People often wonder if animals other than humans possess what can truly be called a language. Although the short answer is “no, not really”, I find research on the topic endlessly fascinating–especially when it helps us understand the nature of human language itself. While we’re unlikely to find whales composing poetry or debating philosophy, a recent study suggests their vocalisations follow surprisingly language-like rules of efficiency- rules that shape how we speak too.
This research reveals that many whale species exhibit structural patterns found in human speech, governed by linguistic laws like Menzerath’s Law & Zipf’s Law of abbreviation. These laws aren’t just theoretical- they influence how information is packaged & transmitted, making communication more efficient. So what happens when we apply them to the ocean’s most iconic singers?
Key Findings
Youngblood (2025) analysed over 610,000 vocal elements from 16 whale species & compared them with data from 51 human languages. The results? Eleven whale species demonstrated Menzerath’s Law, where longer vocal sequences are made up of shorter elements—much like how long words often contain shorter syllables in human speech. Some whales, such as humpbacks, showed even stronger adherence to this law than humans.
Two species, including humpbacks & blue whales, also displayed Zipf’s Law of abbreviation: more frequently used elements are shorter, a pattern that echoes our tendency to shorten everyday words like “television” to “TV”. Interestingly, whales also tend to shorten sounds as sequences progress- a reversal of the “final lengthening” often seen in human language.
The Study’s Approach
Using vocal data from 24 studies, researchers applied statistical models to test the presence & strength of both laws. They also compared these findings with annotated human speech data from the DoReCo corpus [a spoken language corpora on a world-wide sample of 53 languages]. Their goal? To see if whales exhibit the same kind of efficiency pressures we observe in human communication systems- and the answer seems to be a qualified yes.
While the study’s findings don’t mean whales have language in the same sense humans do, it does suggest that evolution pushes communication systems -across species- toward efficiency. This kind of research blurs the line between human uniqueness & broader biological trends.
Teacher Takeaways?
Lay Down the Laws: Concepts like Menzerath’s Law & Zip’s Law can help learners understand that some patterns in language are grounded in universal principles of efficiency- not just grammar rules. Bringing them up in class can lead to an interesting comparative discussion about the learner’s L1 & English.
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