v.

i-

• Study questions that you can use to check if you have understood some of the main
points and important terms introduced during that chapter
• Tasks that extend the topics covered in the chapter, mostly through exercises in data
analysis, with examples from English and a wide range of other languages
• Discussion topics/projects that offer opportunities to consider some of the more
general, sometimes controversial, language-related topics and to develop your own
opinions on issues involving language
• Further reading suggestions provided to help you find more detailed treatments of all
the topics covered in that chapter

The origins of this book can be traced to introductory courses on language taught at the
University of Edinburgh, the University of Minnesota and Louisiana State University, and to
the suggestions and criticisms of hundreds of students who forced me to present what 1 had to
say in a way they could understand. An early version of the written material was developed
for Independent Study students at the University of Minnesota. Later versions have had the
benefit of expert advice from a lot of teachers working with diverse groups in different
situations. 1 am particularly indebted to Professor Hugh Buckingham, Louisiana State
University, for sharing his expertise and enthusiasm over many years as a colleague and The first person to set foot on the continent of Australia was a woman named Warramurrungunji. She
friend. I must also acknowledge the support of the excellent production team at Cambridge emerged from the sea onto an island off northern Australia, and then headed inland, creating children
University Press, with special thanks to Andrew Winnard, Charlie Howell and Jane Adams. and putting each one in a specific place. As she moved across the landscape, Warramurrungunji told
For feedback and advice in the preparation of recent editions of the book, I would like to each child, "I am putting you here. This is the language you should talk! This is your language'"

thank Jean Aitchison (University of Oxford), Linda Blanton (University of New Orleans),
Erard (2016)
Karen Currie (Federal University of Espiritu Santo), Mary Anna Dimitrakopoulos (Indiana
University, South Bend), Thomas Field (University of Maryland, Baltimore), Anthony Fox This origin story from the Iwaidja people of Australia, illustrated in the painting above,
(University of Leeds), Agustinus Gianto (Pontifical Biblical Institute), Gordon Gibson offers an explanation of not only where language came from, but also why there are so
(University of Paisley), Katinka Hammerich (University of Hawai'i), Raymond Hickey many different languages. Among the English-speaking people, there have been multiple

(Essen University), Richard Hirsch (Linkoping University), Mohammed Hosseini-Maasum attempts to provide a comparable explanation, but not much proof to support any of them.
Instead of a belief in a single mythical earth mother, we have a variety of possible beliefs, all
(University of Copenhagen), Fiona Joseph (University of Wolverhampton), Eliza Kitis
fairly speculative.
(Aristotle University), Mairead MacLeod, Terrie Mathis (California State University,
We simply don't have a definitive answer to the question of how language originated. We
Northridge), Megan Melangon (Georgia College), Stephen Matthews (University of
do know that the ability to produce sound and simple vocal patterning (a hum versus a grunt,
Hong Kong), Robyn Najar (Flinders University), Eric Nelson (University of Minnesota), for example) appears to be in an ancient part of the brain that we share with all vertebrates,
Mana Overstreet, Jens Reinke (Christian Albrechts Universitat zu Kiel), Philip Riley including fish, frogs, birds and other mammals. But that isn't human language.
(Universite de Nancy 2), Rick Santos (Fresno City College), Joanne Scheibman (Old We suspect that some type of spoken language must have developed between 100,000 and
Dominion University), Robert Sinclair, Royal Skousen (Brigham Young University), 50,000 years ago, well before written language (about 5,000 years ago). Yet, among the
traces of earlier periods of life on earth, we never find any direct evidence or artifacts relating
Michael Stubbs (Universitat Trier), Mary Talbot (University of Sunderland), Sherman
to the speech of our distant ancestors that might tell us how language was back in the early
Wilcox (University of New Mexico) and Jay Yule.
stages, hence the multiple speculations. Closest to the Iwaidja story are tales of gods blessing
For my own introductory course, 1 remain indebted to Willie and Annie Yule, and, for
humans with the power of language.
my continuing enlightenment, to Maryann Overstreet.
 The Natural Sound Source

