How Did We Create A Language?

[NeAvO]

I mean ages ago, humans were around in groups hunting animals ect, then next thing you know we have all created languages from English to Chinese. How did it start ?

[Jalexxi]

The creation of language is natural process. When you have a specific sound that means 'tiger', people can react and warn others of the threat much quicker. People are smart, and they figure this kind of stuff out. As for what sounds get assigned to what object or concept, that's pure chance and agreement amongst a group.

[Western Vagabond]

There is also the innate ability alot of creatures, not just humans have, to communicate through other means. If you wave to a Japanese man, it will mean the same thing as to someone from the UK or South Africa. Body language is almost universal. If you see a cat backed into a corner, eyes wide open, you know it feels threatened. If you follow Darwins theory, then it makes sense, that creatures who can comminicate, and understand, a universal language, will be more adept in survival. If a tribesman sees a herd of gazelle galoping across the plains frantically, and realises there are in danger, he will be safer.

[SKA]

as the ice ages raged the earth, little vegitation wasn't covered in snow so Human beings had to addapt their FEEDING habits to teh climate: They began Hunting for meat. In order to Succesfully hunt down a couple of Deer it was nececairy for people to Team up and hunt in packs and to COMMUNICATE while doing so. Now as they were developping this new, sophisticated way of Forraging they needed ways to communicate while Hunting: This started with simple Tongues, Pronounciations that would indicate I.E. Deer, Spears, Bow and Arrow, ATTACK! and such things that were vital and of great importance to Communicate about while Hunting. And as Humans Developed more and more sophisticated cultures, from these simple ''UNGA BUNGA'' pronounciations arose entire Languages. Different ones for Different Climates, Enviroments, Circumstances..etc Needless to say that the Chinese, living in such a different enviroment with different animals, climate and culture...etc, developed this into a totally different language than the Europeans or Africans did. It's perhaps the most typical and briljant manifestation of human Evolution.

[Slight]

.. just wonder when people were crazy/intelligent/dumb enough to create synonyms, grammar and all that kind of good stuff ...

[badassbob]

Why was language complicated with such unnecessary things as capitol letters, and silent letters. Why should door knob be spelt with a "k", and why can't night be nite. It just doesn't help at all.

[dreammask]

I mean ages ago, humans were around in groups hunting animals ect, then next thing you know we have all created languages from English to Chinese. How did it start ? [/b] Actually, nobody knows exactly how language started, as such. Why people started communicating symbolically and such are still mysterious to linguistic anthropologists. There are plenty of theories, and the origins of communication (not language) is a lot easier to figure out simply because we have so many non-human examples around to study. It's easier to compare and make sophisticated guesses about why non-linguistic communication came to be. That's easy enough. The creation of language is natural process. When you have a specific sound that means 'tiger', people can react and warn others of the threat much quicker. People are smart, and they figure this kind of stuff out. As for what sounds get assigned to what object or concept, that's pure chance and agreement amongst a group. [/b] This is pretty accurate for how non-linguistic communication comes about and for parts of linguistic communication. The difference is in the symbolism associated with sound combinations meaning something specific. Agreement on symbolic language is necessary for languages to actually come about, but non-linguistic communication is pretty much universal (I shriek and point at the tiger, you know what I mean, but if I say, "why, look at the tiger," if you don't speak my language, you won't have any clue what I'm saying). as the ice ages raged the earth, little vegitation wasn't covered in snow so Human beings had to addapt their FEEDING habits to teh climate: They began Hunting for meat. In order to Succesfully hunt down a couple of Deer it was nececairy for people to Team up and hunt in packs and to COMMUNICATE while doing so. [/b] Actually, this theory doesn't work too well. It used to be a largely considered theory, but the fact is that language very, very probably was around long before the most recent ice ages. Also, the majority of places inhabited by humans were temperate, not covered in icy glaciers and snow fields. Of course, the ice ages had an affect on the climate around the world, but there were certainly plenty of human-inhabited places that were not covered in snow. It makes just as much sense to say that language developed as an adaptation to gathering plants... if you have a set of words for various plants, you can know which ones are good, bad, etc. You can also go tell someone else to gather some for you. Originally posted by 'SKA' This started with simple Tongues, Pronounciations that would indicate I.E. Deer, Spears, Bow and Arrow, ATTACK! and such things that were vital and of great importance to Communicate about while Hunting. Hunting and warfare are not the only reasons why people communicate, remember. In fact, a lot of communication that occurs during hunting and such is silent. It's not language. If I signal to another hunter that a deer is on the other side of a bush, I'm a lot less likely to scare it away then if I shout, "Hey Joe, there's a deer behind that bush!" None of the things listed are important for communication while hunting. You could just as easily draw a picture of it, point in the direction of where it is, keep your own tools, and never have to say a word. I have no idea when grammar and such started making its way into how people communicated with each other. I do know that they're different depending on roots, and that all languages have grammar. A lot of the modern confusion with spelling and such comes from languages inter-mixing. You end up with franken-languages that are just hard to figure out unless you're born into it, and sometimes even difficult if you are. I love languages. ^_^

