In Reply to: Got a few questions here! posted by Brittany* on May 04, 2008 at 01:53:16:
I would continue taking him in the shower with you if you want to try to get him to talk since it's supposed to help him think you're part of his 'flock' to see you groom yourself; same thing goes for eating in front of him. In the wild, they usually eat together and if he thinks you are part of his flock, he is more likely to try to mimick or 'parrot' you.
Also, according to my handy manual, you can get really good results by having a someone else around you, as "competition", to which you give them praise and maybe their favorite food (the bird's) as a 'treat' when they say something easy like "what" because they see this and want the attention for themself too. If you make a similiar noise like something the bird already does and then give him praise, if/when he responds back in kind, that is also supposed to encourage him to try to mimick you and is a good way to begin.
My guy is really young still but he seems to want to talk, especially for whatever reason, when the water is running by him and when he's in the cabinet over the sink (maybe because it echos). A few times he got my laugh down really good when he was in there. So funny. I hope I can get him to do that at least but I have hopes he might pick up a couple words besides that too since he's already started muttering to himself which is supposed to be a good sign.