The study of language by George Yule
Chapter 1: The origins of language
What is Charles Darwin’s vision on the origins of language?
-In Charles Darwin’s vision of the origin of language, early humans had already developed musical
ability prior to language and were using it ‘to charm each other’.
It remains a speculation.
How is language originated?
- We simply don’t know how language originated.
- We do know that the ability to produce sound and simple vocal patterning (a hum versus a grunt)
appears to be in an ancient part of the brain, that we share with al vertebrates and mammals. But
that isn’t human language.
- Perhaps because of this absence of direct physical evidence, there has been no shortage of
speculation about the origins of human speech.
When did spoken and written language appear?
- We suspect that some of spoken language must have developed between 50 000 and 100 000
years ago
- well before written language, about 5000 years ago.
Sources/speculations about the origins of human speech
1) The divine source
2) The natural sound source
3) The social interaction source
4) The physical adaption source
5) The tool making source
6) The genetic source
The divine source
-In most religions, there appears to be a divine source that provides humans with language.
Example: God created Adam and Adam called every living creature.
In Hindu tradition, language came from Sarasvati, wife of Brahma, creator of the universe
In other words, what does the divine source say?
If human infants were allowed to grow up without hearing any language around them, then they
would spontaneously begin using the original God-given language.
Is this true?
No, it’s not. Very young children living without access to human language in their early years grow
up with no language at all.
1
,Two experiments for the divine source
-The Egyptian pharaoh did this with two newborn babies and deprived them of language for two
years. There was only a mute shepherd and goats. After two years, these infants could only say
‘beh’, so they copied the sound of the goats.
-King James did a similar experiment and reported that children spontaneously started speaking
Hebrew, the language of the garden of eden.
The natural sound source/bow-wow theory
-Another view of the beginnings of language
-Based on the concept of natural sounds
-The basic idea of the natural sound source is that primitive words could have been imitations of the
natural sounds which early men and woman heard around them.
-When an object flew by ,making a sound, the early human tried to imitate that sound and used it to
refer to the thing that made that sound
- the bow-wow theory is based on the view of the natural sound source
What could support this theory
The fact that all modern languages have some words with pronunciations that seem to echo natural
occurring sounds, could be used to support this theory.
Example
Splash, bang, boom,rattle,buzz,hizz,screech.
Onomatopeia
Words that sound similar to the noises they describe.
What are the weak points of the natural sound theory
-this view assumes that a language is only a set of words used as ‘names’ for things
-it lacks soundless things as well as abstract concepts
Also another suggestion about the original sounds of language and human emotions
-Says that the original sounds of language may have come from natural cries of emotion such as
pain, anger and joy.
How is this not true?
-Exclamations such as Ouch!, Ah!, Ooh!, Wow! Or Yuck,
-are usually produced with sudden intakes of breath
-This is the opposite of ordinary talk, where we normally produce spoken language on exhaled
breath.
The social interaction source
-Another theory about the origins of human language
-yo-he-ho theory
-this source proposes 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 that interaction had to be
coordinated.
-places the development of human language in a social context
2
, Explanation
So a group of early humans might develop a set of hums, groants, groans and curses that were used
when they were lifting and carrying large bits of trees or lifeless hairy mammals.
Human language in a social context
-the yo-he-ho theory places the development of human language in a social context.
-early humans lived in groups, if only because larger groups offered better protection from attack.
-groups are social organizations and to maintain those organizations, some form of communication
is required, even if it is just grunts and curses.
Does this answer our question to the origin of language?
-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 physical adaption source
This source proposes that instead of looking at the types of sounds as the sources of human speech,
we can look at the type of physical features humans possess, which may have been able to support
speech production
When did we make physically an important change?
-At some early stage our ancestor made a very significant transition to an upright posture, with
bipedal locomotion and an adjusted role for the front limbs.
-skull of a Neanderthal man shows this around 60 000 years ago
-about 35 000 years ago fossilized skeletal structures of the Neanderthal begins to resemble those of
modern humans.
In the study of evolutionary development
-there are certain physical features, seen as partial adaptions, which appear to be relevant for
speech
-they are simplified features found in other primates.
-such features would not necessarily lead to speech production, but they are good clues that these
creatures probably have the capacity for speech.
Teeth
-human teeth are upright and roughly even in height.
-this is not useful for ripping and tearing food and seem better adapted for grinding and chewing.
-helpful in making sounds such as ‘v’ and ‘f’.
Lips
-human lips have much more complicated muscle interlacing than is found in other primates
-this flexibility helps to make sounds like ‘p’ or ‘b’
Mouth
-human mouth is relatively small compared to other primates
-can be opened and closed rapidly
-contains a smaller, thicker and more muscular tongue
-All of this can be used to create a wide variety of sounds inside the oral cavity
3
Chapter 1: The origins of language
What is Charles Darwin’s vision on the origins of language?
