Despite their “human” auditory ability to interpret speech sounds, dogs do not hear the subtle differences between words like humans, a team of researchers have found.
Words are made up of sounds of speech, which, if changed, change the whole meaning – for example, “dog” can turn into “dig”.
Researchers at the University of Budapest’s Tots L લોrend measured the brain activity of family dogs using a technique called electroencephalography, which involved tapping electrodes on the animals’ heads.
The researchers recorded the dogs instructional words they knew (such as “sit”), similar, but nonsense words (“suit”), and then, very different nonsense words (“beep”).
Experts have found that dogs, which were not specifically trained for the experiment, can quickly and clearly distinguish between well-known instructional words and very different nonsense words.
“Brain activity is different when they hear instructions, which they know, and very different nonsense words, which means dogs recognize these words,” lead study author Lila Magyari told CDN.
However, the animals did not notice the small differences between the familiar words and the absurd words that sounded the same. Instead, the subjects of the canine study treated them like a synonym, ”Magyari, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Ethnology G. at Itavas Lorand University, told CNN.
Dogs are known for their auditory ability and their ability to hear words and sounds well, and they are able to distinguish speech sounds.
“But it seems like they don’t really pay attention to all the speech sounds,” he added, adding that more research could explain why.
“They just don’t realize that all the details, the speech sounds, are really important in human speech. If you think about a normal dog: that dog is able to learn a few instructions in his life,” he said.
While our demonic allies may not recognize all the noise, Magyari said the study also confirmed that dogs actually hear human speech, as suggested by previous studies – and not just respond to familiar humans or body language.
“It really shows that dogs can distinguish words they know from nonsense words,” he said, noting that family dogs also recorded brain activity when listening to words instructed by an unfamiliar voice given by a speaker.
The findings were published in the Royal Society Open Science Journal on Tuesday.
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