Chapter 1 The origins of language
We simply don’t know how language originated. We suspect that some type of spoken
language must have been developed between 100.000 and 50.000 years ago, well before
written language (about 5.000 years ago).
The divine source
In the biblical tradition, as described in the book of Genesis, God created Adam and
“whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name therefore.” In most
religions, there appears to be a divine source who provides humans with language. The basic
hypothesis seems to have been that, if human infants were allowed to grow up without
hearing any language around them, then they would spontaneously begin using the original
God-given language.
Problem: they don’t know what the original language is…
The natural sound source
The human auditory system is already functioning before birth (at around seven months).
That early processing capacity develops into an ability to identify sounds in the environment,
allowing humans to make a connection between a sound and the thing producing that
sound.
The “Bow-wow” theory
The early human tried to imitate natural sounds (like animal noises) and then used them to
refer to those objects even when they weren’t present. The fact that all modern languages
have some words with pronunciations that seem to echo naturally occurring sounds could be
used to support this theory. Words that sound similar to the noises they describe are
examples of onomatopoeia.
Examples in English: cuckoo, splash, bang, boom, rattle, buzz, hiss, screech and bow-wow
Problem: where did names for the thousands of naturally noiseless concepts come from?
The “Pooh-pooh” theory
Speech developed from the instinctive sounds people make in emotional circumstances. The
original sounds of language ay have come from the natural cries of emotion such as pain
anger and joy.
Examples are interjections: ouch, ah, ooh, phew, wow or yuck.
Problem: these sounds are highly language specific and usually produced with sudden
intakes of breath, which is the opposite of ordinary talk.
The social interaction source
(Natural sounds proposal): with a little help from my friends.
The “yo-he-ho” theory places the development of human language in a social context and
states that language is originated in the need to coordinate physical effort.
,Problem: It does not reveal the origins of the sounds produced. Apes and other primates live
in social groups and use grunts and social calls, but they have not developed the capacity for
speech.
The physical adaption source
Some of the physical aspects of humans that make the production of speech possible or
easier are not shared with other creatures:
- Posture & throat: bipedalism (= upright and on two feet) brought changes to the
human skull and the vocal tract. The shape of the vocal tract (pharynx) and a larynx
(“voice box”) positioned relatively low in the neck which are necessary prerequisites
for many sounds humans make, particularly vowels. Problem: risk of choking
- Face: some of the physical aspects of humans that make the production of speech
possible or easier.
The teeth are upright, even in height and small
The lips have much more intricate muscle interlacing and their resulting in flexibility
helps making sounds.
The mouth is small, can be opened and closed rapidly, part of an extended vocal tract
that has an L-shape.
The tongue is shorter, thicker and more muscular that can be used to shape a wide
variety of sounds inside the oral cavity, humans can close off the airway through the
nose to create more air pressure in the mouth.
Babies develop physically to enable use of language.
The tool-making source
The human brain is lateralised with specialised functions in each of the two hemispheres.
Tool-making and language-using abilities seem to be originally connected. Using tools
requires organisation, similar to language structure.
(Those functions that control the motor movements involved in complex vocalisation
(speaking) and object manipulation (make or using tools) are very close to each other in the
left hemisphere. The patterns of blood flow to specific parts of the brain were very similar,
suggesting that aspects of structure of language may have developed through the same
brain circuits established earlier for two-handed stone tool creation.)
The genetic source
The innateness hypothesis: humans are born with a special capacity for language. Given the
right circumstances, all people acquire language. Development is language independent,
even independent of physical abilities (sign language). Are we born with a “language gene”?
Check your knowledge
Theory Description/keyword
1. The divine source a. “Pooh-pooh” theory
2. The natural source: imitation of natural b. Shape and characteristics of face and
sounds larynx & pharynx
3. The natural source: natural cries of c. “whatsoever Adam called a living
emotion creature that was the name thereof”
, 4. The social interaction source d. Lateralised brain
5. The physical adaption source e. “Bow-wow” theory
6. The tool making source f. innateness hypothesis
7. the genetic source g. “yo-he-ho” theory
Answers: 1c, 2e, 3a, 4g, 5b, 6d, gf
Chapter 5 Word formation
Neologisms
We can very quickly understand a new word, a neologism, and accept the use of different
forms of that new word in the language. This ability must derive in part from the fact that
there is a lot of regularity in the word-formation process in a language.
Etymology
The study of the origin and history of a word is known as its etymology.
Borrowing
One of the most common sources of new words in English is the process simply labelled
borrowing, that is, the taking over of words from other languages. Examples from the
book:
Dope (Dutch) Piano (Italian) Tattoo (Tahitian)
Jewel (French) Pretzel (German) Tycoon (Japanese
Glitzy (Yiddish) Ski (Norwegian) Yoghurt (Turkish)
Lilac (Persian) Sofa (Arabic) Zebra (Bantu)
Loan-translation
A special type of borrowing is described as loan-translation or calque. In this process, there
is direct translation of the elements of a word into the borrowing language. Examples from
the book:
Skyscraper Gratte-ciel Wolkenkrabber wolkenkratzer
English French Dutch German
German: Übermensch – superman, lehnwort – loanword
Spanish; el momento de la verdad – moment of truth
Chinese: male friend (nan pengyu) – boyfriend
Compounding
The combining process of two separate words to produce a single from is known as
compounding.
Common English compounds are;
- noun + noun: bookcase, doorknob, fingerprint, sunburn, textbook, wallpaper, wastebasket
and waterbed.
- compound adjectives: good-looking, low-paid
