![Basic requirements for human language
The human voice-box or larynx is more streamlined than that of
other primates; it is also positioned lower than in other primates.
The particular position of the larynx, the complexity of the
muscular tongue and the possibility to produce vowels via
mouth, allow the human beings to produce three fairly extreme
vowels:
[i] [a] [u]
ƀ Sound-producing ƀ Sound-receiving
ƀ Sound-planning ƀ Sound-interpreting](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/languageemergence-240419153710-e34c2504/85/language-emergence-language-emergencee-ppt-17-320.jpg)
language emergence language emergencee.ppt
- 2. Contents Language. The origin of language. Theories. Social interaction source. The divine source. The oral gestures. The physical adaptation source. The tool making source. The genetic (innateness) source. Conclusion.
- 3. Language The principal method of human communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture A study of the way children learn language. A system of communication used by a particular country or community. The book was translated into twenty-five languages.
- 4. The Amoeba Question • Did language elaborate from a simple outline? • Did a mish-mash become neat and orderly? • bow-wow theory hunters imitated the sounds of animals they wanted to track down • Rousseau/ Jespersen first languages were singable and more passionate – became simple and methodical • spaghetti junctions various possibilities existed and were used – in the long run certain features were more likely to be chosen
- 5. The Rabbit-out-of-hat problem • language emerged fairly suddenly (like a rabbit out of a hat) • mutation in hominid gene pool • extra use for already enlarged brain but: • language evolved slowly over millennia
- 6. Why do languages differ? • new appearances could not be handled properly (e.g. (new) thoughts could not be expressed properly) • differences between and within languages are signs of a flexible and adjustable system • ‘Tower of Babel’
- 7. Why do languages differ? • ‘Swiss army knife’ view: specialized linguistic system, which allows variation • human mind as gadget with numerous specialized devices • humans acquire language through a language-handling mechanism • difference of language according to an inherited degree of flexibility • ‘Auntie Maggie’s remedy’ view: languages differ because human general intelligence produced them • language is one of many different tasks children have to encounter – use the mind to sort out the way it works • tasks can be encountered in different ways
- 8. Why do languages differ? • hard-wired: - pre-programmed - do not have to be learned - instinctive - (Swiss army knife) • soft-wired: - can be acquired - have to be learned - Auntie Maggie’s remedy • past: nature – nurture; hard – soft; instinct – learning controversies • present: ‘innately guided behaviour’
- 9. Conclusion • many theories – scientific or non-scientific – were propounded • Amoeba Question and the rabbit-out-of-hat problem • differing: - Swiss Army Knife vs. Auntie Maggie’s remedy; hard-wired vs. soft-wired; - innately guided behaviour
- 10. The origin of language Ivo Tateo
- 11. The Human’s history of evolution 175,000 BP 300,000 BP 1,5 m BP 2 m BP 3 m BP 4 m BP 4,5 m BP Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans) Archaic Homo sapiens Homo erectus (upright man) Homo abilis (handy man) Homo (man) Australopithecus afarensis Australopithecus ramidus
- 12. How did Language emerge? Language emerged suddenly, as a rabbit out of a hat. This would be possible because humans are endowed with an innate language faculty (Chomsky). Language is the result of a long process, creeping upwards in complexity over millennia, like a snail creeping up a wall. Language capacity increased very slowly. The most accredited theory is that of a ‘language bonfire’. After this theory, sparks of language have been flickering for a long time before language begun a fast evolution and then stabilized around 50,000 years ago. Language evolution alternated between periods of stasis (stagnation) and periods of fast development (Eldredge and Gould).
