Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What would it take to create a language made entirely of music? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s Allison Parshall explores the science and linguistics behind musical languages, from real-world constructed languages to the intricate note-based communication system created for the alien Rocky in Project Hail Mary. Learn how linguists transformed rhythm and pitch into a fully functional language and what these imaginative experiments reveal about the nature of communication itself.
- 0:00 Introduction
- 1:28 Meet Allison Parshall
- 1:50 The Piano Language Challenge
- 8:43 History of Musical Languages: Solresol and Moss
- 10:42 Building Eridian: Vocal Lines and Grammar
- 14:14 Could Humans Learn Eridian?
- 18:12 Conveying Tone, Sarcasm, and Beyond
- 21:49 Wrap-Up and Credits
Recommended Reading:
Andy Weir on Ryan Gosling, alien contact and the wild science of Project Hail Mary
scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/the-real-science-and-the-fun-fiction-behind-project-hail-mary
Ryan Gosling says Project Hail Mary is ‘a reminder of what we’re capable of’
scientificamerican.com/video/ryan-gosling-talks-project-hail-mary-hopeful-science-fiction-and-the
How did humans evolve language? It may be far more ancient than scientists realized
scientificamerican.com/article/genetic-origins-of-language-may-predate-modern-humans-splitting-from-neanderthals-a-new-study-suggests
Join our Summer Reading Challenge
sciam.com/readingchallenge
E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
Discover something new every day. Subscribe to Scientific American: scientificamerican.com/getsciam
And sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter: scientificamerican.com/account/email-preferences
Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was reported by Allison Parshall and edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
What would it take to create a language made entirely of music? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s Allison Parshall explores the science and linguistics behind musical languages, from real-world constructed languages to the intricate note-based communication system created for the alien Rocky in Project Hail Mary. Learn how linguists transformed rhythm and pitch into a fully functional language and what these imaginative experiments reveal about the nature of communication itself.
- 0:00 Introduction
- 1:28 Meet Allison Parshall
- 1:50 The Piano Language Challenge
- 8:43 History of Musical Languages: Solresol and Moss
- 10:42 Building Eridian: Vocal Lines and Grammar
- 14:14 Could Humans Learn Eridian?
- 18:12 Conveying Tone, Sarcasm, and Beyond
- 21:49 Wrap-Up and Credits
Recommended Reading:
Andy Weir on Ryan Gosling, alien contact and the wild science of Project Hail Mary
scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/the-real-science-and-the-fun-fiction-behind-project-hail-mary
Ryan Gosling says Project Hail Mary is ‘a reminder of what we’re capable of’
scientificamerican.com/video/ryan-gosling-talks-project-hail-mary-hopeful-science-fiction-and-the
How did humans evolve language? It may be far more ancient than scientists realized
scientificamerican.com/article/genetic-origins-of-language-may-predate-modern-humans-splitting-from-neanderthals-a-new-study-suggests
Join our Summer Reading Challenge
sciam.com/readingchallenge
E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
Discover something new every day. Subscribe to Scientific American: scientificamerican.com/getsciam
And sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter: scientificamerican.com/account/email-preferences
Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was reported by Allison Parshall and edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
