Overview
- Project CETI and UC Berkeley reported on November 12 in Open Mind that sperm whale codas show discrete vowel‑like categories they term a‑codas and i‑codas.
- Using a generative adversarial network and linguistic tools, researchers highlighted frequency modulations within codas after removing gaps between clicks to alter human perception of timing.
- The team describes rising, falling, and combined modulations within these categories, suggesting controlled acoustic variation beyond click counts and spacing.
- Several marine biologists question the vowel analogy, proposing recording artifacts or arousal state as more plausible explanations and noting a lack of evidence for whale responses to these patterns.
- CETI says similar patterns appear in independently recorded datasets and is collecting behavioral and locational data to test whether the distinctions carry meaning.