- 13. Representation of the ‘Language Bonfire’ on a graph 250,000 BP 100,000 BP 75,000 BP 50,000 BP Years BP Complexity of language
- 14. The development of Language Key properties of Language Interaction Persuasion The Grooming Theory: grooming is for animals a factor of social interaction as language for humans. Maybe language is a substitution for grooming, since: - Humans are ‘naked apes’ with little hair for grooming - Great groups of primates tend to abandon grooming
- 15. The development of Language Key properties of language Interaction Persuasion The theory of mind The ability to deceive may be an important prerequisite for language, which is not only confined to humans. This process (we may also talk about ‘lying’) implicates that the individual is able to put himself into another person’s shoes and act to his own advantage.
- 16. The search for the missing link The gestural origin of speech Sign language is easier than speech The idea that gestures are universal Neurological connection between speech and movements How did language get started? Many support the gestural theory, which claims that sign language is the missing link between the primate communication and human language. These supporters emphasize four reasons:
- 17. Basic requirements for human language The human voice-box or larynx is more streamlined than that of other primates; it is also positioned lower than in other primates. The particular position of the larynx, the complexity of the muscular tongue and the possibility to produce vowels via mouth, allow the human beings to produce three fairly extreme vowels: [i] [a] [u] ƀ Sound-producing ƀ Sound-receiving ƀ Sound-planning ƀ Sound-interpreting
- 18. Conclusion Language appeared about 200,000 years ago and developed very fast between 100,000 and 75,000 years ago (language bonfire theory) Language probably emerged to satisfy a need of interaction or to influence other individuals Language probably developed from gesture. Sign language has been the intermediate between the two: Primate communication Sign language Human language Sound-producing, sound-receiving, sound-planning, sound-interpreting mechanisms and the particular position of the larynx, among others, allow the human beings to produce sounds which are unique to our species.
- 20. The emergence of rules A language needs ‘rules’. Communication would break down if there were no agreed ways of combining linguistic units. In theory there are nearly endless possibilities to combine words and sounds. However, any full language has narrowed down the range of possibilities to a few allowable combinations => the grammar.
- 21. How could grammar have arisen in the evolution of language? Simple rules have two requirements: 1. different types of basic units must exist 2. ways of combining the units must be agreed
- 22. Different types of basic words Nouns are the basic words, which arose before other types of words were developed Nouns and verbs together constituted the first ‘grammar’ => humans could mentally distinguish things and people from actions and events for a long time before establishing them as nouns and verbs. Nouns and verbs are regarded as the universal categories of all languages.
- 23. The combination of words as a requirement for the emergence of grammar Grammar emerged when noun-type words were combined with verb-type words. Two possible ways by which nouns and verbs could have been combined: 1. ‘build-up’-route 2. ‘re-analysis’ -route
- 24. The build-up route ....assumes that a large number of single words accumulated. These were words of different types, some involving things, others actions. At a later stage these words were combined. e.g. child: “mummy open” as a request for “Mummy please open this”
- 25. The re-analysis route ...assumes that words, mainly nouns, were already being combined, but that sometimes more than one interpretation was possible e.g. the word ‘singsing’ in Tok Pisin (pidgin, Papua New Guinea) (singsing = any festival which involves dancing and singing) ð “mi singsing” means “I went to the song and dance festival” or “I sang and danced”
- 26. Consistent ordering of words There are several possibilities as to how a firm word order might have happened in the evolution of languages the signing of chimps the utterances of Vincent, a child of deaf parents the predispositions of the human mind
- 27. 1. The signing of chimps - Nim Chimpsky At first sight Nim’s signing was quite unordered. However Nim had some preferences: -- food was placed first: “grape eat, banana Nim eat, apple me eat” --“more” at the beginning: “more eat, more tickle, more drink,..” --his own name at the end --repetition of words: “eat Nim eat, Nim eat Nim” ð Nim’s ordering resembles the process found when a language acquires new word-order rules: mild stylistic preferences change into strong preferences which stabilize, become a habit and form a pattern which influences the formation of others.
