The origins of language

We don't know for sure how the language originated

Jespersen speculates that it developed when people enjoyed themselves

Language theories:

The divine source - humans were provided with language by God

o There were experiments to prove which language could be labeled as divine

The natural-sound source - language was an imitation of natural sounds heard

by early

people

Bow-wow theory- language developed from onomatopoeic sounds of nature (eg.

bow-wow, cuckoo, bang, boom, splash) or natural cries of emotion (pain, anger, joy -

eg. Ah!, Hey!, Wow!, Yuckf)

Yo-heave-ho tfieory- language developed from sounds of people involved in

physical

effort (esp. when several people had to coordinate with each other)

• The oral-gesture source - language developed as a set of oral gestures, similar

to physical gestures

Glossogenetics - addresses biological formation and development of human

language,

describes unique human features that enable people to use and develop language

(eg. upright posture, two-legged locomotion, revised role of front limbs)

Physiological adaptation:

teeth - upright, even in height - helpful in making sounds such as f, v and th;

lips - more complex muscle construction than other primates; helps with p, b, w

mouth - relatively small, can opened and closed rapidly

tongue - flexible, can be used to shape various sounds

larynx - situated differently from that of monkeys, due to upright posture it was

moved lower however, people can choke on pieces of food more easily than animals

pharynx - situated above the vocal cords, resonator for sounds produced via the

larynx

lateralized brain - specialized functions on each of the two hemispheres

left hemisphere - language, analytic functions, tool-using etc.

ability to construct more complex messages

Functions of language:

interactional - humans use the language to interact with each other (socializing,

expressing emotions)

transactional - humans use the language to share knowledge, skills or information