Elephant Communicates in Korean Language

Koshik, an Asian elephant, at the Everland Zoo in South Korea, can speak some words in Korean which are easily understood by the speakers of the language, according to researchers of Vienna University, reports Reuters.

This is not a new phenomenon. There are earlier reports of both African and Asian elephants capable of human speech. One was known for imitating the sound of truck engines, whereas a male Asian elephant living in a zoo in Kazakhastan, could speak in both Russian and Kazakh. But these cases never received any scientific investigation.

Koshik vocalizes with his trunk in his mouth. He, at present, has exactly five words in his vocabulary. These include "annyong" ("hello"), "anja" ("sit down"), "aniya" ("no"), "nuo" ("lie down"), and "choah" ("good"). 

The researchers predict that Koshik's language skills may provide important insights into the biology and evolution of complex vocal learning, an ability that is critical for human speech and music.

"Human speech basically has two important aspects, pitch and timbre," says Angela Stoeger of the University of Vienna. "Intriguingly, the elephant Koshik is capable of matching both pitch and timbre patterns: he accurately imitates human formats as well as the voice pitch of his trainers. This is remarkable considering the huge size, the long vocal tract, and other anatomical differences between an elephant and a human."

Stoeger states that elephants have trunks instead of lips. Their large larynx can produce very low-pitched sounds; Koshik's speech mimicry exactly copies the pitch and other characteristics of his human trainers' voices. A structural analysis of Koshik's speech showed not just clear similarities to human voices, but also differences from the usual calls of elephants.

Angela Stoeger, Daniel Mietchen, Tecumseh Fitch, and their colleagues confirmed that Koshik was imitating Korean words in several ways. Initially they asked the Korean speakers to write down what they heard when listening to playbacks of the elephant's sounds.

"We found a high agreement concerning the overall meaning, and even the Korean spelling of Koshik's imitations," Stoeger says. But as far as the scientists can tell, Koshik doesn't actually mean what he says.

Yet it wasn't completely clear why Koshik adopted his unusual vocal behavior. But the researchers predict that it it might go back to his days as a juvenile. Koshik was the only elephant living at the Everland Zoo in South Korea for about five years, an important period for elephant bonding and development. Humans were his only social contacts.

"We suggest that Koshik started to adapt his vocalizations to his human companions to strengthen social affiliation, something that is also seen in other vocal-learning species -- and in very special cases, also across species," Stoeger says.

The research details were published on Nov 1 in Current Biology.