UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLOGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTY. CIENCIAS SOCIALES. SCHOOL. ECUELA DE IDIOMA. TOPIC. THE ORIGINS OF LENGUAGE STUDENTS NAME. ERICK OMAR DIAZ DE LEON
Theories of the origins of language.
The bow-bow theory .based upon the notion that speech arose trough people imitating the sounds of environment, especially animal calls, the use of onomatopoeic words.
The pooh-pooh theory. Based on the evidence that speech arose trough people making instinctive sounds.
The ding-dong theory. Postulates that speech arose because people reacted to the world around them, sound symbolism.
The yo-he-ho-theory. Based on the notion that speech arose from physical environment needs which produced communal, rhythmical grunts which later on developed into chants.
The la-la- theory. Provides that if any single factor was responsible to initiate human language, it would be romantic –side of human life.
Origin of language the first language in the human species has been the topic of scholarly discussion for several centuries there is no consensus on the origin or age of human language.
Charles Darwin’s vision of the origins of language early humans had already developed musical ability prior to language and were using it “to charm each other”. Musical ability. Is a matter of aptitude, not instinct, some people are born with greater aptitude and they develop skill on a musical instrument much faster than do other and rise to higher stages of advancement
What is the oldest language known world? Language is one of the earliest known written languages. The “proto-literate” period of Sumerian writing spans C. 3300 to 3000BC in this period, records are purely logographic, with no linguistic or phonological content.
How did the language start?
Some scientists think that all human language arose from a common language spoken by our ancestors in Africa. There are over 5000 different in the world today, although some of these are nearly extinct. Human language probably started to develop around 100,000 years ago.
The divine source in the biblical traditional, as described in the book genesis GOD created ADAM and whatsoever ADAM called every living creature that was the name thereof.
The first
language
Experiments, if human infants grow up in isolation they will automatically begin to use the original God-given language. Genesis>2\19, now out of the ground the LORD GOD had formed, every beast of the field and very bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
“Bow wow theory” of lenguage origin word that sound similar to the noises they described are example of onomatopeia the symbolic properties of a sound in a word, or a phoneme , is related to a soud in an enveronment , and are restricted in part by a lenguage”s own phonetic inventory , hence why many lenguages can have distict onomatopeia for the same natural sound.
The social interaction source The sound of a human engaged in an activity requiring physical effort could be the source, this idea is reasonable considering that the effort involved several others and work required some interaction bewteen people, this theory places the development of human language in a social context, it does| n�t expalin the transition from the sounds human made to speech sounds used in language.
We have to wait until about 35,000 years ago for features in reconstrution of the fosillized skeletal structures that begin to resemble those of modern humans.
The reconstructed vocal tract of a Neanderthal suggests that some consonant like sound distinction would have been possible
Teeth human. Upright position not slanting outwards like those of apes, roughly even in height Good for grinding and chewing, very helpful in making sounds such as “F” or “V”.
Lips human. More intricate muscle interlacing, more flexible Suitable for making sound such “P” or “B” capable of a wider range of shapes.
Mouth human. Relatively small mouth compared to other primates, can be opened and closed more rapidly, airway thought the nose can be closed off to create more air pressure in the mouth.
Larynx and pharynx Larynx is voice box in your throat containing the vocal folds or vocal chords. Due to upright position head moved directly above the spinal column and larynx dropped to a lower position.
As a result, the pharynx cavity above the vocal folds, act as resonator became longer increased range and clarity of sounds. Disadvantage due to lower position of pharynx, human may choke more easily on food ability to speak must have outweighed this disadvantage for humans.
The tool _ making source On function producing speech sounds must have been superimposed on existing anatomical features “teeth, lips” previously used for other purposes” chewing, sucking. Lateralized divided into a left side and a right side, control of functions on one side or the other used in describing the human brain.
Brain human is not only large relative to human body size, it is also lateralized that is, it has specialized functions in each of the two hemispheres as early human’s hands became occupied with tool use , they were less able to use hand gestures , so speech became a necessity.
Brain the function for object manipulation and for speaking are very close to each other in the left hemisphere of the brain “lateralization” there may have been an evolutionary connection between the use of tools and the use of language in early humans.
This theory allows for structural organization inherent to all language even sign language not only articulation of sounds to denote objects.
The genetic source we can think of the human baby in its first few years as a living, at birth, the baby�s brain is only a quarter of its eventul weigth and the laryxn is much higher in the throat.
Allowing babies, like chimpaszzes to breathe and drink at the same time
As a solution to the puzzle of the origins of language this innateness hypothesis wold seem to point to something in human genectics possibly a crucial mutiation, as the source.