Edinilson Luís Salé

THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE

Licenciatura em Ensino de Inglês

Universidade Unirovuma
Niassa
2020
 Edinilson Luís Salé

The origin of language

Work elaborated in the chair

of General Linguistic for the
department of the language
science with the Teacher: Dr.
Janete Azizi

Universidade Unirovuma
Niassa
2020
INDEX
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................4
THE DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HUMAN LANGUAGE
AND ANIMAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS.......................................................5
THE PRIMACY OF SPEECH OVER WRITTEN........................................................5
MISMATCH BETWEEN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN
FORMS..........................................................................................................................6
THE NATURAL-SOUND SOURCE............................................................................7
Pooh-pooh theory...........................................................................................................7
Yo-heave-ho theory.......................................................................................................8
The Ding-Dong Theory.................................................................................................8
The La-La Theory..........................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................9
BIBLIOGRAPH...........................................................................................................10
INTRODUCTION
In present work, we’ll talk about the differences and similarities between human
language and animal communication systems and some different sources, theories such
as, and more important things to learn, and the objective of this work is to let clear some
points and give us some knowledge about language, to this we have to pay attention on
reading
THE DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HUMAN LANGUAGE
AND ANIMAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
Human language is an acquired language because it results from a learning
process that lasts for several years and supposes integration in a socio-cultural group,
the first of which is the family. Human language is the result of a cultural heritage.
Language becomes more specific through language, which is the maximum expression
of a culture. Thus, human language is learned, generative, creative, symbolic and
abstract, since it refers not only to things present, but also to things absent. It is an
unlimited language that can express almost everything (desires, emotions, thoughts,
etc.). It is extremely variable because each country has its own language and also has
regional variations. Language is not just a means of communication for human beings:
it is the horizon within which a culture is born and lives. Language is a potential that
exists in each individual. On the other hand, animals communicate thanks to a system
of signs, whose repertoire is unique to each species. Animal language is innate, limited,
since it is limited to articulated sounds, it does not exceed the level of the concrete and
the immediate, it only expresses the basic needs of food and reproduction. As
intelligent as the animal is to communicate, they only have their natural and instinctual
means. The different sounds reflect the genesis of animal language as products of
nature. Language is present as a social object.

On the contrary, human language would have been a natural product of man's activity
and a faculty for human adaptation to social needs, so man invented diverse sign
systems, which allow him to communicate according to the circumstances that suit him
most: oral language, written, gestural or pictorial. Through music, dance, mime, flags,
smoke signals or Morse it is possible to communicate.

THE PRIMACY OF SPEECH OVER WRITTEN

Speech is the primary way in which linguistic information is communicated

between people. There are only two ways of linguistic communication that are natural
(biological, independent of culture): speech and sign (among the congenitally deaf and
in some hunter-gatherer societies). Of these, speech is more widespread. In history: for
most of human history, writing did not exist. Writing is a comparatively recent social
invention. In world society: languages with established writing systems are numerically
a small minority. Most languages are unwritten (or were until this century). In human
development: children without disabilities acquire speech as a natural human function,
e.g. like walking or eating. It does not require explicit instruction, is biologically pre-
programmed, and is achieved to an equal degree of mastery by everyone (though some
become more eloquent in what they have to say than others!). In the development of
literary languages: a literary language is a socially established forms of what was, at an
earlier stage, merely one spoken dialect among many. In quantity of activity: most
linguistic activity is in the spoken medium. Indeed, even among literate people, writing
is a relatively rare activity.

MISMATCH BETWEEN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SPOKEN AND

WRITTEN FORMS
Written and spoken language differ in many ways. However some forms of
writing are closer to speech than others, and vice versa. Below are some of the ways in
which these two forms of language differ:

Writing is usually permanent and written texts cannot usually be changed once they
have been printed/written out. Speech is usually transient, unless recorded, and
speakers can correct themselves and change their utterances as they go along.

A written text can communicate across time and space for as long as the particular
language and writing system is still understood. Speech is usually used for immediate
interactions.

Written language tends to be more complex and intricate than speech with longer
sentences and many subordinate clauses. The punctuation and layout of written texts
also have no spoken equivalent. However some forms of written language, such as
instant messages and email, are closer to spoken language. Spoken language tends to
be full of repetitions, incomplete sentences, corrections and interruptions, with the
exception of formal speeches and other scripted forms of speech, such as news reports
and scripts for plays and films.

