Language has long been considered a uniquely human trait, but this now appears not to be so.
Human language has long been thought to have features that mark it out as distinct from the communication of all other species. However, research published in Science has uncovered the same statistical structure that is a hallmark of human language in humpback whale song.
Humpback whale song is a striking example of a complex, culturally transmitted behaviour, but up to now, there was little evidence it has a 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 new research 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.
Prof Simon Kirby from the University of Edinburgh said, "It suggests that our understanding of the evolution of language can benefit not only from looking at our closest primate relatives, but also at cases of convergent evolution elsewhere in nature."
"These findings challenge long held assumptions about the uniqueness of human language, uncovering deep commonalities between evolutionarily distant species."
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