Name: Could we speak the language of dolphins?
Uploaded: 2013-06-06T15:13:15Z
Duration: 14 min 24 s
Description: For 28 years, Denise Herzing has spent five months each summer living with a pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins, following three generations of family relationships and behaviors. It's clear they are communicating with one another -- but is it language? Could humans use it too? She shares a fascinating new experiment to test this idea.

For 28 years, Denise Herzing has spent five months each summer living with a pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins, following three generations of family relationships and behaviors. It's clear they are communicating with one another -- but is it language? Could humans use it too? She shares a fascinating new experiment to test this idea.

Could we speak the language of dolphins?

Dolphins boast brains nearly rivaling humans and show stunning social complexity, from tool use to signature whistles that serve as names. After decades of underwater research, scientists have tracked three generations of wild Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas, using video and audio technology to pair behaviors with vocalizations. Experiments with underwater keyboards and wearable computers are pushing the frontier, aiming for true two-way communication between species. Even as breakthroughs remain elusive, each playful encounter brings us closer to understanding another intelligent mind on Earth.