Sperm Whale Codas Reveal Human-Like Phonology

New analysis of 3,948 sperm whale codas from 15 individuals finds two formant-based coda types (a-codas and i-codas) with timing and contextual rules resembling human phonology, indicating a highly structured communication system that stops short of being language. Project CETI frames this as a major step toward decoding whale speech and understanding language evolution.