The Origins of Language

The Origins of Language

1. How did we get from animal vocalization( barks, howls, calls) to human language

   • When did language begin
     • At the very beginning of the genus homo. 125,000 years ago
     • There are many theories about the origins of language
       • Many of these have traditional names
         • invented by (Max muller and George Romanes) a century ago.
         • 1. The mama theory
           • Easiest syllabes
           • Attached to the most significant objects
         • 2. The ta-ta theory
           • Language may have derived from gestures
           • Vocal imitation of movements
         • 4. the pooh-pooh theory
           • Began witth interjections
           • Instictive emotive cries, like oh! for surprise and ouch! for pain
         • 3. The bow-wow theory
           • imitation of natural sounds
           • moo, choo choo, crash, clang, buzz, bang
         • 5. the ding-dong theory
           • correspondence between sounds and meaning
           • sound symbolism
         • 6. The yo-he-ho theory
           • Language began as rhytmic chants
           • words like cut, strike, break, crush
         • 9. The hocus pocus theory
           • language may have some roots in sort of magical or religious aspects from our ancestors
         • 8. the hey you! theory
           • We have always needed interpersonal contact
           • Language began to signal both, identity (im here) and belonging (im with you)
             • cry out in fear, anger or hurt
         • 10. The Eureka Theory
           • Language was invented
           • Ancestors had the idea of assigning arbitrary sounds to mean certain things
         • 7. the sing-song theory
           • language comes out of play, laughter, cooing, courtship

2. Language

   • System of symbols
   • with levels of organization
     • Phonetics ( the sounds).
     • The syntax ( the grammar)
     • Semantics (The meaning)