- 28. 2. The utterances of Vincent, child of deaf parents Vincent: hearing child of deaf parents who taught him sign language. He did not speak and heard sounds only by watching television. He was first exposed to speak English when he was over three years old. at first his speech was barely intelligible and only slowly his speech became clear short utterances: “You –uh-oh” limited vocabulary: „puter“ was a general, all-purpose verb. “You”: several meanings: you, he, she tendency to “copy-around” a word, to put one form on both sides of another “You house you”
- 29. The way Vincent put words together was bizarre. However when his repeats and copying around were omitted, a clear word ordering preference appeared => he constructed many sentences according to a basic, but private, plan
- 30. => Both the chimp and the child show that an optional word order can become a preferred order which later becomes a certain rule.
- 31. 3. Human mind set Our human-mind set dictates how we see the world and create the language. ‘Ontological categories’, such as people, things, actions, events, provide a universal initial structure of the language of thought on which language is based. The innate thought structure also covers the way in which words may be combined. e.g. The cat sat on the mat. The dog lay under the table. not: The mat lay under the cat. The table stood over the dog. => The location of ‘small onto large’ may be due to the human mind-set. Human thoughts run along certain routes, which are likely to affect the order of participants in a grammar.
- 32. Preferences and pre-linguistic rules ‘animate first preference’: It is more normal to say “Patsy was hit on the head by a ball” than “A ball hit Patsy on the head” => The ‘animate first preference’ is not due to any obvious linguistic factor, but the human mind-set plays an important role. The ‘animate first’ preference is linked to an ‘actor first’ principle, because in real life animates act on lifeless things more often than the other way round. The preferences are based on pre-linguistic mind-sets, which explain why so many languages show similarities.
- 33. Summary Language began when words were combined. There are several theories on how grammar could have arisen: -out of ‘build-ups’: putting individual words together, -out of ‘re-analyses’ of combined nouns. At first many word combinations were possibly repetitive and inconsistent. The examples of the chimp and the child Vincent show how rules may have became fixed: optional orders became strong preferences which later became rules. The original preferences were probably on pre-linguistic ‘mind-sets’ => explains why so many languages show similarities
- 34. The evolution of language The expansion of language – Martina Kleinebreil
- 35. First steps - Humans named themselves - parts of body - the immediate environment
- 36. Inwards and Outwards The human body, and the space surrounding it, presumably formed the basis of further meaning extensions.
- 37. Outwards: Humans body-parts move outwards to features of environment. e.g.Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea)
- 38. het = head het bilong diwai - top of a tree han = hand han bilong diwai – branch of a tree han bilong pik – front legs of a pig Or even in English: head of state
- 39. Inwards: Outer behaviour is a regular source for talk about the inner mental self. e.g. Physical sight expressions I see what Helen means. Peter is still in the dark.
- 40. Physical holding - mental grasping: - Did you grasp what he meant? - Did you get this? - Paul hold on to his point of view.
- 41. Adpositions (Pre- & Postpositions) - a limited number of prepositions - re-apply of the old ones, instead of inventing new ones.
- 42. Tok Pisin: mi go long taun – I go to town mi kam long town – I come from town mi stap long haus – I stayed at home mi paitim dok long stik – I hit the dog with a stick
- 43. Nouns – durable: dog, sky Verbs – rapid change: swim, go, hit properties – hot day, green house properties are less time-stable than nouns, but more time- stable than most verbs
- 44. 1st possibility Subdivision into stative and non- stative verbs non-stative: kill, shoot stative: be-green, be-ill (Mandarin Chinese, Yoruba)
- 45. 2nd possibility adjectives as an extra category border-line between nouns/adj. and verbs/adj. seems arbitrary e.g. a gold watch noun a lasting peace verb
- 46. In the early days verbs and adjectives were probably indistinguishable. To reach a clear distinction later word- endings were added.
- 47. But a language is still not complete with just a few parts of speech, and various attachements for its verbs.
- 48. So from this point on it´s still a long way to today´s language
- 49. The evolution of language The expansion of language – Martina Kleinebreil
- 50. First steps - Humans named themselves - parts of body - the immediate environment
- 51. Inwards and Outwards The human body, and the space surrounding it, presumably formed the basis of further meaning extensions.
