Posted on 11/13/2025 3:34:47 AM PST by week 71
Scientists have cracked the code behind a mysterious language discovered among a non-human species living in Earth's oceans that mirrors human speech.
Using AI to study whale communication, Project CETI researchers discovered that sperm whales 'talk' to each other with strange, Morse code-like clicking patterns.
The mammals used patterned click sequences known as codas, which include two distinct vowel-like sounds — an 'ah'-like a-coda and an 'ee'-like i-coda.
The vowel-like noises were not random, as whales were seen actively controlling the pitch, length, and type of sounds they were making as they 'pronounced' different words.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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Jim
Maybe the only advantage of sleepin’ with the fishes.
Hail Atlantis!
I would be more worried if it came out as “So long and thanks for all the fish”.
Well we’ll be safe now when V’ger returns in 500 years.............
I absolutely believe that they do. I grew up on a farm, and I’ve seen horses laugh when another horse farts.
Consider how intelligent Octopi would be if they lived long lives and passed on knowledge to their offspring like humans.
I thought “decode secret language” was going to tell us that we could now UNDERSTAND what they were saying. Not “We think this is a language”.
NO SHEET! (SMH)
NARRATOR: We believe that we've provided the first convincing evidence that an animal exposed to language can understand not only what words mean but how word order changes that meaning. Dolphins can link words together. A key to intelligent thought.
DOLPHIN TRAINER: (speaking to dolphin “Akeakami” sticking its head out of the water) Yeah. Good girl.
HEAD RESEARCHER: Okay, you can play with them a bit and then we'll start the session
DOLPHIN TRAINER: Good girl! Right up! Yes! That's beautiful! Beautiful!
HEAD RESEARCHER: Okay, ready for the next sentence. We cover the dolphin trainer’s eyes so she can't give unintended messages through eye contact.
DOLPHIN: (chittering, awaiting command)
HEAD RESEARCHER: If we give the dolphin Akeakami the sequence of gestures meaning "surfboard." "person," "fetch," she understands that, she is to find the person in the tank and carry that person to the surfboard, and not the surfboard to the person.
DOLPHIN TRAINER: (giving hand signals to dolphin) Surfboard, person, fetch.
HEAD RESEARCHER: Word order makes a difference. (whistle blows)
DOLPHIN: (chittering, nods immediately to indicate it understands, and swims swiftly over to a swimmer in the water, puts her head under the swimmer, and brings her to the surfboard on the other side of the tank)
DOLPHIN TRAINER: Yay! Well done! Good girl!
DOLPHIN: (chittering)
DOLPHIN TRAINER: Good girl, good girl.
HEAD RESEARCHER: These dolphins are not just performing tricks like circus animals.
DOLPHIN TRAINER: Very good. - Get up! Up, up, up!
HEAD RESEARCHER: They were able to follow a completely new, unfamiliar instruction because they understand the language. Once we discovered this ability we asked ourselves whether dolphins could comprehend even more abstract forms of communication.
DOLPHIN: (chittering)
NARRATOR: Could a dolphin understand gestures given through TV images? Not a live trainer at tankside... But a flat, flickering image of a trainer, 12 inches high? (television showing video of trainer with hand signals telling the dolphin “Perform ‘Spiral Jump”)
DOLPHIN: (chitters to acknowledge it understands as it nods its head, then immediately swims to the surface, leaps out of the water, twisting in a spiral)
HEAD RESEARCHER: There she goes. She did it. Very good. That's correct. TRAINER: (using hand signals to dolphin) Spiral jump completed - Good girl. - Okay. That is correct. Right. Prepare for the next sentence
HEAD RESEARCHER: Send her back to station. (Trainer gives hand signal to go to station)
DOLPHIN: (chittering and nods in acknowledgement, then swims to the station where it can see the television screen undewater)
HEAD RESEARCHER: We then wondered how abstract this image could be and still be understood. We tried showing only two spheres moving about in black space, tracing out gestures as the trainer's arms and hands normally would.
TRAINER: Signal attention (to dolphin).
DOLPHIN: (chittering, then stops and stares at the video screen and awaits the command from the trainer) TRAINER: (signaling “Hoop through” with the two spheres on the video screen which mimic the movement of her hands) Ready. Yes!
DOLPHIN: (chittering, nods in understanding, swims to the bottom of the tank and gets the hoop off the floor of the tank, stands it on end, and swims through it)
TRAINER: There you go. Good girl!
NARRATOR: To truly understand these wonderful creatures, it's not enough to teach them our idea of language we must also learn theirs. To learn how they communicate in their own world.
As soon as the trainer gave a command, the dolphin would chitter, not its head in understanding (it was unequivocally communicating "Okay, I understand!" and then it swam right off and unerringly performed the command. It was very interesting.
I saw a US Navy unit with a dolphin in Boston Harbor some years ago...and this documentary is old, so none of this is new. But to see it was very interesting.
So, which species is more intelligent?
Dolphin learn our language easily, we have yet to learn theirs.
So what were they saying?
I presume it is because we have taught them a language, but they have not chosen to teach us. They may not have any reason to do so.
you got that backwards!
I don’t care who you are, farts are funny.
Whenever Mrs. Kissel breaks wind we beat the dog.
Fido might disagree.
Our dogs are silent but deadly, as we kids used to say.
I think it might be that dolphin don’t have any body language that we can recognize.
We can make hand gestures and facial expressions.
Dolphins lack these abilities.
Like the transcript mentions, the dolphin trainer used sign language to tell the dolphin to take the swimmer to the surf board.
Dolphins lack hands and arms to respond in kind to sign language even though the obviously understand it.
Maybe dolphins could come up with a waggle language like honey bees.
“Eeek, eeek shreek” =
“Don’t forget to drink your Ovaltine.”
Indeed...I admit, I am tickled by all the “Thanks for the fish!” references!
Hahahahahahaha I completely forgot that opening scene...!
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