[Jess]

Actually, nobody knows exactly how language started, as such. Why people started communicating symbolically and such are still mysterious to linguistic anthropologists. There are plenty of theories[/b] I don't want to create another drugs topic but, one theory is that psychedelic plants were the catalyst. The theory goes something like man used them in low doses for their effect of heightening the senses for hunting. Man also tried them in higher doses and experienced the effect of easier more complex communication and this aided the development of language as we know it. It's only a theory but I like it. I have no idea when grammar and such started making its way into how people communicated with each other. I do know that they're different depending on roots, and that all languages have grammar.[/b] I think it might have happened naturally from the beginning to refer to me/you/they/etc. Spelling and punctuation maybe were created when people started writing.

[DreamDudeDave]

langwig wus wons won uhmungst men, den da anewnaki AKA A-lohem kam ant cungfust owr tungs. ant den wi wer difydt. Ant difydt wi whent in da dyrexshuns uv da fowr kornrs. ant owr tungs wer den az confuzt sow we grew dibbrentle. Lingwistix sa that thee mani foold langwhiches poynt two one. Read the wikipedia.org search: Tower of Babel. True Story..be sure to read the entire thing, caws da saym stori is tolt all arownt da wirlt in mithikl lejns. astew uor qwestshin: owr tung speks tha langwijz nachuwerli. Buht owr tungz ar kon fust..feel it mooving uhrownd indamot?

[Howie]

It was the tower of Babylon.... The tower that men were creating to reach the heavens and God created several different languages so no one could communicate. Boy what a odd way to do something for an all powerful being or possibly.... Through out our evolutionary process our level of consciousness rose to new heights. Through cognitive archaeology it is believed that around 15,0000 years ago that mythic consciousness was beginning to develop. Spawning an age of creative processes of more elaborate forms of communication. Language being one of them

[DreamDudeDave]

During the Building and Before the Building of the Tower of Babel all myths say we Spoke One Language.. Which Language? Well Who knows for sure possibly the Language of the Birds AKA The Language of the Gods. Then The Gods of the Sky came down and saw that we were rapidly aprouching great evolutionary progress so they were jelous or whatever their motive was they were caused to come and confuse our tongues, then we spoke many laguages because our tongues, as all the myths say were confused. This could mean a number of things, I personally believe that our tongues were literally confused. When I still my tongue and unconfuse it's movement I am able to speak spanish accent much more fluent spanish accent then if I am speaking with a confused tongue. It is incredible how the pronuncations roll right of my tongue when I am able to relax it.

[badassbob]

Anyone here who hasn't seen "waking life" the animated movie about lucid dreaming, should definately click here, seriously they have a conversation in this clip about language that really makes you think.

