Deep Carnivale 2009
- When
-
10am to 5pm
Saturday and Sunday,
Sept. 12-13, 2009 - Where
-
The Performing Arts Building
Hillsborough Community College, Ybor Campus Tampa Florida
- What
- Readings by authors and poets, songs sung by songwriters, child-friendly performances, games, activites, food and non-alcoholic beverages
- Who
- Children and families, teens, adults and tribal elders
- Admission
- Free and open to the public
- More Information
- Contact Festival Director David Audet at daudet@hccfl.edu or 813-253-7000 x5179
Passive Speech Research: Language and the Animal Mind
This workshop provides an overview of
investigations into communicating with
animals using English language and
delves into an in-process passive speech
study with a talking bird, the author's macaw,
Arielle
Previously, mainly in studies
of language-using primates, researchers
devoted scant attention to understand
voluntary statements by their non-human
subjects. Arielle, member of a parrot
species whose ability to use language has
not been studied previously, is the subject
of Michael Dalton's research. According to
Dalton, she has learned language. Transcriptions of her recorded
voluntary speech reveal her thoughts as
well as provide insight about her cognitive abilities.
For the past 17 years, Dalton has recorded Arielle's spoken language,
and has found instances of language use he believes mirrors the way
humans utilize language to express both concrete and abstract ideas.
"Originally, I recorded the voluntary
speech of my macaw, Arielle, for a purpose
unrelated to analyzing her words.
During recording sessions, I discovered
that her free speech followed a pattern
similar to that of ramblings by a young
child. In my passive speech research, I
sort through an enormous number of
voluntary statements, because a loquacious parrot can speak far more rap-
idly than a child.
"Arielle is different from the other
language-using animals because she
does not perform; she speaks in English
and sometimes responds voluntarily to
questions posed to her. Arielle speaks
single words, sentences with as many
as 15 syllables, as well as sequences of
two to four topical sentences.
"Many
of her sequential statements consist of
untrained phrases; although she is not
human, many of her creative expressions
shadow those spoken by precocious children. Arielle also displays
inherent linguistic abilities that sometimes exceed those of a toddler.
"A
significant aspect of her free-speech
utterances is that her expressions more
closely resemble those of a child at play
than verbalizations by the nonhuman
animals studied at universities."
Intelligence Respected
Editor David Warner of Creative Loafing said some kind and encouraging words on page 26 of the August 26, 2009, issue. Partial quote, "At a moment when ignorance is being aggressively defended, Deep Carnivale still respects our intelligence. Imagine that."
A Different Sort of Ybor Celebration
Esther Martinez, in a story at The Florida Book Review" says she knows "Deep Carnivale will be 'A Celebration of Words' and not a Bourbon Street bacchanal."
"But logophile that I am, I reason I'll get drunk on language. With over 70 writers and artists scheduled [for the 2008 Carnivale] to perform or read from their works, my beaded necklaces will be strung with verse. I imagine haiku shooters..."
"It is just before 10am when I arrive at the corner of Palm Avenue and 14th Street—Deep Carnivale ground zero. About a dozen vendor tables are lined up around the Hillsborough Community College courtyard where a band of teenagers [Next Exit] are setting up their instruments.
"The vendor tables sell books by local writers, HCC publications and baked goods. I grab a Cuban favorite, papa rellena, a potato stuffed with savory ground beef. Belly satisfied, I cross the street and enter the historic Circulo Cubano. A nearly 100 year old neo-classical building of ionic columns and marble staircases, it served as the Cuban Social Club and remains the oldest building of its kind in the country."Comments From Our Fans
"When I look back over 2008, my visit to the second edition of Deep Carnivale was a
highlight. You and your staff did a great job and I loved being part of it, again.
I am sure there will be bigger festivals to come. But maybe not better!!!"
– Darrell House,
children's book author and 2008 Deep Carnivale presenter.