪格西身上的斑點

and nicks in her dorsal fin,

在牠的背鰭上做記號

and also the unique spot patterns

紀錄牠成長過程中

as she matured over time.

身上特殊的斑點圖騰

Now, young dolphins learn a lot as they're growing up,

海豚在長大期間不斷學習

and they use their teenage years to practice social skills,

牠們在青少年時期磨練社交技巧

and at about the age of nine, the females

9 歲上下，母海豚性機能發育成熟

become sexually mature, so they can get pregnant,

可以懷孕了

and the males mature quite a bit later,

而公海豚性成熟則較晚

at around 15 years of age.

要等到 15 歲

And dolphins are very promiscuous,

其實海豚很花心

and so we have to determine who the fathers are,

因此我們要想知道哪位是父親

so we do paternity tests by collecting fecal material

就需要採集他們的糞便

out of the water and extracting DNA.

拿上岸做 DNA 親子鑑定

So what that means is, after 28 years,

也就是說 28 年後

we are tracking three generations,

我們會追到三代的海豚

including grandmothers and grandfathers.

包含牠們的祖父祖母

Now, dolphins are natural acousticians.

海豚是天生的聲學家

They make sounds 10 times as high

牠們能發出並接收

and hear sounds 10 times as high as we do.

高出人類十倍的聲音

But they have other communication signals they use.

但海豚還有其他的溝通訊號

They have good vision, so they use body postures to communicate.

牠們的視力非常良好 因此能用肢體語言來對話

They have taste, not smell.

牠們有味覺，但沒有嗅覺

And they have touch.

牠們還有觸覺

And sound can actually be felt in the water,

牠們在水裡能接收聲音

because the acoustic impedance of tissue and water's about the same.

因為海豚身上的聲阻組織和水是一樣的

So dolphins can buzz and tickle each other at a distance.

所以在很遠的地方就能發出聲響傳給對方

Now, we do know some things about how sounds are used

我們發現聲音

with certain behaviors.

和某些行為有關

Now, the signature whistle is a whistle

主哨聲是一種海豚的獨特哨聲

that's specific to an individual dolphin, and it's like a name. (Dolphin whistling noises)

海豚都有各自的聲音就像每個人有自己的名字一樣

And this is the best-studied sound,

這是最容易研究的聲音

because it's easy to measure, really,

因為特別容易測量

and you'd find this whistle when mothers and calves

像在媽媽和寶寶相聚的時候

are reuniting, for example.

就會聽到這種聲音

Another well studied sound are echolocation clicks.

另一種較容易研究的是牠們進行回聲定位的聲音

This is the dolphin's sonar. (Dolphin echolocation noises)

這是海豚聲納（海豚進行回聲定位的聲音）

And they use these clicks to hunt and feed.

牠們用回聲定位來狩獵和餵食

But they can also tightly pack these clicks together

也能把這些聲音聚集在一起

into buzzes and use them socially.

用於社交

For example, males will stimulate a female

舉個例子，公海豚在交配季節

during a courtship chase.

會利用這些聲音訊號來追求母海豚

You know, I've been buzzed in the water.

大家知道我已經在海裡發出訊號許久

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Don't tell anyone. It's a secret.

這是秘密，不要跟別人說

And you can really feel the sound. That was my point with that.

我是說，真的會被那些聲音電到

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So dolphins are also political animals,

海豚是很政治化的動物

so they have to resolve conflicts.

所以牠們必須解決衝突

(Dolphin noises)

（海豚聲）

And they use these burst-pulsed sounds as well as

牠們用急促脈衝聲

their head-to-head behaviors when they're fighting.

和頭對頭的動作來打架

And these are very unstudied sounds

這是還沒研究的聲音

because they're hard to measure.

因為實在是太難測量了

Now this is some video of a typical dolphin fight.

這是很經典的海豚打架影片

(Dolphin noises)

（海豚聲）

So you're going to see two groups,

你會看到兩組海豚

and you're going to see the head-to-head posturing,

牠們頭碰頭的姿勢

some open mouths,

有的會張開嘴巴

lots of squawking.