2 The Origins of Language

The Natural Sound Source

The Divine Source
A quite different view of the beginnings of language is based on the concept of natural
In the biblical tradition, as described in the book of Genesis, God created Ada and sounds. The human auditory system is already functioning before birth (at around seven
"whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name the of. months). That early processing capacity develops into an ability to identify sounds in the
Alternatively, following a Hindu tradition, it is Sarasvati, wife of Brahma, who is credited environment, allowing humans to make a connection between a sound and the thing
with bringing language to humanity. In most religions, there appears to be a divine sc urce producing that sound. This leads to the idea that primitive words derive from imitations of
who provides humans with language. In an attempt to rediscover this original divine
the natural sounds that early men and women heard around them. Among several
language, a few experiments have been carried out, with rather conflicting results 1 he nicknames that he invented to talk about the origins of speect\, Jespersen (1922) called
basic hypothesis seems to have been that, if human infants were allowed to grow up
this idea the "bow-wow" theory.
without hearing any language around them, then they would spontaneously begin i -ing
the original God-given language. The "Bow-Wow" Theory
The Greek writer Herodotus reported the story of an Egyptian pharaoh named In this scenario, when different objects flew by, making a caw-caw or coo-coo sound, the
Psammetichus (or Psamtik) who tried the experiment with two newborn babies more early human tried to imitate the sounds and then used them to refer to those objects even
than 2,500 years ago. After two years of isolation except for the company of goats and when they weren't present. The fact that all modern languages have some words with
a mute shepherd, the children were reported to have spontaneously uttered, not an pronunciations that seem to echo naturally occurring sounds could be used to support this
Egyptian word, but something that was identified as the Phrygian word bekos, meaning theory. In English, in addition to cuckoo, we have splash, bang, boom, rattle, buzz, hiss,
"bread." The pharaoh concluded that Phrygian, an older language spoken in part of what
screech and of course bow-wow.
is modern Turkey, must be the original language. That seems very unlikely. The children Words that sound similar to the noises they describe are examples ot onomatopeia.
may not have picked up this "word" from any human source, but as several commentators While a number of words in any language are onomatopoeic, it is hard to see how most of
have pointed out, they must have heard what the goats were saying. (First remove the -kos the soundless things (e.g. "low branch") as well as abstract concepts (e.g. "truth") could
ending, which was added in the Greek version of the story, then pronounce be- as you have been referred to in a language that simply echoed natural sounds. We might also be
would the English word bed without -d at the end. Can you hear a goat?) rather skeptical about a view that seems to assume that a language is only a set of words
King James the Fourth of Scotland carried out a similar experiment around the year 1500
used as "names" for things.
and the children were reported to have spontaneously started speaking Hebrew, confirm­
ing the king's belief that Hebrew had indeed been the language of the Garden of Eden. The "Pooh-Pooh" Theory
About a century later, the Mogul emperor Akbar the Great also arranged for newborn
Another of Jespersen's nicknames was the "pooh-pooh" theory, which proposed that
babies to be raised in silence, only to find that the children produced no speech at all. It is
speech developed from the instinctive sounds people make in emotional circumstances.
unfortunate that Akbar's result is more in line with the real-world outcome for children
That is, the original sounds of language may have come from natural cries of emotion such
who have been discovered living in isolation, without coming into contact with human
as pain, anger and joy. By this route, presumably, Ouch! came to have its painful
speech. Very young children living without access to human language in their early years
connotations. But Ouch! and other interjections such as Ah!, Ooh!, Phew!, Wow! or
grow up with no language at all. This was true of Victor, the wild boy of Aveyron in France,
Yuck! are usually produced with sudden intakes of breath, which is the opposite of
discovered near the end of the eighteenth century, and also of Genie, an American child
ordinary talk. We normally produce spoken language as we breathe out, so we speak
whose special life circumstances came to light in the 1970s (see Chapter 12). From this
while we exhale, not inhale. In other words, the expressive noises people make in
type of evidence, there is no "spontaneous" language. If human language did emanate
emotional reactions contain sounds that are not otherwise used in speech production
from a divine source, we have no way of reconstructing that original language, especially
and consequently would seem to be rather unlikely candidates as source sounds tor
given the events in a place called BabelJ*because the Lord did there confound the
language.
language of all the earth," as described in Genesis (11:9).
 The Physical Adaptation Source

