The Origin Of Language
[In the final Part 2 of the series, we look at how languages originated.]
Have you wondered how languages might have originated and evolved over centuries? Unlike writing, spoken words do not leave a trail that tell us about their past. There are over 6,900 languages in the world today, many of which are either disappearing or are dead.
There are many stories of how languages came to be. We were fascinated as we explored these theories.
Linguists version
Language historians have tried to study current and dying languages and have come of up with some interesting theories on how languages developed. They even have unique nicknames for them.
- The Bow-Wow Theory - This idea suggests that speech arose from people imitating the sounds that things make: Bow-wow, moo, baa, etc. However, few things we talk about today have sounds associated with them, and very few of our words sound anything at all like what they mean. Could be that language moved away from how it all began!
- The Pooh-Pooh Theory - This theory believes that speech comes from the automatic vocal responses to pain, fear, surprise, or other emotions: a laugh, a shriek, a gasp. The curious thing is that plenty of animals make these kinds of sounds too, and they didn't end up with language!
- The Ding-Ding Theory - suggests that speech reflects some mystical resonance or harmony connected with things in the world.
- The Yo-he-ho Theory - believes that speech started with the rhythmic chants and grunts people used to coordinate their physical actions when they worked together.
- The Ta-Ta Theory - suggests that language came from the use of tongue and mouth gestures to mimic manual gestures. For example, saying ta-ta is like waving goodbye with your tongue.
- The La-La Theory - is an idea that speech emerged from the sounds of inspired playfulness, love, poetic sensibility, and song.
While certainly no one theory dominates over another, all of them could have played an important part in the evolution of languages and words we use today.
The power of speech is probably the single most distinguishing characteristic that differentiates us from animals. The larynx or voice box in humans evolved some 350,000 years. Since that time, considering the variety of languages, dialects sounds and syllables that are spoken today, one can only imagine that the evolution of languages must have had a fascinating history.
Here is a video that traces the similarity of languages across the world. Amazing how similar words have been modified depending on where in the world you are...
Courtesy: About.com, others
Notes
A Biblical Story
The Tower of Babel, tells the story of the children of Noah who all spoke one language and tried to build a tower? Over time, they developed different dialects and had difficulty in communicating with each other. This led to fighting and soon people speaking similar dialects moved away to different places and the tower never got built! Each felt the other was “babbling”.
Language is awesome. I agree with the Yo-he-Ho theory the most because while working you could get hurt and I grunt when I get hurt. (not just Ow) Also, many people grunt when they are working and are sweating like crazy. Maybe people caught on to these actions, but where did these actions really start? Before Language.
Rhythmic Chants come from olden days. Before Language. How do you think there is something called music.
writergirl, my dad told me that story when i was little at night! This was a great article!
I believe that in the beginning, everyone spoke the same language. then, they tried to build a tower to heaven, which made God angry. he then sent down a curse, so that everyone spoke different languages. so languages didn't evolve.
i do too. creationists always seem to be passed of as people blinded by religion.
Really? I'm not sure want I believe. But yours it good.
OK!
I AGREE WITH YOU!
It sounds like an interesting story, but to be honest, it can't be possible.
The first languages were probably not spoken, but scratched or drawn during moderately early human years. There were also most likely different languages during those times; it's very unlikely all humans spoke the same.
There are thousands of dead languages. Two of the oldest known languages are Ancient Egyptian and Sumerian, both started sometime in the BC's, and the first non-recorded languages were spoken before any civilization, I'm pretty sure. Not entirely sure when, I was too lazy to do too much research :)
The Old Testament, if I got a correct answer from the site I was on, was written in about 1400 BC? And I doubt all the stories in the Old Testament were written in that time.
(by the way, this isn't meant to attack your opinion or your beliefs or anything. Also, why was God angry the humans wanted to go to Heaven? Honest question)
first of all, the old testament was written right from the beginning. second of all they're NOT stories. third of all, if they began in 1400 b.c., then how would they be correct? i'm not trying to attack you. [i just wanted to let you know the facts from my standpoint]
because they were disobeying him, by not separating and populating the earth. also, they were being prideful, to think they could build a tower to heaven. no offense. but most of your comments on this one seem to be assumptions that you take as facts. for instance : how do you know that the first languages were drawn during the first years? if one god created the earth and all things in it, why wouldnt they speak one language. youngzine, i'm not trying to attack anyone.
