A man from Peacehaven believes he can now talk to ducks after an operation on his voice box.
Derek Ferdinand, a 57 year old taxi driver from Brighton, believes
that since his operation to remove a cancerous lump on this throat four months
ago, his voice has ability to echo more accurately sounds of a duck’s quack.
The operation has left Mr Ferdinand with a tightened larynx
which had partly strained the airflow up the vocal track. This tightening has
then resulted in giving Mr Ferdinand a more strained register to his speech.
“It’s not uncomfortable or
painful” says Mr Ferdinand. “But it has given me ability to copy a duck’s quack.”
When asked how he realised he had
the ability he said, “I always liked doing impressions of animals, farmyard
mostly, but I always struggled with the Duck. Now I have it spot on.”
But his new talent hasn't come
without cost. “I used to be able to do a fantastic horse impression but it’s
just not the same anymore. To successfully Neigh, you've got to have a clear
vocal sound in order to wobble like horses do.” He added, “Although I could do
a good impression of a horse, I could never talk to them because they didn't respond.
My duck call is now so accurate that I am learning duck calls and they actually
respond. You know, for food and danger and that.”
The claim has yet to be scientifically
analysed so experts have been called in to validate the effectiveness of the
quack. Ferdinand assures that he is successful about three out of 10 times. However
this ratio is becoming more convincing month on month.
Since the operation, Mr Ferdinand
has been practicing on his taxi fares and says he has received some really
positive feedback. So much so that he plans to write a picture book about his
story and hopes that it will encourage children to flock to the one park in Brighton
where you can see a duck.
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