Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Laka Speaks

It never fails. Laka and George will be down in the lounge room just chattering away. I grab the video camera and run down to catch them - but the moment I turn the corner they both clam up!

In desperation, I put the camera on a tripod and left it next to Laka's cage, pointed at the area that she seems to sit in most of the time. I turned it on and let it run for 2 solid hours. For about the first fifty minutes, she just sat there and stared at the lense. Eventually, though, she relaxed a little and seemed to forget about the lense and microphone, and she started talking.

Most of what she said was "practice English" - just yammering and so on. But at least I've finally got a recording of her vocalizing. I clipped out some sample segments and put the short video out in YouTube:



I have never understood the fascination she has for her "potty command", but she repeats it over and over. She's never said "potty" (just "pot"), but there's no mistaking the phrase. "Laka pot" is her own creation, as is "pot-pot-pot" and so on.

I've been asked if she swears. Yes, unfortunately, she does. She's picked up a specific bad word which I almost NEVER use - but which Stephen does (the "f-bomb"). She doesn't repeat it often, thank heavens, but when she does, she says it with MY VOICE!

Parrots love drama and swear words, when uttered, are usually said with a certain amount of drama (and often volume as well). So any talking parrot that is exposed to foul ("fowl"?) language will eventually press "record", and there you are. Once they've got the word or phrase, it's there forever. But I know that the thing to do when they repeat that little special "something" is to refrain from any reaction. Don't laugh, don't scold, don't react at all. Wait for the next (non-profane) utterance and respond to THAT in spades - but never EVER react to a bird's potty-mouthing. If you do, they'll only swear all the more because they'll have learned they can do something that gets a reaction.

OH - and one more note about parrots who swear... Laka and George are going to outlive both Stephen and me. At some point we're going to have to find new homes for them and when that happens, it will be important that they don't have any bad language habits. Parrots who swear like a sailor may amuse some people, but it's cruel to encourage it. A bird who cusses will be welcome in fewer homes - and we want our birds to get the best deal possible when the day comes that we can't care for them anymore. So, please, don't teach your parrot unsavoury language.


WASSUP?
  • What I’m listening to: "We No Speak Americano" by Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup
  • What’s for tea: Thai Steak Salad
  • What I’m reading: Justinian's Flea by William Rosen
  • Wine recommendation: Hmm.... don't know... haven't decided....
  • What's the season?: summer in Oz, winter in the U.S.

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