Can you imagine giant pandas baa like sheep to say "I love you" and warble a cheerful "I do" when wooed by a suitor, and bark like a dog when they are furious?

你能想象熊猫说“我爱你”时是“咩咩咩”，说“我愿意”时像鸟叫，而说“我很生气”时又像狗叫吗？

Researchers there have decoded² 13 different kinds of giant panda vocalizations in a surprising new insight into the private life of the reclusive creatures.

长期从事大熊猫人工繁育的中国保护大熊猫中心的专家们研究发现，大熊猫至少会用13种不同的声音来表达不同的意思，而“破译”了这些“猫言猫语”无疑将帮助专家们进一步了解大熊猫生活习性和心理，走进他们的世界。

The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda has been working on a panda linguistics³ project since 2010. Scientists first made recordings⁴ of pandas at the center, vocalizations between cubs⁵ and adults in various situations, such as when they were eating, mating, nursing, fighting and so on, said Zhang Hemin, head of the center. Then they collected a large amount of data on pandas' voices and activities, and analyzed⁶ the voiceprints. "We managed to decode¹ some panda language and the results are quite interesting," Zhang said.

中国保护大熊猫研究中心主任、卧龙自然保护区管理局局长张和民介绍，在2010年，来自音乐之乡奥地利维也纳的专家和中心合作，已经通过录音和频谱分析，破译了部分大熊猫的语言密码，听懂了它们在采食、求偶、照顾宝宝等不同情景下的“喜怒哀乐”。近年来，中心继续与其他国内外的学术研究机构合作继续“破译”工程，到目前已初见成效。

Panda cubs can barely vocalize at all except to say things like "Gee-Gee" (I'm hungry), "Wow-Wow" (Not happy!) or "Coo-Coo" (Nice!).

专家们发现，刚出生的熊猫宝宝和人类宝宝一样，基本只能发出“吱吱”、“哇哇”和“咕咕”这三种简单的叫声。一般情况下“吱吱”表示“我饿了”，“哇哇”表示“我不爽了”，而“咕咕”则是表示愉悦和舒适感受时发出的满意叫声。

"Adult giant pandas usually are solitary⁷, so the only language teacher they have is their own mother," the researcher said. When they grow a little, cubs learn how to express themselves by roaring, barking, shouting, squeaking⁸, bleating⁹ and chirping¹⁰.

而熊猫在成长过程中也和人类一样要跟着母亲“学说话”，耳濡目染，它们慢慢地就会学会吼叫、吠叫、嗷叫、嘶叫、咩叫等叫声。

"If a panda mother keeps tweeting like a bird, she may be anxious about her babies. She barks loudly when a stranger comes near," Zhang said. The barking can be interpreted as "getting out of my place", according to the researcher. Pandas can be as gentle as a lamb when they are "in love". Male pandas baa all the time when they are wooing their lovers. The females respond with constant tweeting if they feel the same.

比如，熊猫妈妈如果发出“咩咩”声，那可能是在寻找她的宝宝，饲养员需要适时提供帮助；而当大熊猫们发出“汪汪”的吠叫声时，则千万不要靠近他们，因为那表示他们很愤怒，想要打架或是威胁对方不要进入自己的领地。而在春季发情季节，熊猫还会使用自己独特的“恋爱语言”。雄性熊猫会发出咩叫声，那可是在用“甜言蜜语”向自己心上人求爱。被俘获芳心，坠入爱河的雌性熊猫就会发出“唧唧”“喳喳”的类似鸟鸣声，害羞回应。

"Trust me. Our researchers were so confused when we began the project that they wondered if they were studying a panda, a bird, a dog, or a sheep," Zhang said.

“我们的工作人员也会开玩笑问大熊猫到底是羊、是狗还是鸟啊？”张和民说。

The center plans to continue the study and is looking forward to the creation of a panda translator that could use high-tech¹¹ voice recognition technology. "If we can understand their language, it will help us protect the animal, especially in the wild," he said.

他表示，熊猫语言学的研究还将继续，如能够破译更多熊猫语言，甚至发明“翻译器”，那将有助于饲养员更好地理解熊猫各种声音的准确含义，也将有利于更科学地饲养、保护大熊猫，甚至能帮助大熊猫提高自然交配成功率。