It's called xenolinguistics: Looking at the science of extraterrestrial language.
Biologists, anthropologists, linguists and other experts specializing in language and communication have begun to explore what non-human, off-Earth language might look like.
Arguably, such thinking sparks thought about the fabricated Klingon language, the cosmic "Klingonese" chatter spoken by one the alien species on "Star Trek." There's even a thriving Klingon Language Institute, which was founded in 1992.
But you can put sci-fi aside, for scientists in the real world are investigating the possible forms that alien languages might take — and whether we might be able to understand them.
Astrobiologist Douglas Vakoch is president of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI International) in San Francisco. He's co-editor with Jeffrey Punske of a new volume, "Xenolinguistics: Towards a Science of Extraterrestrial Language" (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (2023).
The book is anchored in what is known about human language and animal communication systems, but it offers suggestions about what we may find if we encounter non-Earth intelligence.
To read more, click here.