Chapter One The origins of Language

We simply don’t know how language originated. • Humans ability to produce sound and simple vocal patterning appears to be an ancient part of the brain that humans share with all vertebrates, including fish, frogs, birds and other mammals. • Some type of spoken language must have been developed between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago; and written language about 5000 years ago Lack of direct physical evidence led to many speculations about the origins of human speech.

The divine Source Christianity and Islam and Judaism—Adam •Hindu-Sarasvati, wife of Brahma •Eyptian pharaoh conducted an experiment—Phrygian language, 2500 years ago •King James the 4th of Scotland– Hebrew, 1500 years ago Very young children living without access to human language grow up with no language at all.

The natural sound source Primitive words could have been imitations of the natural sounds that humans heard around them. •E.g. caw-caw, coo-coo; humans tried to imitate the sounds and used them to refer to the thing associated with the sound. This is also called the ‘bow-wow theory’ •Onomatopeia– Words that sound similar to the noises they describe/ e.g. splash, bang, boom, rattle, buz, hiss, screech, bow-wow.. •Also natural cries of emotion—Ouch,Wow,Yuck but these are sudden intakes of breath which is opposite of ordinary talk.

The social interaction source The “yo-he-ho” theory– sounds of person involved in physical effort in a group setting could be the source of our language. •The development of human language in a social context. •Groups are necessarily social organizations and to maintain those organizations, some form of communication is required, grunts and curses. These human sounds must have some principled use within the life and social interaction of early human groups—an important idea that relate to humanly produced sounds.

The physical adaptation source Connected to Darwin’s evolution theory/ Scientific evidence Physical features that are distinct from other creatures that support speech production. •Upright posture with bipedal and a revised role for the front limbs. •Evidence was the skull of a gorilla and that of a Neanderthal man around 60,000 years ago. •The reconstructed vocal tract of a Neanderthal suggests that some consonant-like sound distinctions would have been possible.

Teeth, lips, mouth, larynx and pharynx Physical features found in humans that are good clues that this creature has the capacity for speech. Human teeth are upright not slanting—they helpful in making sounds such as f and v •Human lips/ more flexible muscles/ help in making sounds such as p and b. •Mouth relatively small compared to other primates/ can open and close quickly. •Tongue is more muscular and can shape a wide variety of sounds inside the oral cavity. • Unlike other primates, humans can close off the airway through the nose to create more air pressure in the mouth– a more rapid and powerful delivery of sounds produced through these different shapes.

Cont… •The human larynx (or voice-box) is different in position from other primates such as monkeys. •Through evolution, the upright posture moved the head more directly above the spinal column and the larynx dropped to a lower position. This created a longer cavity called the pharynx, above the vocal folds which acts as resonator for increased range and clarity of the sounds produced via the larynx and vocal tract. But this can cause humans to choke on pieces of food.

The Tool-making source 2 million years ago humans have developed the ability of manipulating their hands and became capable of making stone tools. Tool-making, or the outcome of manipulating objects and changing them using both hands, is evidence of a brain at work. •The human brain is not only large but also lateralized, specialized functions in the 2 hemispheres. •Left hemisphere– responsible for motor movements esp. speaking and object manipulation. Scientists believe there was a connection between the language-using and tool-using abilities of humans/humans produced sounds or noises to indicate objects in their environment/ crucial in the development of language. •Part of our brain specializes in organizing and combining sounds or signs arrangements. • just like tool-making, humans developed a naming ability by producing a specific and consistent noise for a specific object (e.g. beer) then adding another noise to build a complex message (beer good), later developed as a more complicated message–building capacity, no other primates have this capability

The genetic source Example of the physical changes is a human baby whose brain develops and the larynx later on descends which allows him/her to walk and talk. • Physical adaptation as well as the complexity of a child’s language led scholars to believe that Human offspring are born with a special capacity for language. It is innate.. No other creature has it. •This is the innateness hypothesis– human genetics, language gene that only human possess. / not a gradual change, it happened rather quickly/ moving away from the physical source theory toward analogies with how computers work (pre-programmed)