@article{fdi:010093631,
  title = {{W}hale song shows language-like statistical structure},
  author = {{A}rnon, {I}. and {K}irby, {S}. and {A}llen, {J}. {A}. and {G}arrigue, {C}laire and {C}arroll, {E}. {L}. and {G}arland, {E}. {C}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{H}umpback whale song is a culturally transmitted behavior. {H}uman language, which is also culturally transmitted, has statistically coherent parts whose frequency distribution follows a power law. {T}hese properties facilitate learning and may therefore arise because of their contribution to the faithful transmission of language over multiple cultural generations. {I}f so, we would expect to find them in other culturally transmitted systems. {I}n this study, we applied methods based on infant speech segmentation to 8 years of humpback recordings, uncovering in whale song the same statistical structure that is a hallmark of human language. {T}his commonality, in two evolutionarily distant species, points to the role of learning and cultural transmission in the emergence of properties thought to be unique to human language.},
  keywords = {{PACIFIQUE} {SUD} ; {NOUVELLE} {CALEDONIE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{S}cience},
  volume = {387},
  numero = {6734},
  pages = {649--653 [+ erratum post date 03 avril 2025]},
  ISSN = {0036-8075},
  year = {2025},
  DOI = {10.1126/science.adq7055},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010093631},
}