發出嘈雜的聲音

There's a bubble.

還有泡泡

And basically, one of these groups will kind of back off

基本上，其中一組會稍作退縮

and everything will resolve fine,

然後大家就會和好如初

and it doesn't really escalate into violence too much.

這並不會演變成暴力事件

Now, in the Bahamas, we also have resident bottlenose

巴哈馬還住著寬吻海豚

that interact socially with the spotted dolphins.

和斑海豚相互幫忙

For example, they babysit each other's calves.

舉個例子 寬吻海豚會幫忙照顧斑海豚的寶寶

The males have dominance displays that they use

公海豚還會展現最好的一面

when they're chasing each other's females.

來追求另一種的母海豚

And the two species actually form temporary alliances

而兩種海豚會暫時結盟

when they're chasing sharks away.

作戰趕跑鯊魚

And one of the mechanisms they use to communicate

牠們用來溝通的其中一種機制

their coordination is synchrony.

是同步

They synchronize their sounds and their body postures

牠們將聲音和動作調整一致

to look bigger and sound stronger.

這樣看起來聽起來都更強大

(Dolphins noises)

（海豚聲）

Now, these are bottlenose dolphins,

這是寬吻海豚

and you'll see them starting to synchronize

你可以看到海豚正在

their behavior and their sounds.

使動作和聲音同步

(Dolphin noises)

（海豚聲）

You see, they're synchronizing with their partner

你看，牠們正在和夥伴及其他成對的海豚

as well as the other dyad.

同步發聲

I wish I was that coordinated.

真希望我也能跟牠們一樣協調

Now, it's important to remember that you're only hearing

你要記得 你聽到的只是

the human-audible parts of dolphin sounds,

人類能聽到的海豚聲

and dolphins make ultrasonic sounds,

牠們會發出超聲波

and we use special equipment in the water

我們在水裡用特殊機器

to collect these sounds.

來蒐集這些聲音

Now, researchers have actually measured whistle complexity

科學家已經測出了複雜的哨音

using information theory,

靠的是資訊理論

and whistles rate very high relative to even human languages.

發現哨音和人類語言有相當高的關聯性

But burst-pulsed sounds is a bit of a mystery.

但是急促脈衝聲更加神秘些

Now, these are three spectragrams.

這裡有三張頻譜圖

Two are human words, and one is a dolphin vocalizing.

其中兩個紀錄人類說話另一個紀錄海豚的聲音

So just take a guess in your mind which one is the dolphin.

你們猜猜看哪一個是海豚的

Now, it turns out burst-pulsed sounds actually look

結果證明急促脈衝聲和人類音位

a bit like human phonemes.

真的有幾分相似

Now, one way to crack the code

解碼的方法呢

is to interpret these signals and figure out what they mean,

就是找出這些訊息代表的意思

but it's a difficult job, and we actually don't have a Rosetta Stone yet.

但這十分艱難 而且我們也還沒找到解鎖的那把金鑰

But a second way to crack the code

但我們還有第二種方法來解鎖

is to develop some technology,

就是發明新的技術

an interface to do two-way communication,

做出可以雙向溝通的平台

and that's what we've been trying to do in the Bahamas

這就是我們在巴哈馬一直在嘗試的方式

and in real time.

而且是個即時系統

Now, scientists have used keyboard interfaces

科學家已經開始用鍵盤式的系統

to try to bridge the gap with species

把物種間的溝通串連起來

including chimpanzees and dolphins.

包含猩猩和海豚

This underwater keyboard in Orlando, Florida,

這個在水底下的按鍵板位於艾波卡特的中心

at the Epcot Center, was actually

在佛羅里達的奧蘭多

the most sophisticated ever two-way interface designed

是目前為止最精密的雙向設計

for humans and dolphins to work together under the water

讓海豚和人類能在水下一起進行研究

and exchange information.

並交換資訊

So we wanted to develop an interface like this

我們想在巴哈馬發展的就是這樣的系統

in the Bahamas, but in a more natural setting.

