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When Did Language Become Human?

When Did Language Become Human?

There are several different theories about how the human language evolved. It is a subject that has been discussed often through the years. Several of the theories are listed below with their popular names:

• The "bow-wow" theory suggests that language evolved from imitation. Thereafter, the word's form changed and its meaning broadened. For example, bow-wow = dog's bark, then bow-wow = dog
• The "pooh-pooh" theory suggests that language arose from emotional exclamations of fear, pain, lust, etc.
• The "yo-he-ho" theory suggests that language evolved in collective efforts. Rhythmic sounds were produced to coordinate common projects involving many individuals.
• The "sing-song" theory suggests that language evolved from song and dance into patterns of meaningful sounds.
• The "ding-dong" theory suggests that there are in-born connections between certain contents and certain sounds (something like how different objects have different sounds when you hit them).

When Did People Start to Talk?

At what stage in evolution did our ancestors go from using signal sounds to creating a message by combining different sounds in a symbolic manner? This is the main question in historical linguistics. Researchers conclude that there was a gradual transition from making sounds with some meaning to producing sentences with sounds. They usually study the anatomical conditions, which make it possible for a human to produce speech. By doing this, they get a rough understanding of when it was possible for humans to produce speech.

Two anatomic factors are necessary for speech. One is the speech organ and the other one is the brain. The speech organ Ð the palate, larynx and tongue Ð must be able to produce advanced and nuanced sounds and the brain must be able to regulate it.

There is a lot of evidence that indicates that there was a certain amount of language developed with our direct ancestor, Homo erectus, who lived half a million to 1.5 million years ago. Homo erectus had the right anatomy to produce speech. Homo erectus in general had a good brain capacity and there was an expanded speech center in the brain.

The skull of Homo erectus was more ape-shaped than our skull. They also were a bit shorter than we are, but we would probably not react much if we met such a person today. It might even be possible to start a conversation, but it would not be a very complicated one.

Homo erectus made tools on a large scale. They used fire, and they hunted with advanced methods. Activities such as these require planning, and planning is dependent on language. From this evidence, it is certain that Homo erectus had some kind of language knowledge. Gradually, Homo erectus became more like modern man. This transition took place at different times in different areas.

The development of an independent, functioning language probably took place during a half a million years, in the transition of Homo erectus to Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, the Neanderthals, lived during this period. But suddenly, they disappeared. If they really disappeared or if they blended with other Homo sapiens, who were known to live side by side with the Neanderthals is still open for debate.

By looking at the size of the brain (the Neanderthals' brain was slightly bigger than our own), the cave art they produced, and the way they buried their dead, researchers have concluded that Neanderthals must have had an intellectual capacity and social structure including a developed language ability. How developed the Neanderthals' language ability was and whether they had a less developed ability than their Homo sapiens neighbours (who might have suppressed them) is still debated. Most researchers believe that they had an advanced language, but some researchers think that their language was based only on consonant sounds.

Humans like us evolved around 35,000 years ago. Written language started to be used some 5,500 years ago.