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

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 this cultural behaviour holds crucial insight into the evolution of complex communication across the animal kingdom,” said Dr Ellen Garland from the University of St Andrews. Prof. Simon Kirby from the University of Edinburgh emphasizes the broader implications: “Our understanding of language evolution can benefit not just from studying primates but also from cases of convergent evolution elsewhere in nature.” He argues that language isn’t just about meaning but also about how it’s learned and culturally transmitted across generations. “These findings challenge long-held beliefs about human language’s uniqueness, revealing deep commonalities with evolutionarily distant species.”