Since zebra finches are similar to humans in how they learn to communicate, researchers can use them as a model for infant language development. Credit: Michael H. Goldstein We are all born completely helpless, with little of the knowledge and skills we will need to survive as adults. Even our ability to communicate is almost entirely learned from our parents or caregivers. Some animals are the same. Zebra finches, in particular, are so similar to humans in how they learn to communicate that researchers often study them to better understand how we develop language. To help answer these questions, Steven Elmlinger, from Princeton University, presented his research on early vocalizations in both human infants and zebra finches at the 190th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America , running May 11–15. The research is also published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B .…