Editorial: If a whale spoke to us, what would it say?
12 years, 5 months ago

Editorial: If a whale spoke to us, what would it say?

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Baby beluga in the deep blue sea – runs a much-loved children's song – you swim so wild and you swim so free. The news that all-white beluga whales, perhaps the most charming of all the Cetacea, have learned to imitate human speech raises any number of fascinating questions. ': NOC the talking whale learns to imitate human speech in attempt to 'reach out' to human captors Was Noc forming human words just for fun?

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History of this topic

Whales have a musical connection with humans that we didn't know about
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Whales have a musical connection with humans that we didn't know about

India Today  

Transmission of language in humans can be traced through a particular pattern, as it is culturally transmitted across generations. The new research applies methods inspired by how babies discover words in speech to humpback whale recordings, uncovering the same statistical structures found in all human languages. “Revealing this hidden language-like structure in whale song was unexpected, but it strongly suggests …

Whale song more similar to human language than previously thought – study
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Whale song more similar to human language than previously thought – study

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Whale song is more similar to human language than previously thought, …

Cetacean conversation: AI could let us talk to whales. Experts question if that's a good idea
7 months, 1 week ago

Cetacean conversation: AI could let us talk to whales. Experts question if that's a good idea

Salon  

Selling more than 125,000 copies, the 1970 album “Songs of the Humpback Whale” is the bestselling nature recording of all time. In an article published five days before Payne’s death last year, the lifelong activist asked readers to imagine what it might be like to talk to whales, writing, “If we could communicate with animals, ask them questions and receive …

Scientists document remarkable sperm whale 'phonetic alphabet'
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Scientists document remarkable sperm whale 'phonetic alphabet'

The Hindu  

The various species of whales inhabiting Earth's oceans employ different types of vocalisations to communicate. We are studying the calls in their behavioral contexts next to understand what sperm whales might be communicating about," said Ms. Sharma. "All of these different codas that we see are actually built by combining a comparatively simple set of smaller pieces," said study co-author …

How do sperm whales talk to each other? MIT scientists decode basic elements of communication system
10 months, 3 weeks ago

How do sperm whales talk to each other? MIT scientists decode basic elements of communication system

Hindustan Times  

Scientists studying the sperm whales that live around the Caribbean island of Dominica have described for the first time the basic elements of how they might be talking to each other, in an effort that could one day help better protect them. Like many whales and dolphins, sperm whales are highly social mammals and communicate by squeezing air through their …

The scientists learning to speak whale
11 months, 3 weeks ago

The scientists learning to speak whale

BBC  

The scientists learning to speak whale Jodi Frediani A humpback whale and her calf In a world-first, scientists had a "conversation" with a whale. Researchers who "conversed" with a humpback whale say their encounter could be the first step towards communication with non-human intelligence. "It's really about seeing the world from the perspective of animals," he says, or in the …

How do whales sing? Scientists point to a specialised voice box that other animals don’t have
1 year, 1 month ago

How do whales sing? Scientists point to a specialised voice box that other animals don’t have

ABC  

In short: A study published in Nature has found baleen whales have evolved over millions of years to use a modified voice box that generates sound without them choking. A study published in Nature has found baleen whales have evolved over millions of years to use a modified voice box that generates sound without them choking. Experts in the field …

Humans could soon TALK to whales: AI is learning to decode clicking sounds made by the animals
3 years, 5 months ago

Humans could soon TALK to whales: AI is learning to decode clicking sounds made by the animals

Daily Mail  

A team of international scientists recently launched an ambitious project to listen to, contextualize and translate the communication of Sperm whales, with a goal of 'talking' to the majestic marine animals. The initiative, called Project CETI, is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to interpret clicking sounds, or 'codas,' Sperm whales make to communicate with one another. The initiative, called …

Killer whale learns to imitate human speech in world first
7 years, 2 months ago

Killer whale learns to imitate human speech in world first

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Killer whales use their blowhole to make noises, almost like speaking out of your nose, …

HOW DO WHALES COMMUNICATE AND COULD THEY ONE DAY TALK TO HUMANS?
7 years, 2 months ago

HOW DO WHALES COMMUNICATE AND COULD THEY ONE DAY TALK TO HUMANS?

Daily Mail  

How do whales communicate? Whales are known for using complex clicks and singing to communicate with each other - even if they are hundreds of miles apart. Whales that are closely related or live together produce similar pulsed calls that carry vocal characteristics distinct to the group, known as a dialect. She does not attach any meaning to this sound …

Scientists discover dolphins ‘can speak almost like humans’
8 years, 6 months ago

Scientists discover dolphins ‘can speak almost like humans’

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Dolphins are capable of “highly developed spoken language” which closely resembles …

What It Sounds Like to Be a Whale
15 years, 9 months ago

What It Sounds Like to Be a Whale

Wired  

When the International Whaling Commission meets this week to discuss the future of whale hunting, aquatic noise pollution will be low on the agenda, if it's discussed at all. They rely on hearing to find food, navigate, and communicate, calling to each other with elaborate vocalizations that can be heard for hundreds of miles, even, in the case of species …

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