4 The Origins of Language

The Social Interaction Source

The Musical Source
A source that Jespersen (1922) nicknamed the "yo-he-ho" theory involves the utterance of
Part of the problem with the discussion of natural sounds is the assumption that thi were sounds in physical effort, or more specifically, the sounds needed to coordinate a physical
used to create "words." However, before we utter words, we can produce a wide range of activity involving several people. So groups of early humans might have developed not
sounds that aren't word forms at all. Let's go back to the observation that human infants just songs, but some distinct grunts and curses that were used when lifting and carrying
can process sounds early on, and then soon begin to produce sounds in a way tha may
large bits of trees or lifeless hairy mammoths.
provide some clues to how language developed. There is a prolonged period in early infant The appeal of this proposal is that it places the development of human language in
development during which adults and infants interact via single sounds then through a social context. Early people must have lived in groups, if only because larger groups
more extended sound sequences as the child uses intonation as a means of non-verbal offered better protection from attack. Groups are necessarily social organizations and, to
communication. For some scholars, this is consistent with the idea that musical ability maintain those organizations, some form of communication is required, even if it is just
developed before the ability to create words. One famous scholar, Charles Darwin, made grunts and curses. Sounds, then, would have some principled use in the social interaction
the following proposal in 1871: of early human groups. This is an important idea involving the uses of humanly produced

The suspicion does not appear improbable that the progenitors of man, either the males sounds It does not, however, reveal the origins of the sounds produced. Apes and other

or females, or both sexes, before they acquired the power of expressing their mutual primates live in social groups and use grunts and social calls, but they have not developed

love in articulate language, endeavored to charm each other with musical notes and the capacity for speech.

rhythm.

The idea that early humans spent their time trying "to charm each other" may not match The Physical Adaptation Source
the typical image that we have of our early ancestors as rather rough characters wearing Instead of looking at types of sounds as the source of human speech, we can look at the
animal skins and certainly not very charming. However, setting "charm" aside, we do have types of physical features humans possess, especially those that may have supported
evidence that intonation, and hence the ability to create melody, develops in the human speech production. We can start with the observation that, at an early stage, our
infant before other aspects of language. We might say that our first musical instrument was ancestors made a major transition to an upright posture, with bi-pedal fon two feet)
the human voice, or more specifically, control of the vibration of the vocal folds. Control of locomotion. This really changed how we breathe. Among four-legged creatures, the
the respiratory system to produce extended sound was also required. rhythm of breathing is closely linked to the rhythm of walking, resulting in a one
Studies of newborn infants have found that they can recognize the intonation of their pace - one breath relationship. Among two-legged creatures, the rhythm of breathing
mother's voice and orient to that voice more than any other. They also show a preterence is not tied to the rhythm of walking, allowing long articulations on outgoing breath, with
for the intonation of their mother's language, even when spoken by others. These obser­ short in-breaths. It has been calculated that "human breathing while speaking is about
vations suggest that early humans may indeed have learned and used melody to express 90% exhalation with only about 10% of time saved for quick in-breaths" (Hurford, 2014:
themselves before they added words to their songs. However, other creatures, from
83)
songbirds to humpback whales, also produce songs. We have to wonder what prompted Other physical changes have been found. The reconstructed vocal tract of a Neanderthal
humans to go beyond melody and develop a more elaborated means of interacting with man from around 60,000 years ago suggests that some consonant-like sound distinctions
each other. One motivation may have been the need to cooperate. were possible. Around 35,000 years ago we start to find features in fossilized skeletal
structures that resemble those of modern humans. In the study of evolutionary develop­
ment, there are certain physical features that are streamlined versions of features found in
other primates. By themselves, such features would not guarantee speech, but they are
good clues that a creature with such features probably has the capacity for speech.
 The Tool-Making Source