Writers receive no immediate feedback from their readers, except in computer-based

communication. Therefore they cannot rely on context to clarify things so there is
more need to explain things clearly and unambiguously than in speech, except in
written correspondence between people who know one another well. Speech is usually
a dynamic interaction between two or more people. Context and shared knowledge
play a major role, so it is possible to leave much unsaid or indirectly implied.
Writers can make use of punctuation, headings, layout, colors and other graphical
effects in their written texts. Such things are not available in speech. Speech can use
timing, tone, volume, and timbre to add emotional context.

Written material can be read repeatedly and closely analyzed, and notes can be made
on the writing surface. Only recorded speech can be used in this way.

Some grammatical constructions are only used in writing, as are some kinds of
vocabulary, such as some complex chemical and legal terms. Some types of
vocabulary are used only or mainly in speech. These include slang expressions, and
tags like y'know, like, etc.

THE NATURAL-SOUND SOURCE

One theory concerning the development of language is the natural-sound
source theory which is based on the process of onomatopoeia. The basic idea of this
theory is that early primitive words could have been imitations of natural sounds which
were heard by the first humans and echoed to mimic the sounds of the world around
them. This theory can be subdivided in several different concepts:

Bow-wow theory

One version of a natural-sound source is the so called bow-wow theory. The idea

behind this theory is that the first humans imitated animal sounds in order to refer to a
certain animal. So when the first humans heard a bird making a tweet-sound they could
have imitated that sound to tell one of their fellows „Hey, a bird just flew by.

Unfortunately this theory only works to a limited extent as it becomes quite difficult to
imitate the sound of a rock, a tree or a cave. The bow-wow theory does not adequately
explain the creation of words for inanimate or soundless objects nor does it explain how
grammar or syntax developed. The bow-wow theory seems to assume that a language is
only based on a set of words naming objects, therefore it is not considered to be a
complete explanation for the origin of language.

Pooh-pooh theory
Another version of language developing from natural sounds is provided by
the pooh-pooh theory. According to this hypothesis, the first words developed from
natural cries of emotion made by the first humans. Exclamations of joy, anger, pain or
surprise such as Ouch!, Ah!, Wow! or Hey! might have been the very first utterances of
our ancestors.

But like the bow-wow theory this is also just an assumption and a rather restricted
explanation for the origins of language. Emotional expressions such as Ah! are mostly
produced with sudden intakes of breath and happen rather unintentionally. The
expressive noises people make as an emotional reaction can hardly be considered as
words and are therefore unlikely to be the source of language.

Yo-heave-ho theory
According to this hypothesis, language arose in rhythmic chants and vocalisms
uttered by people involved in communal labour. The first humans might have developed
a set of various grunts or calls that were uttered in a certain rythmic order to provide a
group with instructions. Those „work songs“ would have to match the rhythm of the
work that had to be done, „yo-heave-ho“ for example could have been used when a
group of humans was trying to lift something up.

Although it’s an interesting idea it does not explain the origins of the sounds that were
produced. It is uncertain from this hypothesis how meanings came to be associated with
the calls uttered by the workers.

The Ding-Dong Theory

This theory, favored by Plato and Pythagoras, maintains that speech arose in
response to the essential qualities of objects in the environment. The original sounds
people made were supposedly in harmony with the world around them. What's wrong
with this theory? Apart from some rare instances of sound symbolism, there's no
persuasive evidence, in any language, of an innate connection between sound and
meaning.

The La-La Theory

The Danish linguist Otto Jespersen suggested that language may have developed from
sounds associated with love, play, and (especially) song. What's wrong with this theory?
As David Crystal notes in How Language Works (Penguin, 2005), this theory still fails
to account for "the gap between the emotional and the rational aspects of speech
expression."
CONCLUSION
For this point, how I know the work was talking about the natural-sound
source, the primacy of speech over written and so on, I understood that, to know why do
we get speaking is so difficult, because there isn’t just one source to talk about it, there
are so many sources attiring about it, that’s why we have to understand some theories
and get a conclusion.
BIBLIOGRAPH
YULE, George. The Study of Language. 3rd edition, Cambridge. C. U. P. 2006, Pp 01-
03
YULE, George. The study of language. 4th edition, Cambridge: 2010, PP 01-04
Wikipedia.google