Unit 2: the origins of language

Introduction to linguistics

The origins of language

We simply do not know how language originated. We do know that spoken language developed well before written language.

Physical evidence

There was never found any direct evidence relating to the speech of our ancestors. Because of this absence of physical evidence, there has been no shortage on speculations.

Otto Jespersen (1921)

Language was born in the courting days of mankind, while humans were actually enjoying themselves. This is one of the more endering speculations concerning the origins of language.

The divine source

In most religions, there appears to be a divine source who provides humans with language.

Genesis

God created Adam and “whatsoever Adam called every living creature that was the name thereof.”

Hindu tradition

Following a hindu tradition, language came from the goddess Sarasvati, wife of Brahma, creator of the universe.

Experiments

In an attempt to rediscover this original, divine language, a few experiments have been carried out.

Experiments (basis hypothesis)

The basis hypothesis seems to have been that, if infants were allowed to grow up without hearing any language, then they would spontaneously being speaking this God-given language.

Experiment one

An Egyptian pharaoh named Psammetichus tried the experiment with two newborn infants aroud 600 BC. After two years in the company of goats and a mute sheperd, the children were reported to have spontaneously uttered the Phrygian word “bekos” meaning bread. However, that seems unlikely, the children must have heard what the goats were saying.

Experiment two

James the IV of Scotland carried out a similar experiment around AD 1500 and the children were reported to have started speaking Hebrew.

Experiments (conclusion)

It is unfortunate that all other cases of children who have been discovered living in isolation tend NOT to confirm the results of either of the experiments. Children living without access to human speech in their early years grow up with no language at all.

The divine source (conclusion)

If human language did emanate from a divine source, we have no way of reconstructing that original sound.

The natural-sound theory

Language originated from natural sounds.

The natural-sound theory (proposals)

According to the type of natural sound, there are 3 different proposals:

The bow-wow theory

The pooh-pooh or the interjectional theory

The yo-heave-ho theory

The bow-wow theory

Primitive words could have been imitations of the natural sounds which early men and women heard around them. The early human imitated the sound and used it to refer to the object associated with the sound.

The bow-wow theory (positive aspect)

The fact that all modern languages have some words with pronunciations which seem to “echo” naturally occuring sounds (onomatopoeic words) could be used to support this theory.

The bow-wow theory (2 negative aspects)

1. It is hard to see how most of the soundless, not to mention the abstract entities in our world, could have been referred to in a language that simply echoes natural sounds.

2. We might be skeptical about a view that seems to assume that a language is only a set of words which are used as “names” for entities.

The pooh-pooh or interjectional theory

The original sound of language came from natural cries of emotion, such as anger, pain and joy.

The pooh-pooh or interjectional theory (positive aspect)

Interjections (ouch, ah, hey)

The pooh-pooh or interjectional theory (negative aspect)

Interjections are not actually uttered via the consonant and vowels we use in trying to write them down. And they are also produced with sudden intakes of breath (the opposite of ordinary talk).

The yo-heave-ho theory

The sounds of a person involved in physical effort could be the source of our language, especially when that physical effort involved several people and had to be coordinated.

A group of early humans developed a set of grunts, groans and swear word which they used when lifting and carrying heavy things.

The yo-heave-ho theory (positive aspect)

It places the development of human language in some social context.

The yo-heave-ho theory (negative aspect)

Apes and other primate have grunts and social calls, but they do not seem to have developed the capacity for speech.

The oral gesture theory

It proposes a link between physical gestures and orally produced sounds.

It is claimed that orignally a set of physical gestures was developed as a means of communication.

Then, a set of oral gestures imitated the physical ones.

Which then developed into speech.

The oral gesture theory (positive aspect)

We can, indeed, use mime or specific gestures for a variety of communicative purposes.

The oral gesture theory (negative aspects)

1. It is hard to visualize the actual “oral” aspect which would mirror many such gestures.

2. There is an extremely large number of linguistic messages which would appear to defy transmission via this type of gesturing.

Glossogenetics

A quite different level of speculation because it focuses mainly on the biological basis of the formation and development of human language.

Glossogenetics (physical aspects of humans)

There is a concentration on some of the physical aspects of humans (past and present) that are not shared with any other creature.

Glossogenetics (partial adaptations)

In the evolutionary development there are certain physical features, best thought of as partial adaptations, that appear to be relevant for speech.

By themselves, such features would not lead to speech production, but they are good clues that a creature possessing such features probably has the capacity for speech.

Physiological adaptiations (7)

1. Human teeth

2. Lips

3. Mouth

4. Tongue

5. Larynx

6. Pharynx

7. Human brain

Human teeth

Human teeth are upright, not slanting outwards like those of Apes, and they are roughly even in height. Such characteristics are not needed for eating, but they are extremely helpful in making sounds such as f, v and th.

Lips

Human lips have much more intricate muscle interlacing and their resulting flexibility certainly helps with sounds like p, b and w.

Mouth

The human mouth is relatively small and can be opened and closed rapidly.

Tongue

The tongue is very flexible which can be used to shape a wide variety of sounds.

Larynx or the “voice box” (cointaining the vocal cords)

It differs significantly in position from that of monkeys. The assumption of an upright posture moved the head forward and the larynx lower. This created a longer cavity called the pharynx.

Pharynx

It can act as a resonator for any sounds produced via the larynxs (it exists only in humans).

Human brain

The human brain is lateralized, that is, it has specialized functions in each of the two hemispheres.

Those functions which are analytic, such as tool-using and language, are largely confined to the left hemisphere of the brain; while the right brain is concern with creativity.

It may be that there is an evolutionary connection between the tool-using and language-using abilities of humans, and that both are related to the development of human brain.