Tyrn82, I did not take offense by anything you said. However, I do not believe I assumed anything, nor did I take any of the possible assumptions as fact. Did you?
And when did I say I knew that humans drew the first language? Please point this out to me, because I do not see it. What I said was it is a hypothesis of mine that that the first languages were scratched or drawn. Stating a guess is different than stating a fact.
I do not believe any sort of god created the Earth. I believe in the big bang theory. So, of course, it doesn't make much sense to me that all humans spoke one language. Since you do believe that, can you point me to evidence or proof outside of the bible and religion in general?
because they had turned against god and god is how you live. Without god you are not anything even if you think you don`t live with god you do.
LOL, okay.
Of course it can be possible. The first non-recorded languages were probably only one language. But how can we be sure if they are not recorded. That one language could have been the one language that the people spoke before the tower of Babel. It is very likely that humans all spoke the same language, because it not too long before, Noah's Flood had occurred. Noah only spoke one language. All people on earth descended from Noah, so they would all have the same language, so it is very possible.
And of course all the books of the Old Testament weren't written at the same time, just like all the books of the books of the New Testament were not written at the same time. Even if they were written at different times in different languages, it does not matter today, because it was all translated into the same language.
God was angry at the people because there is only one way to heaven, through Him. The people had turned away from Him and were trying to find their own way to heaven, so God was angry at them for turning away from Him.
I'm almost positive that there was more than one language at any time when language existed (did that make any sense?). It might be impossible for us to ever know, so I think it's a bit pointless for us to argue over that. But, like stated before, I would be willing to bet my pet rats there were a lot more languages than one before the story of the tower of Babel.
All people on Earth descended from Noah? I'm sorry, but that confuses me so much; is there any scientific basis for that?
The point I was trying to make - I don't think I made it well - was that the fact that AT LEAST two languages existed thousands of years after,(or whatever) the time of the Old Testament, which, at least to me, sort of proves that there MUST have been lots of languages before then. I mean, think about it: there have been THOUSANDS of recorded languages, but there was only one during the time of the tower of Babel? I'm sorry if it makes me sound ignorant (the whole thousands of years thing), it's hard for me to put my thoughts into words, which can lead to me not making sense. :)
Didn't the people live for nearly forever back then according to the bible? I'm still in Genesis, but I believe it said they lived for hundreds of years. If I lived that long, I'd want to get into heaven before I died.
I hope this isn't offensive, but I'm talking about science and history, not religion.
Yes everybody descended from Noah. It is actually possible, because Noah had 3 sons, and they would have had kids, who would have had kids, who would have kids etc; And also then you usually had a big-ish family.
When you say two languages at the time of the Old Testament, what time do you mean? Genesis alone is way over 100 years. Back then people lived to about nine hundred. Sorry if what I'm saying doesn't make sense, I'm a little confused about what you're asking, if you are asking anything. And also I'm not really offended when we discuss this kind of thing. I think we are just sort of, exploring the facts I guess.
That isn't possible, that everybody could have descended from one person, or even two people. It just isn't possible at all.
And I said it very confusingly, so let me try to say it better: The time that the Old Testament was A. started, or B. finished, it was around 1400 B.C. or 1500 B.C. (I couldn't get a straight answer). There are multiple languages recorded from around that time, earlier or later. So the tower of Babel really couldn't have happened. If you want to know more about languages, I can try and tell you more. And what language do you believe they spoke?
People didn't live for hundreds of years back then. At no point in time has a human ever even lived to 200 years old. I suppose it could be possible, I mean, we can't go back in time and see - but it's so unlikely it's pretty much impossible.
actually, the longest recorded time a person lived is Methuselah in the Bible.
he lived to be 969 years old! just a fun fact.
they probably spoke some ancient Hebrew.
Did you research that? It sounds very incorrect. I believe the longest-living person lived to about 110-ish.
it's in the Bible. that's all the research i need.
@ fuzzuzzle,
I'm not sure about the years the Old Testament was written in. I do know that it was written over a long period of time.
