this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
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Scientists Have Reported a Breakthrough In Understanding Whale Language::Researchers have identified new elements of whale vocalizations that they propose are analogous to human speech, including vowels and pitch.

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[–] agitatedpotato@lemmy.world 70 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Hell yeah, I hope it works for orcas too so I can thank the ones that have been trashing the yachts.

[–] dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net 27 points 11 months ago

How do I say “I support my seafaring cetacean brethren” in Orca?

[–] Thcdenton@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I'm learning how to sail right now. It would be great to have that sorted out before I make my way by Gibraltar.

[–] JustZ@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

Huge rock, can't miss it.

[–] And009@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 11 months ago

Follow the stars and don't look down

[–] childOfMagenta@lemm.ee 3 points 11 months ago

Don't blast heavy metal.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 63 points 11 months ago (1 children)

So what I'm hearing is they can literally talk to each other in a way that we do and we still kill them constantly.

[–] theherk@lemmy.world 60 points 11 months ago (3 children)

We kill humans constantly too, and we probably obliterated the rest of the hominins also. I’m just saying we have a chequered track record.

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 35 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] theherk@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

While I always love a Mitchell and Webb reference, I can say I don’t think so. I think the book Humanity by Rutger Bregman is a good reminder that we are mostly good.

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

Agreed. It's just that it's really easy for a small amount of people to do a lot of bad things. It's hard to maintain, harder to build, and easy to destroy.

[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

However take in context that it's written by a human. Of course we will say we're mostly good. If Pol Pot wrote a book about Pol Pot he'd probably say he was mostly good too.

[–] theherk@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Well believe it or not the book isn’t one page whose entire contents read “We’re good”. It is a whole well reasoned length of prose supporting that with reason.

[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 4 points 11 months ago

I understand but it's written by us lol. Not that any other creature can write a book but consider the absurdity for a moment. We are saying we're mostly good.

[–] pacific@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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[–] pigup@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

I share this understanding with you and this is why I say that AI will absolutely kill us because that is what we would do. It's trained on our data afterall.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

I guess, but it feels to me like wiping out a species close to our intelligence is worse that killing each other.

[–] Haggunenons@lemmy.world 57 points 11 months ago

This is big news! We've got a lemmy community specifically about Digital Bioacoustics (technology and animal communication) for anyone interested.

!digitalbioacoustics@lemmy.world

Https://Lemmy.world/c/digitalbioacoustics

[–] thejml@lemm.ee 28 points 11 months ago (1 children)

“I wish I could speak whale!” - Dory

[–] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

Oooooooookayyyyyyy

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 24 points 11 months ago

"So Long, and thanks for all the fish"

[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 22 points 11 months ago (2 children)

What they're saying is: "All shall perish" as they proceed to kill people and smash yachts.

[–] GBU_28@lemm.ee 32 points 11 months ago

Flippity floppity y'all on my property

[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

More of a yacht rock thing.

[–] ExLisper@linux.community 22 points 11 months ago (2 children)

They probably have nothing interesting to say anyway. After a year or two all the scientists will be like "I fucking know you like krill, whale. Shut the fuck up about the krill already".

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 34 points 11 months ago

[Arthur Dent] learned to communicate with birds and discovered that their conversation was fantastically boring. It was all to do with wind speed, wingspans, power-to-weight ratios, and a fair bit about berries.

-- Douglas Adams, 'Life, the Universe, and Everything.

[–] Spacehooks@reddthat.com 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I kind of still want to know what I'm sleeping to.

[–] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] Poem_for_your_sprog@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

"Can I try putting it in your blowhole this time?"

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

No Frank, idw Whale cum in my lung again.

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

To a whale, whale cum is just regular cum.

[–] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

[–] FrostyCaveman@lemm.ee 3 points 11 months ago
[–] rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 20 points 11 months ago (4 children)
[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

Uh-oh. Risa's leaking again.

[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)
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[–] RalphFurley@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

They're still using money. We've got to get some.

[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How did you know Gracie's pregnant? Nobody knows that!

[–] rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Gracie does.

[–] aidan@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago (6 children)

If complete mutually intelligible communication of complex ideas with another species is undeniably proven, that will be a massive boon for veganism(although of course not all animals are equal), and a legal quagmire. What do you do if they are suffering in ways that we can fix due to their environment? Like humans were, and then we changed our environment. Do you give whales weapons so they can defend themselves from orcas? Do you shoot whale pochers? Do you shoot orcas attacking whales? Do you farm krill for them to eat? Do you drastically alter the ocean surface to be more comfortable for whales?

After all, most people recognize it as good to alter a person's natural state(hunting and gathering from caves) for the better, so would that not be the same for animals that are considered essentially people or near-people?

[–] iegod@lemm.ee 30 points 11 months ago

We don't even treat other humans on earth with dignity and respect and you think anything will change for whales as drastically as you propose? Maybe I'm mega jaded but I see this having little impact.

[–] Dazawassa@programming.dev 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Last time I checked you don't eat abstract linguistic concepts.

[–] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

Abstract linguistic concepts ensure you can eat.

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[–] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

"Who turned up the heat?"

[–] paddirn@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

Just in time for them to go extinct. It’ll be helpful in a few hundred years though when we need to travel back in time again.

[–] SpezBroughtMeHere@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

They been talking to Dory?

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago (5 children)
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