Overview
- Sperm whale click sequences called codas show five properties that parallel human speech sound rules, according to a paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
- Researchers identified two vowel-like coda types, labeled a-codas and i-codas, based on formants, which are resonant frequency bands that also help define human vowels.
- The team analyzed 3,948 codas from 15 whales recorded off Dominica and documented consistent timing patterns, short and long variants, and carryover effects between neighboring sounds.
- Outlets differ on which coda type runs longer, but the study reports systematic duration patterns and individual pacing differences that together suggest rule-governed structure.
- The authors avoid calling the system a language because the meanings of codas are unknown, and Project CETI is using machine learning to probe semantics and broader implications for how language-like features evolve.