但是是用更自然的方法

And one of the reasons we thought we could do this

我們自認能完成這件事的原因之一就是

is because the dolphins were starting to show us

那些海豚和我們一樣

a lot of mutual curiosity.

對人類有相同的好奇心

They were spontaneously mimicking our vocalizations

牠們先是模仿我們的聲音

and our postures, and they were also inviting us

再來是我們的動作 甚至會希望我們

into dolphin games.

和牠們一起遊戲

Now, dolphins are social mammals, so they love to play,

海豚是喜歡遊戲的社會性哺乳動物

and one of their favorite games is to drag seaweed,

牠們的遊戲像把海草四處拖行

or sargassum in this case, around.

或是這裡所看到的 馬尾藻

And they're very adept. They like to drag it

牠們動作熟練

and drop it from appendage to appendage.

喜歡拿起來丟左丟右

Now in this footage, the adult is Caroh.

影片裡的成年海豚叫卡蘿

She's 25 years old here, and this is her newborn, Cobalt,

這時候她只有 25 歲 另一個是她的寶寶柯柏特

and he's just learning how to play this game.

牠正在學著玩遊戲

(Dolphin noises)

（海豚聲）

She's kind of teasing him and taunting him.

比較像是卡蘿在戲弄牠

He really wants that sargassum.

牠真的很想拿到馬尾藻

Now, when dolphins solicit humans for this game,

當海豚希望我們加入遊戲時

they'll often sink vertically in the water,

牠們通常會垂直潛入水裡

and they'll have a little sargassum on their flipper,

把馬尾藻拿在鰭上

and they'll sort of nudge it and drop it sometimes

然後牠們會輕推馬尾藻 有時候用拋的

on the bottom and let us go get it,

讓我們去拿

and then we'll have a little seaweed keep away game.

然後我們就會開始玩丟海草遊戲

But when we don't dive down and get it,

但假如我們不潛下去拿

they'll bring it to the surface

牠們會拿到水面上來

and they'll sort of wave it in front of us on their tail

用尾巴在我們前面晃來晃去

and drop it for us like they do their calves,

然後丟在我們前面，就像教寶寶一樣

and then we'll pick it up and have a game.

然後他們會撿起來，開始玩遊戲

And so we started thinking, well, wouldn't it be neat

我們想，是不是能用科技

to build some technology that would allow the dolphins

讓海豚可以即時和我們要

to request these things in real time, their favorite toys?

牠們最喜歡的玩具？

So the original vision was to have a keyboard

最原始的版本是一個掛在船下

hanging from the boat attached to a computer,

連結著電腦的按鍵板

and the divers and dolphins would activate the keys

潛水員和海豚能用那塊板子

on the keypad and happily exchange information

開心的互動、交換資訊

and request toys from each other.

或要求對方一起玩

But we quickly found out that dolphins simply

但我們很快的發現到海豚

were not going to hang around the boat using a keyboard.

並不喜歡繞在船邊使用按鍵板

They've got better things to do in the wild.

他們在野外有更多好玩的事可做

They might do it in captivity, but in the wild --

在牢裡可能很有趣，但在野外......

So we built a portable keyboard that we could push through the water,

因此我們做了個可放進水裡的移動式按鍵板

and we labeled four objects they like to play with,

然後找了四種牠們特別喜歡玩的東西──

the scarf, rope, sargassum, and also had a bow ride,

圍巾、繩子、馬尾藻和船首乘浪

which is a fun activity for a dolphin. (Whistle)

對海豚來說是個很有趣的活動（哨音）

And that's the scarf whistle,

那是圍巾的哨音

which is also associated with a visual symbol.

同時也連結了一個視覺符號

And these are artificially created whistles.

這些都是人造的哨音

They're outside the dolphin's normal repertoire,

和海豚平常的聲音完全不同

but they're easily mimicked by the dolphins.

但牠們很容易就能模仿

And I spent four years with my colleagues Adam Pack and Fabienne Delfour,

我和同事 Adam Pack 及 Fabienne Delfour 花了四年時間

working out in the field with this keyboard

研究這個按鍵板

using it with each other to do requests for toys

用它來向對方要玩具

while the dolphins were watching.