Here is what writergirl is talking about. When Noah and his family got off the Ark, God told them to be fruitful, disperse, and multiply and fill the Earth (with people). Instead, the people said that they were going to build a tall building to reach heaven, so that they would be great, and so they would have glory. And also the people did not spread out at all, they just all stayed together. That is why God was mad at them. So God made them all start speaking different languages, and then they couldn't understand each other. So they stopped building the tower, and moved to different places, with people who spoke the same languages. Also every single language was not invented then. Over time languages changed a little. That is why, for example, English, french, and Spanish are very similar. Also the tower they were building is called the tower of babel, (maybe you have heard of it), because they all
seemed to be 'babeling',
I am actually studying this right now in history.
(Also I'm not trying to attack you or anything.)
Honestly, and I mean no disrespect, but is there any proof of this?
How can one family account for the diversity found on the Earth today? Look at it biologically. If everybody is descended from Noah, then everybody on this Earth should look similar and have relatively similar genes to him. Also, during a plague, everybody would have died because they have no diversity in their genes that could cause potential resistance.
Don't get me wrong, I believe in God. But the God I believe in is kind, never gets angry, and is all-forgiving. I don't believe in a God that would get so angry at His people and put such a horrible curse on them.
Also, if you don't believe in evolution, how do you account for the way we have evolved over the past 1000 years? We have become so much more technologically advanced, more immune to diseases, and essentially more developed as a civilization.
Sorry if I sound ignorant, but I don't get what you are saying in your whole first paragraph.
God is kind, and will always forgive you if you ask him. Also the kind of angry he gets is like how your dad gets angry at you. He loves you, but sometimes we disobey, or disappoint him. And it wasn't really a curse. He didn't want them building a tower so he mixed up the languages.
I don't believe we evolved at all. We have always been the way we are. And actually I don't believe we have become more advanced.
My first paragraph is about the basics of biology. A son would look like his parents, right? This is because the parents' genes for eye color, hair, and more are passed down to the child. Now, my point is that if everybody is descended from Noah, then everybody should look like him, right? Also, my point about the plague. I'm sure you have heard of the Black Plague that struck Europe in the 1400s. 1/3 of the population died from the disease, but 2/3 survived.
This is because they had different genes. Let me explain. If everybody was descended from Noah, we would all have similar genes as him because they are passed on from one generation to another. So, if one person died from a disease, other people, having similar genes, would not have any resistance to cope with the disease. If their genes were different and varied, as Europe's population were, not everybody would die because some people would have genes that would help them resist the plague. That is my first argument.
For your last point, honestly, do you not believe that we have become more advanced in the past thousand years? We've gone from being hunter-gatherers to the most technologically advanced civilization the world has ever seen; we've gone from the plow to the car and the airplane; from the abacus to high speed calculators and computers, from none to some of the biggest advances in medicine.
He'll only forgive you if you ask him? I think a father, if you're comparing God to that, shouldn't make their child ask for forgiveness before forgiving them. Also, if God is disappointed in us when we "disobey" him, why does he allow us free will? And why aren't his rules internationally known?
And we have become more advanced since the 1500s or 1600s, I really don't see how you could deny that. And if you don't believe in evolution, how can you explain the similarities between humans and apes? Would you be able to explain how the Earth and animals got here without religion or the bible?
Again, and this goes for all my comments, I don't intend to sound mean or aggressive. I won't keep repeating that :)
Fuzzuzzle and Arjun,
Sorry I didn't answer this sooner, I have been very busy. This is probably the last thing I am going to say on this subject because I feel like this is two-sided, and I'm obviously not getting anywhere.
Fuzzuzzle- I don't think it is that big of a deal to ask God for forgiveness, but I guess that is just my personal opinion. He allows us freewill so that, basically, we aren't robots. The people who strive to please God are the ones that deserve Heaven, so we can assume he wants only those kind of people.
Arjun and Fuzzuzzle- Archaeologists have found evidence of electricity, cars or something very similar, running water, and concrete to name a few that they date back to around Bible times. And also these were not Creationists.
Humans and apes are totally different. Just because there are a couple similarities doesn't mean that we used to be apes. And of course I wouldn't be able to explain how everything got here without religion.
Arjun- I just don't get how we would all die from some plague or something. Sorry, I know I sound stupid. I will talk to my dad about it.
Yay, Arjun's back. Even though your eloquent comments make mine look bad! :)
i agree with writer girl