‘Impressive’ and ‘humbling’: Whale language skills equal and even surpass human speech capabilities in some ways

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 match or even surpass the efficiency of our speech, one of the studies found, with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) providing the closest competition.

In the second study, researchers report that humpback songs adhere to a statistical structure considered a hallmark of human language.

“These findings challenge long-held assumptions about the uniqueness of human language, uncovering deep commonalities between evolutionarily distant species,” says Simon Kirby, professor of language evolution at the University of Edinburgh.

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Aside from impressing and humbling us, the whales’ abilities could help us better understand the language of other animals and our own. A growing body of research suggests lots of species have intricate communication systems, and many exhibit qualities once deemed uniquely human.

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