The most common word is used twice as often as the second most common word, three times as often as the third most common word, four times as often as the fourth most common word… and so on. This statistical rule is called Zipf’s law,

Whales use moans, snores, chirps and cries that are known as whale song. And now, a new study has found that whale song is more similar to human language than scientists previously thought. Read on to find out more about what they found.

All known human languages display a pattern known as Zipf’s law. Now, researchers have found the same pattern in whale song.

JERUSALEM — An international study, led by Israeli and British researchers, has found that whale song has a structure similar to human language, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said in a statement on Sunday.

For all the world’s linguistic diversity, human languages still obey some universal patterns. These run even deeper than grammar and syntax; they’re rooted in statistical laws that predict how frequently we use certain words and how long those words tend to be. Think of them as built-in guardrails to keep language easy to learn and use.

Two new studies have found that whale song has structural similarities to human languages, especially when it comes to efficiency and brevity. It’s leading researchers to believe that evolutionary pressures might affect other complex communicators in similar ways.

Humpback whale songs share structural similarities with human language, suggesting complex communication patterns.

A key discovery was that whale song follows Zipf’s Law—a principle in human language where the most frequently used words appear roughly twice as often as the second-most common words, three times as often as the third-most common, and so on.

Study (Maria) The author writes, “The mysterious grunts and moans of the humpback whale have long captivated humans — so much so that we put recordings of them onto the Voyager spacecraft to convey the sounds of Earth to other life forms.