If that's all a bit doom and gloom, then never fear, because there's a chance that, by the time a species gets to the point of flying around in spaceships, they'll have progressed beyond the "hit and run" stage and might genuinely just want to meet us. Of course, there's also the chance that a species that advanced wouldn't think we were worth talking to. Just in case it's the first option, there are actually some researchers out there with SETI that are currently trying to figure out exactly how we would communicate, should the aliens come a-knocking. Dr John Elliott of the UK SETI Research Network has set about studying over 60 human languages to try and ascertain if there are any common threads throughout and has found that many languages do actually share a common structure. Not only that, but we've also been able to spot patterns in the languages of other species, such as dolphins and chimps. Sure, we can't speak fluent dolphin yet but it proves that inter-species understanding could well be on the cards. All of this research would mean that we would be better equipped to recognise an alien message if it did fly into one of our radio telescopes and, more importantly, tell the difference between "We come in peace," and "Bring us your women and prepare to die". Want to write for WhatCulture Science? Click here to find out how you could get paid to write about what you love.What? You want more science? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for your next fix.