6 The Origins of Language

Teeth and Lips The Tool -Making Source

Human teeth are upright, not slanting outwards like those of apes, and they are ghly In the physical adaptation view, one function (producing speech sounds) must have been
even in height. They are also much smaller. Such characteristics are not very useful for superimposed on existing anatomical features (teeth, lips) previously used for other
ripping or tearing food and seem better adapted for grinding and chewing. They a e also purposes (chewing, sucking). A similar development is believed to have taken place
very helpful in making sounds such as for v. Human lips have much more intricate scle with human hands and some believe that manual gestures may have been a precursor
interlacing than is found in other primates and their resulting flexibility certainly helps in of language. By about two million years ago, there is evidence that humans had developed
making sounds like p, b and m. In fact, the b and m sounds are the most widely attested in preferential right-handedness and had become capable of making stone tools. Tool mak­
the vocalizations made by human infants during their first year, no matter which lai lage ing, or the outcome of manipulating objects and changing them using both hands, is
their parents are using. evidence of a brain at work.

Mouth and Tongue The Human Brain

The human mouth is relatively small compared to other primates and can be opem and The human brain is not only large relative to human body size, it is also lateralized, that
closed rapidly. It is also part of an extended vocal tract that has more of an L-shape the the is, it has specialized functions in each of the two hemispheres. (More details are presented
straight path from front to back in other mammals. In contrast to the fairly thin flat to :gue in Chapter 12.) Those functions that control the motor movements involved in complex
of other large primates, humans have a shorter, thicker and more muscular tongue t h an vocalization (speaking) and object manipulation (making or using tools) are very close to
be used to shape a wide variety of sounds inside the oral cavity. In addition, unlike 'her each other in the left hemisphere of the brain. That is, the area of the motor cortex that
primates, humans can close off the airway through the nose to create more air pressure in controls the muscles of the arms and hands is next to the articulatory muscles of the face,
the mouth. The overall effect of these small differences taken together is a face with more jaw and tongue. It may be that there was an evolutionary connection between the
intricate muscle interlacing in the lips and mouth, capable of a wider range of shapes and language-using and tool-using abilities of humans and that both were involved in the
a more rapid and powerful delivery of sounds produced through these different shapes. development of the speaking brain.
A recent study kept track of specific activity in the brains of experienced stonecutters as
Larynx and Pharynx they crafted a stone tool, using a technique known to have existed for 500,000 years. The
The human larynx or "voice box" (containing the vocal folds) differs significantly in researchers also measured the brain activity of the same individuals when they were asked
position from the larynx of other primates such as monkeys. In the course of human to think (silently) of particular words. The patterns of blood flow to specific parts ot the
physical development, the assumption of anupright posture moved the head more directly brain were very similar, suggesting that aspects of the structure of language may have
above the spinal column and the larynx dropped to a lower position. This created a longer developed through the same brain circuits established earlier for two-handed stone tool
cavity called the pharynx, above the vocal folds, which acts as a resonator for increased creation.
range and clarity of the sounds produced via the larynx. Other primates have almost no If we think in terms of the most basic process involved in primitive tool-making, it is not
pharynx. One unfortunate consequence of this development is that the lower position of enough to be able to grasp one rock (make one sound); the human must also bring another
the human larynx makes it much more possible for the human to choke on pieces of food. rock (other sounds) into contact with the first in order to develop a tool. In terms of
Monkeys may not be able to use their larynx to produce speech sounds, but they do not language structure, the human may have first developed a naming ability by consistently
suffer from the problem of getting food stuck in their windpipe. In evolutionary terms, using one type of noise (e.g. bEEr). The crucial additional step was to bring another
there must have been a big advantage in getting this extra vocal power (i.e. a larger range specific noise (e.g. gOOd) into combination with the first to build a complex message
of sounds) to outweigh the potential disadvantage from an increased risk of choking to {bEEr gOOd). Several thousand years of development later, humans have honed this
death. message-building capacity to a point where, on Saturdays, watching a football game,
they can drink a sustaining beverage and proclaim This beer is good. As far as we know,
other primates are not doing this.
 Tasks

