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The linguistic diversity of our world is incredibly vast. Currently, there are approximately 7,000 spoken languages worldwide, and only a few dozen of them are known to any single person. Up to 90% languages are spoken by fewer than 100,000 people. Dozens of other languages are officially extinct and no longer spoken.
In the modern world, we've become so accustomed to language that people create fictional languages for our amusement, like Dothraki or Klingon. In fact, there are now more people in the world who speak Klingon than Navajo, which you may know as a real language with a long history.
Given such incredible diversity and complexity, figuring out where it all began is a profound task. But it all had to start somewhere. Somewhere, someone (or several people) were the first to express an idea, to give something a recognizable name, attempting to convey what a thing, a feeling, or an idea represents.
Without the ability to travel through time, it's difficult to obtain definitive answers to this question. There are numerous disagreements in linguistics regarding a number of aspects concerning the origin and evolution of language, so we'll try to cover as much as we can while maintaining a balanced approach.
It seems entirely possible that language, like life, has a common ancestor, meaning it evolved in one place rather than several. Some believe this place is South Africa. Research has shown that the greatest number of phonemes—the smallest number of perceptible sounds in speech—is found in Africa, and the smallest in South America.
Communication between humans and animals
Many animals are capable of communication, but human language surpasses animals on several levels. We are the only species capable of expressing entire thoughts in sentences, rather than simple ideas like warnings or cries for help. Human language is compositional and can be combined in a virtually infinite number of ways to express an infinite variety of ideas.
First of all, when answering a question like this, it's important to note that we don't have a definitive answer. No one does. The question of when language emerged is much like the question of who invented fire or the wheel. It's impossible to know. And it always will be impossible to know. It's not something that waits for archaeologists to unearth it; that simply can't happen. Therefore, any assumption, no matter how well-founded and supported by research, is the best we'll ever have.
Furthermore, it's worth considering that the only person who could document the origin of language was the one who invented it, and they likely hadn't yet mastered writing. In fact, writing and speech are distinct phenomena, and although human evolution began 300,000 years ago, writing only emerged around 5,000 years ago. This differs from cave paintings and symbols, which, while close to conveying meaning and appearing only 40,000 years ago, did not yet constitute a distinct written language.
Apparently 300,000 years is the earliest age, which could be as high as 200,000 years, and this is consistent with the laryngeal descent theory, which states that our vocal apparatus evolved to its current state by providing a vocal tract capable of producing speech.
However, it's worth noting that research has shown that even some modern apes are anatomically capable of pronouncing human words. This has led some to argue that speech, or the ability to produce it, dates back to a common ancestor that existed approximately 27 million years ago. This is sharply contradicted by additional research, which dates the emergence of speech to a mere 70,000 years ago. According to this theory, before changes in geography and diet led to changes in the physical structures of the tongue in the throat and brain and the evolution of more complex speech approximately 50,000 years ago, humans communicated solely with clicking sounds.
The fact that we don't know exactly who began speaking and writing and when exactly doesn't mean we know nothing. At the very least, we have some educated guesses.
How did it all start?
Language wasn't invented like duct tape or dynamite. There was no moment of insight when someone simply started speaking. Because of its complexity, it's generally believed that the process of its evolution followed the same path as human evolution, from less advanced creatures to more advanced ones.
Our relatives, such as Neanderthals, may have begun to develop language at the same time as Homo sapiens, or even earlier. But they hadn't reached that stage in their history, so it's difficult to say for sure, and the lack of symbols or images in their fossils suggests they may not have had language.
Noam Chomsky argued that the human capacity for language is innate. Our brains are designed from birth to learn and use language. We'll explore his theories in more detail later. Incidentally, the Egyptian pharaoh Psammetichus I came to the same conclusion about 2,600 years ago.
Theories of origin
There are many theories about the origins of language. Some, and we'll explore a few of them, each with subtle differences, generally suggest that language began as noise. We began making sounds and associating those sounds with things that held meaning for us.
One of these theories, called the "mother theory," explains this quite well in simple terms. Babies begin to independently produce the sounds "mmm" and "mama." These sounds, repeated by enough people over a sufficient period of time, can become accepted and adapted to the word "mama," and eventually, for example, to the word "mother.".