[Kaniaz]

Well I don't know what the "first language" was (for example, what qualifies a language?) and it seems that if you look in Europe, languages are kind of inbred. You can see how Latin has "nihl"*, which is "nothing", and the less commonly used word "nil" in our language. There's subtle little ties like these everywhere, and probably a story behind every word. It's possible that the root of our languages - or why our langauges turned out the way the did - could be to do with things like "booba and kiki". Try it out yourself. Either way, people who study the history of languages must have one hell of a job. * I'm no Latin student, so whether or not it is actually 'nihl' is not guarenteed. Feel free to correct me.

[Howie]

Well I don&#39;t know what the "first language" was (for example, what qualifies a language?) and it seems that if you look in Europe, languages are kind of inbred. You can see how Latin has "nihl"*, which is "nothing", and the less commonly used word "nil" in our language. There&#39;s subtle little ties like these everywhere, and probably a story behind every word. It&#39;s possible that the root of our languages - or why our langauges turned out the way the did - could be to do with things like "booba and kiki". Try it out yourself. Either way, people who study the history of languages must have one hell of a job. * I&#39;m no Latin student, so whether or not it is actually &#39;nihl&#39; is not guarenteed. Feel free to correct me.</span> [/b] Not to sound funny but language in its elementary stage was grunts and body gestures. uuuhhg. and such. It of coarse evolved, as did our level of consciousness. Some simple terms may have been used for many of the same thing. As we progressed we became more comprehensive and could use language more competently, So I have read. Not that I was there to see it. <span style="color:#009900">I think "uuug"--- get me another beer, still is an effective use of the term to date. lol

[Alric]

Actually if you look at it stuff like english, french, german and spanish all have a lot in common. Probably because they all came from the same area. You can even see it today, the languages are still mixing around. Some times new words are created in more than one language meaning the same thing. Especially technology related stuff like if you say CD a lot of people in other languages know what your talking about.

[badassbob]

Isn't "taxi" the most internationally used word in the world? I think it is but I can't remember.

[Kaniaz]

Well, yeah. I'm sure at first it was just grunts and groans. Maybe some precursory head clubbing too. What I find more interesting is when did we make the leap from grunts and groans, which is one thing, to a pre-defined set of letters that have certain sounds associated with them, certain glyphs, etc. That's when the real fun starts, when you can really start to make "proper" words (there are only so many things conveyable with grunts*). Who "invented", say, the letter 'Z'? Why that particular shape for the letter? Somewhere, somehow, "cheese" came to be associated with this gone off milk. Why? What about the word "language?" There's a whole dictionary out there that needs explanation. * One of them is defintely "go to the fridge and get me a beer, you overworked housewife", yes.

[Howie]

Well, yeah. I&#39;m sure at first it was just grunts and groans. Maybe some precursory head clubbing too. What I find more interesting is when did we make the leap from grunts and groans, which is one thing, to a pre-defined set of letters that have certain sounds associated with them, certain glyphs, etc. That&#39;s when the real fun starts, when you can really start to make "proper" words (there are only so many things conveyable with grunts*). Who "invented", say, the letter &#39;Z&#39;? Why that particular shape for the letter? Somewhere, somehow, "cheese" came to be associated with this gone off milk. Why? What about the word "language?" There&#39;s a whole dictionary out there that needs explanation. * One of them is defintely "go to the fridge and get me a beer, you overworked housewife", yes. </span> [/b] That&#39;s true Kaniaz. Who is in authority here. Who gets to make a words. I forget how many, but each year there is a good number of new words added to the dictionary. I have seen some thesauruses and dictionaries that have the word and it&#39;s derivative. <span style="color:#006600">What the hell is Kaniaz anyway? Beside the duality as we know it.

