Theories of Language Origin: Exploring the Roots of Human Communication
The Divine Source
In most religions, there appears to be a divine source who provides humans with language (whether it be God in Christianity or Sarasvati, wife of Brahma, in Hinduism). Several experiments have been made to rediscover this original divine language, with rather conflicting results. Thus, if human language did emanate from a divine source, no way/method has been found yet to reconstruct the said original language.
The Natural-Sound Source
A different view holds the belief that human speech is based on “natural sounds.” In this belief, primitive words could have been imitations of the natural sounds which early people heard around them. In fact, all modern languages have some words with pronunciations, which seems to “echo” naturally occurring sounds. In English for example, there are words like splash, bang, boom, rattle, hiss, screech and other such forms. Though this is true, it is somehow difficult to see how most of the soundless and abstract entities in the world could have been given names if language simply echoed natural sounds.
Physiological Adaptation
This theory of the origin of language analyzes the physical structure of humans in terms of their capability to have language. Seven specific parts of the human body lend themselves to the production of spoken and written language.
- Human teeth are upright and are roughly even in height which are quite helpful in making specific sounds.
- The human lips have a very intricate muscle interlacing resulting to its flexibility.
- The human mouth is relatively small, can be opened and closed rapidly and contains a very flexible tongue.
- The human larynx (voice box) is lower than any other primates which created a longer cavity (pharynx) which acts as resonator for any sounds produced via the larynx.
- Lastly, the human brain is lateralized, that is, it has specialized functions in each of the two hemispheres with the left hemisphere largely confined to analytic functions like language.
The Social Interaction Source
Another proposal involving natural sounds has been called the “yo-he-ho” theory. The idea is that 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 the inter-action had to be coordinated. So, a group of early humans might develop a set of hums, grunts, groans and curses that were used when they were lifting and carrying large bits of trees or lifeless hairy mammoths.
The appeal of this proposal is that it places the development of human language in a social context. Early people must have lived in groups, if only because larger groups offered better protection from attack. Groups are necessarily social organizations and, to maintain those organizations, some form of communication is required, even if it is just grunts and curses. So, human sounds, however they were produced, must have had some principled use within the life and social interaction of early human groups. Apes and other primates live in social groups and use grunts and social calls, but they do not seem to have developed the capacity for speech.
The Bow-Wow Hypothesis
The “bow wow” hypothesis is the most popular but perhaps the most far-fetched hypothesis of them all. Basically, it is the idea that human language and vocabulary originated as a form of imitation. It is said that language came from the imitation of animal sounds.
Genetic Source
It is thought that a crucial mutation that took place over a short period caused a genetic change that made it possible for humans to create a language.
Physical Attributes Conducive to Language
- Teeth: are upright, not slanting outwards like those of apes and they are roughly even in height
- Lips: have much more intricate muscle interlacing than is found in other primates and their resulting flexibility certainly helps in making sounds like p or b
- Mouth: is relatively small compared to other primates can be opened and closed rapidly and contains a smaller, thicker and more muscular tongue which can be used to shape wide variety of sounds inside the oral cavity
- Larynx: or voice box containing the vocal folds or vocal cords differs significantly in position from the larynx of other primates such as monkeys
- Pharynx: above the vocal folds which acts as a resonator for increased range and clarity of the sounds produced via the larynx and the vocal tract.
Communication
We have two different types of signals in communication:
- Communicative signals
- Informative signals
The informative signals are those that we aren’t doing intentionally, a sneeze, a nervous behavior, non-matching socks telling that you aren’t organized. Communicative signals are those that are intended to tell something.
Properties of Human Language
Human beings have a number of abilities which animals do not.
Displacement
Animals can only communicate their needs or message in the present. A dog barks when you arrive home because it is happy at that moment. A cat meows to tell you it wants to eat right now. Humans, however, can communicate abstract ideas and messages related to the past and future.