- 52. Outwards: Humans body-parts move outwards to features of environment. e.g.Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea)
- 53. het = head het bilong diwai - top of a tree han = hand han bilong diwai – branch of a tree han bilong pik – front legs of a pig Or even in English: head of state
- 54. Inwards: Outer behaviour is a regular source for talk about the inner mental self. e.g. Physical sight expressions I see what Helen means. Peter is still in the dark.
- 55. Physical holding - mental grasping: - Did you grasp what he meant? - Did you get this? - Paul hold on to his point of view.
- 56. Adpositions (Pre- & Postpositions) - a limited number of prepositions - re-apply of the old ones, instead of inventing new ones.
- 57. Tok Pisin: mi go long taun – I go to town mi kam long town – I come from town mi stap long haus – I stayed at home mi paitim dok long stik – I hit the dog with a stick
- 58. Nouns – durable: dog, sky Verbs – rapid change: swim, go, hit properties – hot day, green house properties are less time-stable than nouns, but more time- stable than most verbs
- 59. 1st possibility Subdivision into stative and non- stative verbs non-stative: kill, shoot stative: be-green, be-ill (Mandarin Chinese, Yoruba)
- 60. 2nd possibility adjectives as an extra category border-line between nouns/adj. and verbs/adj. seems arbitrary e.g. a gold watch noun a lasting peace verb
- 61. In the early days verbs and adjectives were probably indistinguishable. To reach a clear distinction later word- endings were added.
- 62. But a language is still not complete with just a few parts of speech, and various attachements for its verbs.
- 63. So from this point on it´s still a long way to today´s language
- 65. Moving outwards roughly 75.000 years ago humans moved out of Africa and into Asia first to Asia Minor then westwards to Europe eastwards to the Far East and Australia
- 67. the last continent to be populated was America crossed from northeastern Siberia into northwest Alaska went by boat via the Bering Strait smalls groups probably spoke dialects of the same language
- 69. The hunt for Universals language universals = features which occur in all languages any human can learn any language, so something must link all languages together a possible list of “narrow“ absolute universals:
- 70. All languages 1) have consonants and vowels 2) combine sounds into larger units 3) have nouns words for people & objects 4) have verbs words for actions 5) can combine words
- 71. All languages 6) can say who did that to who 7) can negate utterances 8) can ask questions 9) involve structure-dependance 10) involve recursions
- 72. finding absolute linguistic universals is hard because they differ in details from language to language
- 73. Constraints language must have constraints which prevent it from flying apart in different directions constraints are hard to find promising approach is the search for constraining links language constructions are often linked tp one another in implicational chains Noam Chomsky‘s ‘paramter setting‘ best known implicational theory
- 74. Chomsky‘s parameter setting children have an inbuilt knowledge of some basic language principles in addition they are instinctively aware of some key ‘either/or‘ options they need to find out which options their own language selects the extra information follows automatically
- 75. The future there are about 6.000 languages spoken today in this century 90% of all languages will cease to exist 3.000 languages are ‘moribund‘: no longer learned as a first language by the new generation of speakers the few languages that will remain will spread across the world
- 76. Origin of language Word origin is very important. Knowing the etymology of a word provides enhanced perspective about its most effective use. You understand its original meaning and how it may have transformed over time, how people have used it past and present. Actually no one exactly knows when or how human beings came up with spoken language. One hypothesis is that language began between 100,000 or 50,000 years ago with the advent of modern man i.e. Homo Habilis and Homo Sapiens.
- 77. Consequently, the major history of language is discovered through guesses and written evidence that is much newer than the era that the linguists study. This is well before the invention of the written language, about 6000 years ago. Some researchers even propose that language began as sign language, then (gradually or suddenly) switched to the vocal modality, leaving modern gesture as a residue. These issues and many others are undergoing lively investigation among linguists, psychologists, and biologists.