Many theories, such as the "woof-woof" theory, which suggest that we imitate sounds we hear in nature, do not stand up to serious scrutiny, as very few words in any language can be explained in this way.
There are several similar and rather primitive theories about the origin of language, all of them bearing ridiculous names like "Ding-dong," "La-la," and "Puh-Puh," and none of them can adequately explain most of the elements of language.
Various theories
More complex theories of language development are based on the cooperative nature of humans. As a species, we are inclined to cooperate and understand each other. This has led to the theory that language may have evolved from gestures and pantomime. Infants and monkeys still use similar behaviors: pointing to objects and attempting to express their thoughts.
As an example of how these gestures and movements contribute to the development of language, in this case sign language, which then evolves into spoken language, we can see cases where profoundly deaf communities spontaneously create their own sign languages for communication.
According to this theory, language is not an innate quality, but is based on cooperative social interaction, which doesn't even require speech or writing. Everything else emerges later and is passed down from generation to generation within the context of culture.
Some of these theories attempt to clarify the distinction between signs and symbols, which are integral parts of language. A sign has a clear, easily understood meaning. The stop sign very clearly conveys the idea of "stop." In the modern world, the smiley face is a clear sign denoting happiness.
A symbol is a more abstract concept that can change depending on the context. Words are basic symbols we all understand. The word "hot" can change depending on the context. It can denote heat, attractiveness, popularity, or the fact that something has been stolen.
Simplistic theories of language attempt to explain how signs and symbols evolved into language, but in many cases they fall short. For example, the Winnie-the-Pooh theory suggests that language originated from interjections, like when you cry out "ouch!" after being hurt. However, such a theory struggles to explain words like "narcissist" or "insecure.".
Evolution of rituals and speech
The coevolution of ritual and speech is another, more complex theory of human language evolution. It is believed that the earliest forms of humans benefited from gathering to engage in rituals and group behavior, which benefited them all. As with animals, particularly other apes, communication was initially accomplished through gestures.
It was the continued grouping of early humans, participation in various rituals, and attribution of meaning to their gestures and symbols that may have contributed to the development of language within the group, turning it into a common concept understood by many and therefore transmittable to others outside the original group.
One way in which we, unlike apes with a limited range of vocalizations and meanings, could have evolved speech is through trust. Apes, like any other animal, typically have a limited number of vocalizations indicating stress, fear, hunger, surprise, and so on. These sounds are generally impossible to fake. Humans, on the other hand, are capable of deception and have reason to doubt one another. But trust within a group allows early humans to alleviate any potential fears and believe that they agree on the shared meaning of a broader range of things.
Tools and language
One of the most original theories of language development is also linked to the development of tools. In its simplest form, this theory boils down to the idea that humans developed the ability to make tools and needed a way to communicate with each other about what they were making, so language arose out of necessity. In other words, someone invented an axe and wanted to tell their friends what it was for and how they made it. Again, this is a simplified explanation, but that's the gist of the theory.
More complex interpretations of the theory have challenged the idea that toolmaking was part of human brain evolution and development, and that manual practice is linked to language development. Neuroscience agrees that the language regions of the brain are also partially used for non-language functions, including tool use. Thus, there is a potential connection between the growth and development of both brain regions.
Chomsky and Universal Grammar
We mentioned Noam Chomsky earlier. In 1957, he proposed that all people are born with an innate understanding of how language works. This was in stark contrast to the prevailing theories of language development and acquisition at the time. He believed that regardless of the language we learn, we are capable of learning it because our brains are genetically programmed to do so. We are born to understand communication in any form.
This concept has been more or less accepted by most linguists for half a century. Its basic arguments for universal grammar are compelling. Most languages are decomposable into parts, such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives. They are recursive, meaning we can endlessly build one linguistic structure into another, like adding adjectives to describe a noun in a sentence. Furthermore, they are easily learned by children. These features are observed across all cultures.
More recent research has cast doubt on Chomsky's theories. Linguists and cognitive scientists have studied how children acquire language, and their findings contradict Chomsky's theories. Children use methods that are not unique to language, such as classifying objects they encounter into different categories, which helps them develop an understanding of language.
What conclusion can we draw from this discussion among linguists? That the origin of language is indeed very difficult to determine.
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