US EditionSperm Whale Clicks Contain Vowel-Like Sounds, New Study Finds
The study analyzed 3,948 codas from 15 whales and found two formant-based sound types that follow structured patterns similar to human vowels.
- A study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences reveals that sperm whale click-based communication contains patterns echoing how human languages use vowels.
- Project CETI researchers analyzed 3,948 codas from 15 individuals, finding clicks are "more expressive and structured than previously believed" compared to earlier 2024 findings.
- The team identified two distinct coda categories—'a-codas' and 'i-codas'—based on different formant structures that behave like vowels by varying in length and interacting with neighboring sounds.
- Lead author Gaaper Begua, a linguist at the University of California, Berkeley, emphasizes the findings constitute a "communication system" rather than human language, though meaning remains uncertain.
- This discovery brings scientists a step closer to decoding whale communication, potentially revealing whether language is unique to humans and how it evolved across species.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Scientists Found Human Speech-Like Patterns in Sperm Whale Clicks
The staccato clicks of sperm whales may sound like meaningless background noise to human ears, but a new analysis suggests they may be part of a communication system with a level of complexity approaching that of our own. According to researchers with Project CETI, a US non-profit working to understand sperm whales, the clicks known as "codas" are more complex than a 2024 study indicated. That earlier work found the sounds had an acoustic resemb…
Scattered sounds of cassavat products may appear to people a simple deep hole, but a new study shows that they could be part of a communication system with a level of complexity comparable to...
CETI / SETI: The Phonology Of Sperm Whale Coda Vowels - Astrobiology
Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) communicate using series of clicks known as codas. In previous research, sperm whale codas have been shown to resemble human vowels acoustically. Based on the number of formants, two different coda quality categories have been described: a-codas and i-codas. In the present paper, we demonstrate that sperm whale codas not only […] The post CETI / SETI: The Phonology Of Sperm Whale Coda Vowels appeared first …
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