Language has long been seen as a defining trait of human intelligence. Unlike the communication systems of other species, ...

Two new studies have found eerily human-like sophistication in whale songs, challenging notions about our exceptionality and potentially shedding light on the evolution of language. Some whales can ...

Language has long been considered a uniquely human trait, with features that mark it out as distinct from the communication ...

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 ...

Humpback whale songs have statistical patterns in their structure that are remarkably similar to those seen in human language. While this doesn’t mean the songs convey complex meanings like our ...

All known human languages display a surprising pattern: the most frequent word in a language is twice as frequent as the second most frequent, three times as frequent as the third, and so on. This is ...

Ronan the sea lion can dance to a lot of different songs, but there is something about “Boogie Wonderland,” by Earth, Wind and Fire that really gets her going. It didn’t take more than a few days for ...

A new study reveals that whale song and human languages share features that make them easier to learn. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are known for their complex songs. New research suggests ...