Origin of Language

A brief overview of how language evolved

Origin of Language 05242026

One unsolved mystery in the evolution of humanity is the origin of language. Other creatures communicate audibly but only homo sapiens has the capacity to learn and use thousands of words to express emotional nuance or the spectrum of reality. Even more astounding is the fact that there are about 7000 languages still in use.

Physiologically, we are the only creatures endowed with equipment suited for the purpose. Our larynx has the capacity to make many subtle nuanced sounds. The structure supporting it, the hyoid bone, helps it make diverse sounds. There is an area of the brain that specializes in communication.

How did it happen? The study of how animals communicate with one another provides evolutionary clues. Animals can express basic emotions and needs: fear, aggression, attraction, pain, hunger, gratification, for example. Expressing our feelings to others is social and survival driven. Consider the sound a single animal makes to alert the herd of an approaching predator.

Scientists speculate that language may have begun as early as two million, and as late as 300,000 years ago. To imagine how it evolved we must try to think like our ancestors.

Start with common sounds; peh and beh. Recognize the variations of ma and pa as they occur in half of the 7000 languages from Mandarin to Swahili. Think of a baby’s need to get someone’s attention. One word, thou, (you, du) has cognates in the seven Indo -European languages. Perhaps words evolved around functions like hunting or song- based celebration.

Academics have theorized on the development of language, including Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker. One issue considered is the number of proto languages that are original sources. The diversity of syntax between Japanese and German for example suggest that languages evolved independently rather than from a common source. To consider the diversity, the word for “house” has many variations; casa, dom, bayt, ev, le, fanza, nyumba, to mention a few.

Who was the breakthrough artist who decided to use fire regularly to cook food or the one who gave names to objects and functions? Sleep or eat for example. Lost in time but there were many humans endowed with a spirit of innovation. Curiosity and imagination are built- in human characteristics. That just scratches the surface of a fascinating subject.