-In Charles Darwin’s vision of the origin of language, early humans had already developed musical
ability prior to language and were using it ‘to charm each other’.
It remains a speculation.
How is language originated?
- We simply don’t know how language originated.
- We do know that the ability to produce sound and simple vocal patterning (a hum versus a grunt)
appears to be in an ancient part of the brain, that we share with al vertebrates and mammals. But
that isn’t human language.
- Perhaps because of this absence of direct physical evidence, there has been no shortage of
speculation about the origins of human speech.
When did spoken and written language appear?
- We suspect that some of spoken language must have developed between 50 000 and 100 000
years ago
- well before written language, about 5000 years ago.
Sources/speculations about the origins of human speech
1) The divine source
2) The natural sound source
3) The social interaction source
4) The physical adaption source
5) The tool making source
6) The genetic source
The divine source
-In most religions, there appears to be a divine source that provides humans with language.
Example: God created Adam and Adam called every living creature.
In Hindu tradition, language came from Sarasvati, wife of Brahma, creator of the universe
In other words, what does the divine source say?
If human infants were allowed to grow up without hearing any language around them, then they
would spontaneously begin using the original God-given language.
Is this true?
No, it’s not. Very young children living without access to human language in their early years grow
up with no language at all.
1
,Two experiments for the divine source
-The Egyptian pharaoh did this with two newborn babies and deprived them of language for two
years. There was only a mute shepherd and goats. After two years, these infants could only say
‘beh’, so they copied the sound of the goats.
-King James did a similar experiment and reported that children spontaneously started speaking
Hebrew, the language of the garden of eden.
The natural sound source/bow-wow theory
-Another view of the beginnings of language
-Based on the concept of natural sounds
-The basic idea of the natural sound source is that primitive words could have been imitations of the
natural sounds which early men and woman heard around them.
-When an object flew by ,making a sound, the early human tried to imitate that sound and used it to
refer to the thing that made that sound
- the bow-wow theory is based on the view of the natural sound source
What could support this theory
The fact that all modern languages have some words with pronunciations that seem to echo natural
occurring sounds, could be used to support this theory.
Example
Splash, bang, boom,rattle,buzz,hizz,screech.
Onomatopeia
Words that sound similar to the noises they describe.
What are the weak points of the natural sound theory
-this view assumes that a language is only a set of words used as ‘names’ for things
-it lacks soundless things as well as abstract concepts
Also another suggestion about the original sounds of language and human emotions
-Says that the original sounds of language may have come from natural cries of emotion such as
pain, anger and joy.
How is this not true?
-Exclamations such as Ouch!, Ah!, Ooh!, Wow! Or Yuck,
-are usually produced with sudden intakes of breath
-This is the opposite of ordinary talk, where we normally produce spoken language on exhaled
breath.
The social interaction source
-Another theory about the origins of human language
-yo-he-ho theory
-this source proposes 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 that interaction had to be
coordinated.
-places the development of human language in a social context
2
, Explanation
So a group of early humans might develop a set of hums, groants, groans and curses that were used
when they were lifting and carrying large bits of trees or lifeless hairy mammals.
Human language in a social context
-the yo-he-ho theory places the development of human language in a social context.
-early humans lived in groups, if only because larger groups offered better protection from attack.
-groups are social organizations and to maintain those organizations, some form of communication
is required, even if it is just grunts and curses.
Does this answer our question to the origin of language?
-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 physical adaption source
This source proposes that instead of looking at the types of sounds as the sources of human speech,
we can look at the type of physical features humans possess, which may have been able to support
speech production
When did we make physically an important change?
-At some early stage our ancestor made a very significant transition to an upright posture, with
bipedal locomotion and an adjusted role for the front limbs.
-skull of a Neanderthal man shows this around 60 000 years ago
-about 35 000 years ago fossilized skeletal structures of the Neanderthal begins to resemble those of
modern humans.
In the study of evolutionary development
-there are certain physical features, seen as partial adaptions, which appear to be relevant for
speech
-they are simplified features found in other primates.
-such features would not necessarily lead to speech production, but they are good clues that these
creatures probably have the capacity for speech.
Teeth
-human teeth are upright and roughly even in height.
-this is not useful for ripping and tearing food and seem better adapted for grinding and chewing.
-helpful in making sounds such as ‘v’ and ‘f’.
Lips
-human lips have much more complicated muscle interlacing than is found in other primates
-this flexibility helps to make sounds like ‘p’ or ‘b’
Mouth
-human mouth is relatively small compared to other primates
-can be opened and closed rapidly
-contains a smaller, thicker and more muscular tongue
-All of this can be used to create a wide variety of sounds inside the oral cavity
3
