Whales have a much more complex language than previously thought

According to a new analysis, sperm whales use a significantly more sophisticated communication system than previously known by exploiting a multitude of sounds called the "phonetic alphabet", which in some ways is managed in significantly similar even to human language.This is reported by a new peer-reviewed study, published in Nature communications and conducted by a team of researchers including some of the team of machine learning of the CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) project, which studied the sounds of dozens of whales recorded and processed for years.«Research shows that the expressiveness of calls it is much broader than previously thought», commented Pratyusha Sharma, PhD student in robotics and machine learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author, who added that the next studies will address what sperm whales could actually communicate with each other.

THE sperm whales are a group of cetaceans from the Fiseteridae family.They have a distribution that extends across almost all the oceans and seas of the world, although only the males venture into Arctic and Antarctic waters, as the females prefer to stay with their young in warm waters.They are the largest predators in the world characterized by a length that can exceed 20 meters of which a third can be occupied only by the head.They feed on squid and fish and are known for their record of freediving, which can go to depths that only few mammals can match:2250 meters deep.Furthermore, sperm whales gather in groups called "pods" separated on the basis of sex and have a vocal repertoire which includes a series of pulsed sounds (calledclick”) similar to hitting a hammer on a piece of wood.Such sequences – divided mainly into “slow click”, “usual click” and “creak” – are often concluded with a short irregular but repeated pattern, called “tail”.

Such sounds, according to a new study, could be characteristic of a much more complex communication system than previously thought:Since 2005, researchers have followed a clan of 400 sperm whales in a region of the eastern Caribbean recording the sounds with underwater microphones and marking them with sensors.Since 2020, however, a team of marine biologists and computer scientists have joined forces to analyze some of them and the publication of the results had to wait 4 years.Such sounds were encapsulated in what was called the “sperm whale phonetic alphabet,” presumably also used for “coordinating as a family, arranging babysitting, foraging and defense.”The researchers then explained that the recorded variations in the number, rhythm and timing of clicks produced different types of tails and that, furthermore, some sperm whales sometimes added an extra click at the end, similar to a suffix in human language.Just as for people there are "two levels of communication" composed of sounds in words and words in sentences - explains Sharma - sperm whales also use a combination of two-level characteristics to form their tails, of which the lower level would present similarities with the letters of an alphabet.

«Human language is unique in many ways, yes.But I suspect that as science progresses, we will find many patterns, structures and aspects thought to be unique to humans in other species – including whales – and perhaps even features and aspects of animal communications that humans do not possess." he explained Shane Gero, co-author of the research, lead biologist of the CETI project and founder of the Dominica Sperm Whale Project.“I think we need to do a lot more research before we know if it's a good idea to try to communicate with them, or even have an idea if that will be possible.At the same time, I'm optimistic that we will be able to learn much more about what information is actually encoded in these vocalizations that we are listening to, what kind of information is contained in these clicks and queues, as we begin to understand the behavioral context in which this occurs", concluded Jacob Andreas, professor of computer science at MIT and member of the CETI project.

[by Roberto Demaio]