Scientists discover surprising language 'shortcuts' in birdsong – like humans
Scientists have uncovered a hidden pattern in birdsong that mirrors a core rule of human language. A new study, led by researchers at The University of Manchester, in collaboration with Chester Zoo, found that birds appear to follow Zipf’s Law of Abbreviation (ZLA) – the idea that more frequently used sounds tend to be shorter. This rule, found in all human languages, helps make communication more efficient. The findings, published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology today, offer new ins