Sperm whales might actually "talk" like us, study finds
Turns out, sperm whales aren't just clicking for fun—they may use a form of communication with structural similarities to human language.
A new study from UC Berkeley and Project CETI found that their calls include vowel-like sounds, challenging the old idea that whale talk is just simple clicks or morse code-like patterns.
Whales use vowel sounds in conversations
Researchers picked up two main vowel-like tones—think "ah" and "ee"—in whale chats.
These aren't random; the whales swap them back and forth in a dialogue-like fashion.
The cool part? Their sound-making is oddly similar to how we form vowels, even though their bodies are totally different from ours.
Why it matters
If sperm whales have such complex ways of communicating, it makes us rethink what animals are capable of—and maybe how we should treat them.
With AI helping decode these whale messages, we're getting closer to understanding how language evolved not just for humans, but across species.