Whale song is more similar to human language than previously thought, research has found. The study, led by the University of St Andrews, revealed a previously undetected “language-like structure” in whale song that was thought to be unique to human language. This suggests that, like humans, whale song is transmitted “culturally”, meaning that whales learn their communication systems from each other. #news #Whale #animals #nature | STV News

🐋🎶 Whale song and human language share an unexpected connection! A new study has found that humpback whale songs follow the same structural patterns as human language, making them easier to learn and pass down through generations. Researchers analyzed eight years of whale recordings from New Caledonia and discovered that whale songs follow Zipfian distribution—a universal linguistic rule where simpler sounds are used more frequently than complex ones. This pattern helps infants in both species