What did researchers discover about sperm whale communication?

Researchers discovered that sperm whales use a complex 'social language' with vowel-like sounds and grammar-like rules, similar to human speech.

How did the Project CETI team study sperm whale communication?

The team attached small suction-cup microphones to 15 sperm whales in the Caribbean to record their clicks up close without distortion, capturing nearly 4,000 clear codas from a group of females and their offspring.

What did the study reveal about the similarities between sperm whale and human speech?

The study found that sperm whales use their lips and air sacs as a sound source and filter, just like humans use their vocal cords and vocal tract, to produce vowel-like sounds and control pitch, length, and timing in their communication.

Home / Science / Sperm Whales Unveil Vowel-Based 'Social Language' Mirroring Human Speech

Sperm Whales Unveil Vowel-Based 'Social Language' Mirroring Human Speech

13 Nov

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Summary

AI decodes sperm whale clicks as a complex language with vowel-like sounds
Whales use 'codas' to communicate, coordinate activities, and identify each other
Whale speech patterns similar to human speech, using lips and air sacs as sound source

Sperm Whales Unveil Vowel-Based 'Social Language' Mirroring Human Speech

In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have decoded the complex language used by sperm whales living in Earth's oceans. Through the use of AI, the Project CETI team has found that these mammals communicate with each other using strange, Morse code-like clicking patterns that mirror human speech.

The study, which is awaiting peer review, reveals that sperm whales employ a system of patterned click sequences known as 'codas' that include two distinct vowel-like sounds - an 'ah'-like a-coda and an 'ee'-like i-coda. Contrary to previous assumptions, these vowel-like noises are not random, as the whales were observed actively controlling the pitch, length, and type of sounds they were making as they 'pronounced' different words.