An international group of scientists has discovered a statistical structure in the songs of Japanese finches that is characteristic of human language. According to the researchers, this suggests that one of the fundamental mechanisms of language may arise whenever a communication system is transmitted through learning from generation to generation.

The results of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.

The scientists found that finch songs consist of stable sequences of sounds — a kind of analogue of “words.” The frequency of their use follows the same statistical law as in human speech: a small number of elements occur very frequently, while most are used much more rarely.

The researchers also traced the development of singing in young birds and discovered that this pattern appears at the very earliest stages of learning. According to their data, chicks, like human infants, unconsciously pick up recurring combinations of sounds and on that basis form their own vocalization system.

The authors note that they had previously found similar statistical patterns in the songs of humpback whales. The new results suggest that this kind of organization arises independently in different species if a complex communication system is learned and transmitted culturally rather than inherited genetically.

According to the researchers, this does not mean that birds have language in the human sense. However, the work shows that some fundamental principles that make communication convenient for learning and transmission between generations may be universal across different species.