[Leo Volont]

I mean ages ago, humans were around in groups hunting animals ect, then next thing you know we have all created languages from English to Chinese. How did it start ? [/b] Oh! I had become somewhat famous back in my Undergraduate Days when I proposed that Human Language first flourished and developed at the time that the Dogs were being domesticated. Well, since Homo Sapiens had been up and around for several hundreds of thousands of years, and getting by well enough on ordinary primate grunts, squeeks and whistles, then it was too much of a coincidence for language to begin at exactly the moment when we found ourselves needing to cross-species communicate with Dogs. It was thought that Dogs were scavengering off of Human Hunters. But I proposed the opposite, that dogs were the better hunters and were making the majority of the kills (as in Fox Hunting, and bear baiting). Human Language was initiated as a means of signalling to dogs. The first words were probably "Good Doggy". Why would the Dogs agree to a partnership? Well, because the on the Savanah Plains of Africa and the Euroasian Steppe, the grass was very tall. Dogs have a keen sense of smell, but if the Human Being could stand up and look off into the distance and see something, and then signal intelligently and coherently the direction and distance, then both Parties would benefit. If one looks at it, then one discovers that dogs were learning to COMPREHEND language just as Human Being were learning to speak it. Indeed, all of the domesticated animals have some ability to differentiate words through learning.

[Leo Volont]

Oh! I had become somewhat famous back in my Undergraduate Days when I proposed that Human Language first flourished and developed at the time that the Dogs were being domesticated. Well, since Homo Sapiens had been up and around for several hundreds of thousands of years, and getting by well enough on ordinary primate grunts, squeeks and whistles, then it was too much of a coincidence for language to begin at exactly the moment when we found ourselves needing to cross-species communicate with Dogs. It was thought that Dogs were scavengering off of Human Hunters. But I proposed the opposite, that dogs were the better hunters and were making the majority of the kills (as in Fox Hunting, and bear baiting). Human Language was initiated as a means of signalling to dogs. The first words were probably "Good Doggy". Why would the Dogs agree to a partnership? Well, because the on the Savanah Plains of Africa and the Euroasian Steppe, the grass was very tall. Dogs have a keen sense of smell, but if the Human Being could stand up and look off into the distance and see something, and then signal intelligently and coherently the direction and distance, then both Parties would benefit. If one looks at it, then one discovers that dogs were learning to COMPREHEND language just as Human Being were learning to speak it. Indeed, all of the domesticated animals have some ability to differentiate words through learning. [/b] Oh! The mechanism? Homo Sapiens, to convey working concepts to the dogs with whom they were speaking, first started stretching their vocal chords into nonordinary primate sounds through first trying to imitate the noises the dogs were making, and then by imitating the various other animal noises. For instance, a Human Being would 'howl' to get the attention of a pack of dogs, and then would 'Moo' and point to indicate a remote herd of cattle. By such vocal mimicry the number of possible phonics and their combinations were increased. Once they became available, they developed entirely human to human applications.

[NeAvO]

I thought it wasn't decided on how we created a language, people just guessed.

[Howie]

So Leo. Dogs have always been mans best friend? What about cats!! I thought it wasn't decided on how we created a language, people just guessed. [/b] It can still be viewed as theories. As most anything dating from origin can. However Cognitive archaeology traces some steps back to focus on our modern mind set. One of those that arose was language. Because our consciousness graduated into perceiving past and present along with the abstract thought a need for organizing all the clutter of symbols. Mythic consciousness spawned a lot of ideas that need to be organized.

[Leo Volont]

I thought it wasn't decided on how we created a language, people just guessed. [/b] "Guess". so I guess the geniuses of Academia are just guessing all the time. But they are really good at it, huh? Maybe you should try more guessing, to relieve yourself of what must be a chronic mental paralysis.

[NeAvO]

"Guess". so I guess the geniuses of Academia are just guessing all the time. But they are really good at it, huh? Maybe you should try more guessing, to relieve yourself of what must be a chronic mental paralysis. [/b] Ok then...

[Gemini Man]

This may have been mentioned before, but words can relate to what they mean. https://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ffp...kiki%20bouba%22 Go to pg. 11 and read "Emergence of Language" and continue to pg. 12. Interesting.