而海豚則在一旁看著

And the dolphins could get in on the game.

海豚能夠學會這個遊戲

They could point at the visual object,

牠們能找出正確的按鈕

or they could mimic the whistle.

或是能模仿出聲音

Now this is video of a session.

這是某次的影片

The diver here has a rope toy,

潛水員有玩具繩子

and I'm on the keyboard on the left,

而我在按鍵板的左邊

and I've just played the rope key,

我正在按繩子的按鍵

and that's the request for the toy from the human.

這可以向人類要玩具繩

So I've got the rope, I'm diving down,

然後我拿到繩子，潛下去

and I'm basically trying to get the dolphin's attention,

基本上我在想辦法吸引海豚的注意力

because they're kind of like little kids.

因為牠們就像小小孩一樣

You have to keep their attention.

你必須讓牠們專心

I'm going to drop the rope, see if they come over.

我試著把繩子丟下 看看牠們會不會跑過來

Here they come,

看，牠們來了

and then they're going to pick up the rope

牠們把繩子撿起來

and drag it around as a toy.

當成玩具拖來拖去

Now, I'm at the keyboard on the left,

現在我在按鍵板的旁邊

and this is actually the first time that we tried this.

其實這是我們第一次嘗試

I'm going to try to request this toy, the rope toy,

我發出繩子的聲音

from the dolphins using the rope sound.

想跟海豚要玩具繩子

Let's see if they might actually understand what that means.

來看看牠們有沒有聽懂

(Whistle)

（哨音）

That's the rope whistle.

那是繩子的哨音

Up come the dolphins,

海豚來了

and drop off the rope, yay. Wow.

牠們把繩子丟下來，耶！看到沒！

(Applause)

（掌聲）

So this is only once.

這只是一次

We don't know for sure if they really understand the function of the whistles.

我們不清楚牠們是否真的理解哨音的用處

Okay, so here's a second toy in the water.

這次是第二個玩具

This is a scarf toy, and I'm trying to lead the dolphin

一個玩具圍巾

over to the keyboard to show her

我試著帶海豚來按鍵板旁邊

the visual and the acoustic signal.

讓我示範符號和聲音

Now this dolphin, we call her "the scarf thief,"

我們叫這隻海豚圍巾賊

because over the years she's absconded

因為牠總共偷走了

with about 12 scarves.

12 條圍巾

In fact, we think she has a boutique somewhere in the Bahamas.

其實我們覺得牠可能在巴哈馬開了家服飾店

So I'm reaching over. She's got the scarf on her right side.

我游過去，牠把圍巾拿在右手邊

And we try to not touch the animals too much,

我們盡量不要碰到牠們

we really don't want to over-habituate them.

不想變成過度馴化

And I'm trying to lead her back to the keyboard.

我試著要帶牠去按鍵板

And the diver there is going to activate the scarf sound

旁邊的潛水員要發出圍巾的聲音

to request the scarf.

來跟海豚要圍巾

So I try to give her the scarf.

我要把圍巾給牠

Whoop. Almost lost it.

噢！差點掉了

But this is the moment where everything becomes possible.

但從此刻開始什麼事情都可能會發生

The dolphin's at the keyboard.

海豚就在按鍵板旁

You've got full attention.

你引起牠們的注意

And this sometimes went on for hours.

有時候這得持續好幾個鐘頭

And I wanted to share this video with you

我想跟你們分享這段影片

not to show you any big breakthroughs,

並不是有任何重大發現

because they haven't happened yet,

因為還沒發生什麼大事

but to show you the level of intention and focus

只是要分享海豚的表達力和專注力

that these dolphins have, and interest in the system.

及牠們的好奇心

And because of this, we really decided we needed

也因為如此，我們認為

some more sophisticated technology.

