Astrobiology reports on a cross-disciplinary study that has found that the song of humpback whales has the same distinct mathematical structure as a human language:
Humpback whale song is a striking example of a complex, culturally transmitted behavior, but up to now, there was little evidence it has language-like structure.
Human language, which is also culturally transmitted, has recurring parts whose frequency of use follows a particular pattern. In humans, these properties help learning and may come about because they help language be passed from one generation to the next.
This work innovatively applies methods inspired by how babies discover words in speech to humpback whale recordings, uncovering the same statistical structures found in all human languages. This work reveals previously undetected structure in whale song, illustrating a deep commonality between two unrelated species united by the fact that their communication systems are culturally transmitted.
Led by Professor Inbal Arnon of the Hebrew University, Dr Ellen Garland of the University of St Andrews, and Professor Simon Kirby of the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Dr Claire Garrigue (IRD New Caledonia), Dr Jenny Allen (Griffith University), and Dr Emma Carroll (University of Auckland), this work represents a unique collaboration between linguists, developmental scientists, marine biologists and behavioural ecologists.
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The authors found that whale song showed the same key statistical properties present in all known human languages. They detected recurring parts whose frequency closely followed a particular skewed distribution, not previously found in any other non-human animal. This work reveals a deeply unexpected commonality between two unrelated species – humans and humpback whales – united by the fact that their communication system is culturally transmitted.
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You can read more about the whalesong analysis here, in Science.