Humpback whale songs have patterns that resemble human language
New ScientistJAN 26
The exciting discovery of language-like structures in whale songs represents a breakthrough in understanding animal communication. The shared patterns between human language and whale songs suggest fundamental principles about how complex communication systems evolve and are transmitted culturally, pointing to deep commonalities between evolutionarily distant species.
While these findings reveal intriguing similarities in communication structure, whale songs still lack the semantic meaning and grammatical complexity of human language. The observed patterns may reflect efficient ways to organize sound sequences for learning and transmission rather than indicate language-like capabilities.