The origin of language

WELCOME TO OUR CLASS GROUP 1: Huỳnh Thị Thanh Thúy_11128129 Đặng Thị Thúy Sương_11128089 Vũ Thị Kim Trúc_11128112 Trần Thị Mỹ Dung_11128016 NguyễnThị Lệ Hà_11128027 THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE ‘‘No thing, no doubt, more interesting than to know from historical documents the exact process by the first man began to lisp his first words, and thus to be rid for ever of all the theories on the origin of speech.’’ (M.Muller, 1874) • Anthropologists claim that humans have existed for between 1-4 million years. • Earliest written records are only 6000 years old. I. THE BEGINNING ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE  Neither can be proved or disproved given present knowledge. A. BELIEF IN DIVINE CREATURE God’s gift to humanity ?  According to Judaeo-Christiant: ‘And out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.’ Genesis 2:19 s.  Adam gave names to all living creatures. => An innate capacity to use language.  According to the Egyptians, the creator of speech was the god Thoth.  Babylonians believed the language giver was the god Nabu.  According to Hindu tradition, language comes from the goddess Sarasvati.( wife of Brahma who created the universe).  language origin => myths,customs and supersitions.  no way to ‘prove’ or‘disprove’ (the divine origin of language)=> (the existence of God.) Historical experiment by: • Egyptian pharaoh Psammetichus (664-610) new born baby in company of goats and mute shepherd. • James IV of Scotland (1473-1513): similar experiment. It was claimed that children eventually spoke Hebrew . • J.G. Becanus argued that German was the original language? Why? Because God would have used the most perfect language. • 1830, The American lexicographer Noah Webster asserted that the ‘proto-language’ must have been Chaldee (Aramaic) • 1887, Joseph Elkins maintained that ‘There is no other language which can be more reasonably assumed to be the speech first used in the world’s gray morning than can Chinese’. B. THE FIRST LANGUGE • mono-: one, single • genetic: influenced by geneses or origins. =>monogenetic: a theory of language origin that all languages originated from a single source.  For example: Tower of Babel story in Genesis, legend of the Toltecs  Many modern scholars:  The Mother Tongue Theory: a single group of Homo sapiens perhaps as early as 150 thousand years  The Out of Africa Theory: the first fully modern humans appeared in Africa. C. NATURAL EVOLUTION HYPOTHESIS 1)The "ding-dong" hypothesis.  naming objects, actions and phenomena after a recognizable sound associate=>in real life. Uses:  the first human words: type of verbal icon, a sign whose form is an exact image of its meaning:  crash became the word for thunder, boom for explosion.  Chinook Indian word for heart tun-tun,  Basque word for knife: ai-ai (literally ouch-ouch).  The problem ‘onomatopoeia’:  limited part of the vocabulary  imitative sounds differ from language to language: Ex: Russian: ba-bakh =bang, bukh= thud. 2.The ‘pooh-pooh’’ hypothesis  involuntary exclamations of dislike, hunger, pain, or pleasure,  the expression of more developed ideas and emotions ex: ha-ha-ha, wa-wa-wa .  The problem :small part of any language.  expressing sudden pain or discomfort:  Eng:ouch;  Russ. oi.;  Cherokee eee. 3.The ‘bow-bow’’ hypothesis  Uses:vocabulary developed from imitations of animal noises  Ex: Moo, bark, hiss, meow, quack-quack.  the problem:  ‘onomotopoeia’ : a limited part of the vocabulary of any language.  The linguistic renditions of animal sounds differ considerably from language to language [...]... differences 2 Language and culture? There is no inherent relation between language and culture 1 3  4  “Primitive” and “civilizable” language? there is no correlation between degree of cultural advancement and complexity and linguistic structure “Corrupt” language? Just as there are no primitive languages, there are no “corrupt” languages Languages change, but they do not decay 5 ─   ─  Theories of language. .. but they do not decay 5 ─   ─  Theories of language origin The origin of language have been advanced, but none worth taking seriously: imitation of animal cries great physical exertion were the original source of speech Neither idea has any evidence in its favor a man accquired language as the result of evolutionary changes in the structure of his mind ... hypothesis  Starting with a warning to others  Ex: Look out, Run, or Help 6 => alerting members of the tribe when some lumbering beast was approaching The "yo-he-ho" hypothesis Language developed on the basis of human cooperative efforts  language was chanting to simulate collective efforts  repeating warlike phrases to inflame the fighting spirit  The first poetry and song came from this aspect of. .. oh-ee-oh-ee; Jap bu-bu 4 .The ‘‘ta-ta’’ hypothesis Charles Darwin  Speeching:  a sort of mouth pantomime: the organs of speech => imitating the gestures of the hand  the problem: Human gestures differ from culture to culture Ex:    Cf English crossing the finger for good luck vs.Russian "fig" gesture;  nodding for yes vs for no in Turkish and Bulgarian;  knocking on wood vs spitting over the left shoulder... Lying hypothesis E.H Sturtevant since all real intentions or emotions get involuntarily expressed by gesture, look or sound, voluntary communication have been invented for lying or deceiving Using language in contrast to reality for selfish ends – was the social prompting that got language started Example: the word tree in several languages: Spanish árbol; French arbre; Slovak strom; I BASIC IDEAS Languages . “corrupt” languages. Languages change, but they do not decay. 5. Theories of language origin ─ The origin of language have been advanced, but none worth taking seriously:  imitation of animal. by geneses or origins. =>monogenetic: a theory of language origin that all languages originated from a single source.  For example: Tower of Babel story in Genesis, legend of the Toltecs  . Judaeo-Christiant: ‘And out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam