What is the origin of language? How did the language come about? Who invented it? And why are there different languages and not one big world language?
The first form of human language arose on the basis of communication between primates. At first, the language had a purely descriptive effect. You said what you saw. There was no sentence structure or grammar yet. Homo erectus, a type of prehistoric man who lived over a million years ago, began to refine the animal sound systems and to intensify their use. However, this form of communication was probably limited to the organization of everyday life. It took a long time to develop a sophisticated language as we know it today. Opinions differ about how much exactly but some researchers locate the first complex language around 500,000 years ago,
Think Before You Speak – Origin Of Language
The thing that distinguishes human language from animal communication is that, just like humans, many animals can exchange relatively complex messages. But when animals communicate with each other, they can only do so in the context of the direct speaking situation. A bee can tell another bee about a flower that it has found, but not about something fictional or future.
For the expert, this ability is the boundary between mere communication and a language. That means, talking itself is only a higher level of animal sounds. What defines language is the ability to formulate the unreal. Most animals cannot do that. The special language ability of the person has therefore taken place together with his spiritual development. Incidentally, this is also how it works with individuals. A child must learn to think abstractly, only then can it speak abstractly. On the other hand, it can only express abstract thoughts through language. So speaking and thinking are mutually dependent.
For early humans, the abstract language was an evolutionary advantage. In a social and thus much more complex world, a higher form of communication was necessary to organize coexistence. Only based on abstract thinking and speaking, for example, can rules be established or joint action, such as the tactics for a hunt, coordinated.
Is There An Original Language?
Today over 6000 languages are spoken around the world. According to some scientists, they all emerged from an original language. According to the most common theory, early humanity emigrated from Africa. It is quite possible that they already had a language there. This would then have been divided into various regional forms, from which today’s languages have emerged over the millennia.
Linguists claim to have found related word roots in languages all over the world, which they interpret as remnants of that original language. The languages share a common origin. All of today’s languages were originally just regional dialects. They have evolved over the millennia and today there are hardly any similarities to be seen.
Some experts doubt the theory of an original language. They assume that more complex forms of communication did not develop until after humans migrated from Africa.
Because the multitude of languages makes communication difficult, calls for a world language are repeatedly loud. However, no language has yet been able to establish itself as an international standard. The best-known example of such an attempt was Esperanto, which is now only spoken as a hobby by a small group.
Also Read: Is lying Easier in a Foreign Language?
Not only people can use their language to tell fictional stories. Researchers observed a young baboon who deliberately lied. The monkey misused a warning call to get a treat as a lower-ranking animal. This behavior shows that the baboon was able to empathize with others and mistake their behavior. This means that he has the mental prerequisites for complex thinking, but not the anatomical abilities to speak. Monkeys cannot coordinate their vocal cords and larynx muscles well enough. Now you knew the origin of language.