The most common word is used twice as often as the second most common word, three times as often as the third most common ...

The animals’ complex songs share structural patterns with human language that may make them easier for whales to learn, a new ...

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

The sounds that make up humpback whale songs follow some of the same statistical rules seen in human languages, which may be ...

"Using insights and methods from how babies learn language allowed us to discover previously undetected structure in whale ...

All known human languages display a pattern known as Zipf’s law. Now, researchers have found the same pattern in whale song.

A key discovery was that whale song follows Zipf’s Law—a principle in human language where the most frequently used words ...

Researchers say they've discovered that humpback whale song is passed down over the years and changes — something it has in common with human language. (Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty Images ...

Humpback whale songs share structural similarities with human language, suggesting complex communication patterns.

Two studies reveal that the communication systems of most cetaceans examined adhere to the principles of efficiency and ...

How to search for the pattern in humpback whale song, however, wasn’t immediately clear. First, the researchers had to identify the units within the song that would be equivalent to human words.