我們需要更精良的技術

So we joined forces with Georgia Tech,

因此我們與喬治亞理工學院

with Thad Starner's wearable computing group,

以及薩德．斯塔那 (Thad Starner) 所 帶領的可配戴式電腦團隊合作

to build us an underwater wearable computer

要做出能防水的可配戴電腦

that we're calling CHAT. [CHAT: Cetacean Hearing And Telemetry]

我們稱之為 CHAT 計畫（CHAT：鯨豚聽力遙測）

Now, instead of pushing a keyboard through the water,

捨棄把按鍵板帶到水裡的方法

the diver's wearing the complete system, and it's acoustic only,

潛水員要穿著只有聲音功能的整套系統

so basically the diver activates the sounds on a keypad

基本上，他們要用手臂上的數字鍵盤

on the forearm,

來控制聲音

the sounds go out through an underwater speaker,

聲音從水下發聲器送出

if a dolphin mimics the whistle

如果海豚模仿這哨音

or a human plays the whistle, the sounds come in

或者是人類發出哨音

and are localized by two hydrophones.

會被收進兩個水下聽音器

The computer can localize who requested the toy

電腦能分辨出是誰在要玩具

if there's a word match.

前提是有符合的項目

And the real power of the system is in the real-time

系統的目的是即時辨識聲音

sound recognition, so we can respond to the dolphins

讓我們能正確而快速的

quickly and accurately.

回應海豚

And we're at prototype stage, but this is how we hope it will play out.

這還在原型階段 但這是我們所期待的未來

So Diver A and Diver B both have a wearable computer

潛水員 A 和 B 都戴著設備

and the dolphin hears the whistle as a whistle,

海豚能聽到哨音

the diver hears the whistle as a whistle in the water,

潛水員也聽得到哨音

but also as a word through bone conduction.

但同樣是透過骨傳導來傳遞

So Diver A plays the scarf whistle

潛水員 A 發出圍巾的哨音

or Diver B plays the sargassum whistle

或潛水員 B 發出馬尾藻的哨音

to request a toy from whoever has it.

來向拿著玩具的海豚索取

What we hope will happen is that the dolphin mimics the whistle,

我們希望海豚能模仿這個哨音

and if Diver A has the sargassum, if that's the sound

假如潛水員 A 有馬尾藻

that was played and requested,

而且海豚也發出了馬尾藻的哨音

then the diver will give the sargassum to the requesting dolphin

潛水員就會把馬尾藻給要求的海豚

and they'll swim away happily into the sunset

牠就會開心的邊玩馬尾藻

playing sargassum for forever.

邊游向日落

Now, how far can this kind of communication go?

這樣的溝通方式能夠多深入呢？

Well, CHAT is designed specifically to empower the dolphins

其實 CHAT 只是開發來讓海豚

to request things from us.

和人類互動

It's designed to really be two-way.

這個設計是雙向的

Now, will they learn to mimic the whistles functionally?

牠們會學著模仿有功能的哨音嗎？

We hope so and we think so.

我們希望如此 也堅信如此

But as we decode their natural sounds,

但當我們研究出自然的海豚聲音

we're also planning to put those back into the computerized system.

我們也會把這些聲音放進電腦系統裡

For example, right now we can put their own signature whistles

好比說，我們可以把每隻海豚獨特的主哨聲放進電腦

in the computer and request to interact with a specific dolphin.

就能和特定的海豚互動

Likewise, we can create our own whistles,

同樣地，我們也能創造出我們的主哨聲

our own whistle names, and let the dolphins

我們的哨名

request specific divers to interact with.

讓海豚能和特定潛水員互動

Now it may be that all our mobile technology

無線科技

will actually be the same technology that helps us

或許真的能幫助我們

communicate with another species down the road.

在未來能和別的生物溝通對話

In the case of a dolphin, you know, it's a species that,

以海豚這個例子來說

well, they're probably close to our intelligence in many ways

牠們大概是在各方面和我們最接近的物種

and we might not be able to admit that right now,

雖然目前無法認定

but they live in quite a different environment,

但牠們生活在一個截然不同的環境

and you still have to bridge the gap with the sensory systems.

而我們還需要把兩邊的感官接軌

I mean, imagine what it would be like

想像一下

to really understand the mind

若我們真的可以理解地球上其他生物的想法

of another intelligent species on the planet.

那會是什麼樣子

Thank you.

謝謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）