Derpetology: June 2026

Friday, June 12, 2026

Herman is using language comprehension to help map out that intelligence. He has demonstrated that dolphins can understand not only a complex vocabulary but also syntax, or word order-a basic rule of sentence formation that constitutes language as humans define the term. Two dolphins have learned a vocabulary of about 50 words, which Herman and his staff use to construct more than 1,000 different commands given in sentences with as many as five words. Each command produces an unrehearsed response, involving the animals' understanding of word order.

"Syntax is what tells us that a venetian blind is not a blind Venetian," says Herman. In the tests he administers, the dolphins have to take into account both word meaning and word sequence. And almost without fail, the animals have demonstrated consistently that they can distinguish between such commands as "get the Frisbee and take it to the surfboard" and "get the surfboard and take it to the Frisbee."

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The phonology of sperm whale coda vowels