- 78. While some theorists believe language originated as an evolution of our culture, others believe that there is also a certain innate understanding of language in us. The expression language origins refers to theories pertaining to the emergence and development of language in human societies. Over the centuries, many theories have been put forward—and almost all of them have been challenged, discounted, and ridiculed. Chomsky’s Hypothesis about the origin of language says that language is genetically imbibed in us by birth, that we innately know how to communicate.
- 79. Theories Bow-wow theory Pooh-pooh theory Ding-dong theory Yo-he-ho theory Ta-ta theory Sing-song Mama theory The eureka! theory Hey you! theory Hocus pocus theory. Many theories have presented over the years. That are following.
- 80. Bow-wow theory Max Muller, a philologist and linguist, published a list of these theories in the mid-19th century: Bow-wow. Ding-Dong. Pooh-pooh. Bow-wow theory is also known as the natural sound source theory. The bow-wow theory is largely discredited as an account of the origin of language. Though some contemporary theories suggest that general imitative abilities may have played an important role in the evolution of language. Bow-wow theory postulates that the origin of language arose through “onomatopoeia,”. In simple words, is the imitation of sounds in nature (Moran and Gode 1986). Specifically, the sounds from animals were the most imitated from the environment.
- 81. Pooh-pooh theory A pooh-pooh (also styled as poo-poo) is a fallacy in informal logic that consists of dismissing an argument as being unworthy of serious consideration. Pooh means that Pull Out of Hole. Scholars generally characterize the fallacy as a rhetorical device in which the speaker ridicules an argument without responding to the substance of the argument. Pooh-pooh theory A speculative theory that human language originated from emotional exclamations of pain, pleasure, surprise, etc.
- 82. Ding-dong theory A theory that language originated out of a natural correspondence between objects of sense perception and the vocal noises which were part of early humans' reaction to them — compare bowwow theory, pooh- pooh theory. DING-DONG: The “ding-dong” hypothesis bases the origins of language on onomatopoeia. This idea states that language began when humans started naming objects after a relevant sound that was already involved in their everyday life. Examples include words such as “boom,” “crash,” and “oink”.
- 83. Yo-he-ho theory Yo-he-ho theory a speculative theory that human language emerged from instinctive noises made by humans during physical exertion, and especially while involved in collective rhythmic labour. “Work Song” The Yo-He-Ho Theory proposes that language and speech started with grunts and groans as well as chants, and rhythmic sounds. That the earliest peoples use to coordinate their movements as they work together to accomplish a formidable task. If you've ever lifted anything heavy, you might have let out a groan or other kind of sound. This theory claims language came from the sounds we made while doing hard work.
- 84. The gestural theory Condillac as one of the earlier scholars to put forth a gestural theory of language. The Gestural Theory states that human language was developed from gestures that were a primitive form of communication. As opposed to the vocal signals that might have been adopted by non- human primates. According to the gestural theory of language evolution, our ancestors were able to communicate intentionally through gestures but could not control their vocalizations.
- 85. Two types of evidence support this theory. Gestural language and vocal language depend on similar neural systems. Examples of communicative gestures are waving, saluting, handshakes, pointing, or a thumbs up. There are voluntary and involuntary gestures. Waving to a friend would be an intentional method of saying hello, While throwing one's arms up in exasperation may be an involuntary reaction to feelings of frustration or anger. In 1992 McNeill proposes a general classification of four types of hand gestures: beat, deictic, iconic and metaphoric.
- 86. Social interaction source (SIT) In the first half of the 1900s, American philosopher, sociologist and psychologist George Herbert Mead and later his student, Herbert Blumer, developed this theory. Social interactionist theory (SIT) is an explanation of language development emphasizing the role of social interaction between the developing child and linguistically knowledgeable adults. This theory emphasizes the importance of social interactions with others and how they shape a person's self-concept or identity which in turn, influence behavior. There are five common forms of social interaction— exchange, competition, conflict, cooperation, and accommodation.