8 The Origins of Language

Study Questions
The Genetic Source
1 When did written language develop?
We can think of the human baby in its first few years as a living example oi some lese
physical changes taking place. At birth, the baby's brain is only a quarter of its ual 2 When can we say the human auditory system has begun working?
weight and the larynx is much higher in the throat, allowing babies, like chimpa:;. es, to 3 What did Darwin think early human communication was first based on?
breathe and drink at the same time. In a relatively short period of time, the 1 rynx
4 What two things did early humans need to take control of in order to produce
descends, the brain develops, the child assumes an upright posture and starts wa king
intonation?
and talking.
This almost automatic set of developments and the complexity of the young id s 5 What percentage of human breathing while speaking normally consists of m-breaths?
language have led some scholars to look for something more powerful than small physical
6 What is the difference between the position of the larynx in humans and other
adaptations over time as the source of language. Even children who are born deal t do
primates?
not develop speech) become fluent sign language users, given appropriate circumst,. ces,
very early in life. This seems to indicate that human offspring are born with a special 7 Why are interjections such as Ooh! or Yuck! considered to be unlikely sources of

capacity for language. It is innate, no other creature seems to have it and it is not t >i to human speech sounds?
only one specific variety of language. Is it possible that this language capacity is genetically 8 What is the basic idea behind the "bow-wow" theory of language origin?
hard-wired in the newborn human?
9 Why is it difficult to agree with Psammetichus that Phrygian must have been the

The Innateness Hypothesis _ original human language?

As a solution to the puzzle of the origins of language, the innateness hypothesis 10 Where is the pharynx and how did it become an important part of human sound
would seem to point to something in human genetics, possibly a crucial mutation or production?
two, as the source. In the study of human development, a number of gene mutations
11 Why do you think that young deaf children who become fluent in sign language
have been identified that relate to changes in the human diet, especially those result­
would be cited in support of the innateness hypothesis?
ing in an increase in calorie intake, possibly tied to the ability to digest starch in food
and a substantial increase in glucose production. These changes are believed to have 12 With which of the seven "sources" would you associate the following quotation?
enhanced blood flow in the brain, creating the conditions for a bigger and more
Chewing, licking and sucking are extremely widespread mammalian activities,
complex brain to develop. We are not sure when these genetic changes might have which, in terms of casual observation, have obvious similarities with speech.
taken place or how they might relate to the physical adaptations described earlier.
(MacNeilage, 1998)
However, as we consider this hypothesis, we find our speculations about the origins of
language moving away from fossil evidence or the physical source of basic human
sounds toward analogies with how computers work (e.g. being pre-programmed or Tasks
hard-wired) and concepts taken from the study of biology and genetics. The investiga­
tion of the origins of language then turns into a search for the special "language gene A What is the connection between the Heimlich maneuver and the development of
that only humans possess. In one of the tasks at the end of this chapter (Task G on human speech?
page 10), you can investigate the background to the discovery of one particular gene B What exactly happened at Babel and why is it used in explanations ot language
(FOXP2) that is thought to have a role in language production.
origins?
If we are indeed the only creatures with this special capacity for language, then will it be
completely impossible for any other creature to produce or understand language? We will C What are the arguments for and against a teleological explanation ot the origins ot

try to answer that question in Chapter 2. human language?

