Did this researcher discover a dolphin language? We don’t think so.

Communication used between dolphins – their whistles, clicks and body postures – fascinates scientists and nature lovers alike. But is thinking of these methods as part of a language that uses sentences a step too far? Not according to certain Russian research, although many experts disagree.

Vyacheslav Ryabov, a senior researcher at the T. I. Vyazemsky Karadag Scientific Station, recently published research involving the recording of two Black Sea bottlenose dolphins exchanging sounds without interrupting each other – something which could be quite reasonably likened to a conversation.

Ryabov also suggests that the variation in the sounds’ pulses represents the equivalent of phonemes, or words, and that this might be seen as evidence of dolphins using sentences.

His peers around the world, however, put together some phonemes that were loud and clear. They don’t agree.

What’s All The Fuss About?

Although the Ryabov’s study may excite some, it has also drawn criticism, and not all of it diplomatic.

“It is complete bull, and you can quote me,” said marine biologist Richard Connor of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, who has studied dolphin interactions for over three decades.

“The biggest problem,” Connor explained, “is that now when people make real scientific discoveries on dolphin communication, the public, having been exposed to this nonsense, will not be impressed because they will think Russian researchers already showed that they have language.”

The main concern for many critics is that the experiment was poorly conceived.

“Dolphin clicks are highly directional, with the energy focused in front of the animal, much like a flashlight,” said Marc Lammers, an expert in dolphin acoustics and an associate research professor at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.

Because Ryabov’s sounds were measured at the very edge of the ‘flashlight’s beam’, the data could be highly unreliable.

“It’s difficult to make a simple human analogy, but it might be somewhat similar to recording a conversation by people in the other room speaking into pillows,” said Lammers. “Probably not how you would try to learn a new language!”

Dolphin language could be real, but this isn’t the proof

In truth, many researchers believe dolphins are indeed capable of complex communication, but state that the evidence is just not available at this time.

“We know dolphins are capable of understanding artificially created language, both acoustic and gestural, and abstract concepts,” said Denise Herzing, research director for the Wild Dolphin Project. “However, we simply do not have the data to suggest that they use words or labels in the wild.”

Ryabov vehemently stands by his work and responds to his critics by suggesting they didn’t read his paper carefully enough.

“Ultimately in science, new ideas will only take root if you can convince the community of your peers about the validity of your results, which Ryabov so far fails to do,” countered Lammers.

“That said, I wish Ryabov best of luck with his work and invite him to present his ideas at one of the scientific conferences where these kinds of topics are discussed and debated.”

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Image credit: Thinkstock

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