- 87. The Divine Source In most religions, it is believed that language is a God-given gift to human species. Language is a gift of God to help us experience this earthly life,” said Jones. Much of our enjoyment, entertainment, and education comes through language, he said. Jones said how someone uses words determines the ability to fulfill your role as a member of the human race In the Quran “O Adam, inform them of their names”. And he had inform them of their names. (Al-Baqarah 2/ 31-33).
- 88. “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors”. (Ar-Rum 30/ 22). In Christianity, God gave Adam the kingdom of all animals in the Garden of Eden and the first thing Adam did was to name these animals. That is how language started according to religious sources. In Hindu belief, language came from Saraswsati, wife of Brahma, who they believe is the creator of the universe. Hence, the basic idea of the theory is that “If infants were allowed to grow up without hearing any language, then they would spontaneously begin using the original God- given language”.
- 89. It suggests that the evolution of sounds involves a connection between physical gestures and orally produced sounds. Most of our physical gestures are means of communication. Even with the ability of speech we frequently use our hands, face and body to express certain emotions and intentions. Originally a set of gestures was developed as a means of communication, then a set of oral gestures, specifically involving the mouth, developed for expressing ideas. The oral gestures Physical gestures (Including mouth) Physical gestures (Except mouth)
- 90. The physical adaptation The theory comes from the idea that there is a link between physical gesture and orally produced sounds. First of all a set of physical gestures was developed as a means of communication. Adaptations can be either physical or behavioral. A physical adaptation is some type of structural modification made to a part of the body. A behavioral adaptation is something an animal does - how it acts - usually in response to some type of external stimulus. The shape of a bird's beak, the color of a mammal's fur, the thickness or thinness of the fur, the shape of the nose or ears are all examples of physical adaptations which help different animals survive.
- 91. Camouflage, mimicry, and animals' body parts and coverings are physical adaptations. Type of Body Covering - Fur, Feathers, Scales. Color – Patterns, Camouflage - a color or pattern that allows an animal to hide in its environment. Body Part - Claws, Beak, Antlers, Ears, Blubber (to keep them warm) Defenses - Spray, Quills, Venom. Adaptations usually occur because a gene mutates or changes by accident! Some mutations can help an animal or plant survive better than others in the species without the mutation. For example, imagine a bird species.
- 92. Larynx and Pharynx Larynx is a “voice box” in your throat containing the vocal folds or vocal chords. Due to upright position, head moves directly above the spinal column and larynx dropped at a lower position. As a result pharynx (cavity above the vocal folds, act as a resonator) became longer and increase range and clarity of sounds.
- 93. The tool making source (Hands) Humans started making tools and manipulating objects using both hands. Manual gestures may have been a precursor of language (Oral gesture theory). Bringing words together like bringing two rocks together to make a tool.
- 94. The functions for object manipulating and for speaking are very close to each other in the left hemisphere of the brain (lateralisation). There may have been an evolutionary connection between the use of tools and 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 tool making source (Brain)
- 95. The genetic (innateness) source Young babies go through the automatic developments from small brain, higher larynx to lowering larynx, standing upright, walking and talking. Even children who are born deaf become fluent speakers of sign language. HOW?? Claims that humans offspring are born with a special capacity for language. Capacity for language genetically hard wired into new born humans.
- 96. Researchers have found evidence that genetic factors may contribute to the development of language during infancy. Scientists discovered a significant link between genetic changes near the ROBO2 gene and the number of words spoken by children in the early stages of language development. This applies to all language in general not one specific. This would mean that language did not result from a gradual change but happened rather quickly as a crucial genetic mutation e.g. unlike physical adaptation.
- 97. Conclusion All the presented theories do not precisely demonstrate what is the origin of language but it is clear that in the past people were only able to do some gestures and only produce few sounds.
- 98. Thank you all for your precious time