 Further Reading

10 The Origins of Language

D The Danish linguist Otto Jespersen, who gave us the terms "bow-wow" and ooh- Further Reading
pooh" for theories about language origins, dismissed both of these ideas in l. or of
another theory. What explanation did Jespersen (1922, chapter 21) favor as tli kely Basic Treatments
origin of early speech? Aitchison, J. (2000) The Seeds of Speech (Canto edition) Cambridge University Press
Hurford, J. (2014) The Origins of Language Oxford University Press
E In the study of the relationship between brain, tools and language in human de\ lop-
Kenneally, C. (2007) The First Word Viking Press
ment, two distinct types of stone tools are typically mentioned. They are descri! d as
Oldowan tools and Acheulean tools. What is the difference between them, when ere More Detailed Treatments
they used, and which of them was investigated in the recent study involving ood Beaken, M. (2011) The Making of Language (2nd edition) Dunedin Academic Press
McMahon, A. and R. McMahon (2013) Evolutionary Linguistics Cambridge University Press
flow in the brain, as described in the chapter?

F The idea that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" was first proposed by Ernst H. kel Human Physical Development

in 1866 and is still frequently used in discussions of language origins. Can yot :nd Harari, Y. (2015) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Harper Collins

a simpler or less technical way to express this idea?

Onomatopoeia
G When it was first identified, the FOXP2 gene was hailed as the "language gene. iat Haiman, J. (2018) Ideophones and the Evolution of Language Cambridge University Press

was the basis of this claim and how has it been modified?
Music before Language
H In his analysis of the beginnings of human language, William Foley comes to he Mithen, S. (2006) The Singing Neanderthals Harvard University Press
conclusion that "language as we understand it was born about 200,000 years ago" Patel, A. (2008) Music, Language and the Brain Oxford University Press
(1997: 73). This is substantially earlier than the dates (between 100,000 and 50,000
A Hum Versus a Grunt
years ago) that other scholars have proposed. What kinds of evidence and arguments
Bass. A., E. Gilland and R. Baker (2008) "Evolutionary origins for social vocalization in a vertebrate
are typically presented in order to choose a particular date "when language was born"?
hindbrain-spinal compartment" Science 321 (July 18): 417-421
1 What is the connection between the innateness hypothesis, as described in this
Victor, Genie and Feral Children
chapter, and the idea of a Universal Grammar?
Lane, H. (1976) The Wild Boy of Aveyron Harvard University Press
Newton, M. (2002) Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children Picador

Discussion Topics/Projects Rymer, R. (1993) Genie HarperCollins

"Bow-Wow" Theory, etc.

I In this chapter we didn't address the issue of whether language has developed as part Jespersen, O. (1922) Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin George Allen & Unwin
of our general cognitive abilities or whether it has evolved as a separate component
that can exist independently (and is unrelated to intelligence, for example). What kind The Early Sounds Made by Infants

of evidence do you think would be needed to resolve this question? Locke, J. (1983) Phonological Acquisition and Change Academic Press

(For background reading, see chapter 4 of Aitchison, 2000.) Mother's Intonation

Mampe, B„ A. Friederici, A. Christophe and K. Wermke (2009) "Newborns* cry melody is shaped by
II A connection has been proposed between language, tool-using and right-handedness
their native language" Current Biology 19: 1994-1997
in the majority of humans. Is it possible that freedom to use the hands, after assuming
McGilchrist, 1. (2009) The Master and His Emissary (chapter 3) Yale University Press
an upright bipedal posture, resulted in certain skills that led to the development of Vaneechoutte, M. and J. Sloyles (1998) "The memetic origin of language: modern humans as
language? Why did we assume an upright posture? What kind of changes must have
musical primates" Journal ofMemetics 2: 84-117
taken place in our hands?

(For background reading, see Beaken, 2011.)