Hearing Richard's declaration, Zhang Zi'an was a little crying and laughing. He felt strange www.biquge.info writing "Fun" Pavilion why Richard was so concerned about this matter, it turned out that it was not just to help Guo Dongyue - Richard was very mindful of the word "parroting", and seemed to want to take this opportunity to correct the name of his own clan.

Its ambition is okay and deserves encouragement, but the question is whether there is enough time? Guo Dongyue's mother's condition is unpredictable and could deteriorate at any time.

Time waits neither for people nor for birds.

Richard seemed to see his suspicions, and said confidently, "Do you know the relationship between language and memory?"

"I really don't know this, language and memory and relationships?" Hearing the word "memory", Zhang Zi moved with peace of mind, and couldn't help but think of Guo's mother's illness.

"Of course it does. Richard raised his head, suddenly feeling a little sad, as if he was remembering something from the past, "The brain is the most wonderful organ of living beings, and there are still many unsolved mysteries. People with Alzheimer's syndrome will forget first from short-term memory, and then long-term memory, but why can't they forget their language skills?"

Zhang Zi'an thought seriously, had a little clue, and said: "I think language is a skill, similar to riding a bicycle, and you won't forget it if you learn it?"

"No, in essence, language is also memory, but it is a memory that is deeper than long-term memory. Richard denied his speculation, "The number of times you speak and the number of times you listen to words every day will reinforce the verbal memory repeatedly, which causes the verbal memory to surpass any other memory, and it is impossible to forget it even in death - unless you have aphasia, but aphasia is not forgetting language, but forgetting how to extract language from the brain......"

Zhang Zi'an became more and more confused when he listened, "What do you want to say?"

"It's nothing, Uncle Ben just thought of the old woman who had dementia, and he felt it. Richard shook his head in dismay, "Let's talk about what I need you to do first." ”

"Okay, you say, I'll listen. ”

"The fastest way to train birds to speak, at present, requires two people to cooperate with each other, for example, you and Uncle Ben. It pointed at him with its wings and pressed it to its chest.

Zhang Zi'an wanted to complain that you are a bird and not a human, but he still swallowed it back, and there was no point in dwelling on this.

"How?" he asked.

"Specifically, it is up to Uncle Ben to teach them some of the most basic words, such as the pronunciation of Chinese characters such as gray, green, red, bowl, pot, rice, etc., and after they have mastered a certain number, they will begin to combine them freely. At that time, it is up to them to observe our interactions, such as seeing a red light, and if they can say it correctly, they can get a food reward, otherwise they will give food to Uncle Ben. After this repetition, we switch roles again, which is called role modeling/counterpart. ”

Zhang Zi'an generally understood that this was somewhat similar to training ordinary animals with conditioned reflexes, but it was different.

After careful consideration, he made a request: "I know that you think a lot, but this training must not be completed quickly, and you must promise me that if it drags on too long, you will at least teach them the poem." ”

Richard agreed nonchalantly, "It's fine, it doesn't take long." Language learning is not linear, but similar to an 'epiphany' – you teach an ordinary parrot to speak, maybe for a year, two years, or even ten or twenty years, and it is still mute, but as soon as it says the first word, the first sentence, the rest falls into place. Think about it, are you humans like that?"

Zhang Zi'an thought about it, it seems that this is really the case, some babies can speak before they are one year old, and some babies can only speak when they are nearly two years old, but this does not mean that the former is necessarily smarter than the latter, but the latter "comprehends" later. When babies learn to say "Mommy", they will soon be able to say other words such as "Daddy", "Grandpa" and "Grandma".

Richard raised his wings and pointed to the birdcage, "They have learned the word 'gray', they are enlightened, and it won't be long before they can master many common words." At that time, they will not only be able to read the poem, but they can even become helpers in daily life, helping the old woman to live a normal life. ”

Zhang Zi'an's mind paused for a few seconds before he realized what it meant. After he came back from Guo Dongyue, he told Richard in detail what he had seen and heard, and also mentioned that Aunt Bai, who was responsible for taking care of Guo's mother, was not very responsible, and if it went on like this, Guo's mother might be in danger at any time. Even if she is not satisfied with Aunt Bai, there is no way, because Guo's mother only knows Aunt Bai, and if she changes to another nanny, Guo's mother may do something driven by suspicion and anxiety.

When he said these words, Zhang Zi'an just told the truth, without any special purpose, but he felt a little uncomfortable not saying it. Who said that Alzheimer's patients are not suffering? He clearly felt the deep distress and incomprehension on her face, especially when she saw Guo Dongyue, it seemed that every pore on her face was overflowing with despair, like a person who was sinking into the bottomless dark abyss desperately waving his hands, trying to grab something.

The speaker is unintentional, the listener is intentional, but Richard thought more from these words. It is also faced with two paths, one is to simply teach the two red-faced parrots the song "The Wanderer's Song", and then complete the task, and the other is to really teach them to speak, not only to justify the parrot's ability to speak, but also to help the poor old woman and become her assistant in life.

In Guo's mother's memory, she not only remembered Aunt Bai, but also Xiaozi and Pea Huang. Giving her Xiao Zi and Pea Huang, who really learned to speak, will definitely not cause her rejection.

After Zhang Zi'an figured it out, he couldn't hold back his excitement. Guo's mother is so pitiful, anyone who sees it will sympathize, if she can provide her with some help within her ability, why not?

He picked up his mobile phone and wanted to inform Guo Dongyue of the news as soon as possible, but after thinking about it, he put it down again. There is no need to inform him for the time being, after all, it is not completely certain whether it will succeed or not. Guo Dongyue has already endured too many disappointments, and if he had high expectations this time, but failed in the end, it would have hit him too hard.

Richard looked at the red-faced parrot in the birdcage, and at this moment, it seemed to see in them its own figure - the nervous and cowering African gray parrot that had just been brought into the laboratory, feeling the warmth of humans, the warmth of family, and the warmth of love.

Therefore, this time it not only has to give back this warmth, but also to make up for regrets and go further.