A study of the evolution of language by Lavanaya Bajaj
One subtopic of evolution that is under great study is the evolution of languages. Language is one of the main factors that makes us different from other living beings. While all living beings communicate in some way, with either gestures, sounds, or shrieks, only humans have languages. Language, in simple terms, is a system of spoken or written symbols that help us communicate, express and interact with our surroundings. Therefore, while all living beings communicate, only we humans speak and use a language. Thus the question remains, ‘how did languages evolve’?
One can never be certain about things that happened in the past. It is possible to use sources like documents, reports or even journals to learn about history, yet all we can do is just interpret. We can form notions and theories about what happened in the past; however, notions do not translate to facts. While scientific theories explain various processes and events, they get revised from time to time based on new developments. So it might just turn out that all we know and believe in today may be proven to be utterly false tomorrow. This emphasises how uncertain and limited our knowledge is about the evolution of our kind.
As it is quite widely known, we humans have evolved from Apes. So, it shouldn’t come as a shock that we once used the same communication medium as apes and various other branches of primates. It is speculated that the early humans initially used hand gestures or hand movements to communicate. Over time, as some neural development took place, the gestures were followed by vocal but non-verbal communications such as the aforementioned shrieks and calls. This, eventually, was followed by human speech, as we see it today. It has been suggested that the form of early humans existing a little more than two million years ago (Homo habilis) was the first species that possessed features that enabled them to use primary forms of speech. This occurred due to various developments in the vocal tracts of early humans. This, in simple terms, is how the structure of speech we see today advanced from gestures and calls.
Now, moving on to the creation of various languages in themselves. One interesting thing to be noted is that language in itself is arbitrary. Words are not something that originated with meaning; it is us humans who have given them a purpose. As our vocal tracts developed and our shrieks slowly became more articulate, we started using particular sounds for particular objects. As sounds began to be related to specific objects, situations or emotions, we gave each sound a meaning. Soon sounds started to be used to talk about certain things, and these sounds later developed into what we call words.
This is quite similar to giving someone a name. When an infant is given a name, the name has no meaning in itself. We, as a society, give it meaning by associating it with that particular child. Similarly, we have given a combination of sounds, also referred to as words, a meaning by associating them with something in particular. Moreover, during development, there was a difference in these sounds in different countries and continents. This difference created the numerous languages we see in the world today.
Isn’t it ironic how something we consider civilised and advanced today began with nothing more than gestures and cries?
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