Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬<p><a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Humpback" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Humpback</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Whale" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Whale</span></a> Song Follows <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/ZipfsLaw" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ZipfsLaw</span></a>, A Fundamental Law Of Human <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Language" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Language</span></a><br />And some <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/whales" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>whales</span></a> exhibit Menzerath’s law even more strongly than humans.<br /><a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/MenzerathsLaw" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MenzerathsLaw</span></a> and Zipf’s focus on this kind of streamlining. Menzerath’s is all about how longer words or vocalizations are more efficient if made up of shorter elements (like syllables or notes), while Zipf’s law states that common and shorter elements will be used more often in efficient language than longer, rarer ones.<br /><a href="https://www.iflscience.com/humpback-whale-song-follows-zipfs-law-a-fundamental-law-of-human-language-77978" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">iflscience.com/humpback-whale-</span><span class="invisible">song-follows-zipfs-law-a-fundamental-law-of-human-language-77978</span></a></p>