The Origin of Language

The origin of language is hidden in the depths of antiquity. Man’s search for the origin of language is deeply rooted. His inquiring spirits were driven by a desire to discover the entire history of language. The irony is that the question is a fruitless one. Each generation asks the same questions, and reaches the same impasse — the absence or any evidence relating to the matter, given the vast, distant time-scale involved. We have no direct knowledge of the origins and early development of language, nor it is easy to imagine how such knowledge might ever be obtained. We can only speculate, arrive at our own conclusions, and remain dissatisfied. Indeed, so dissatisfied was one group the 19^th-century scholars that they took a drastic action. In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris published an edict banning discussion of the topic at their meetings. But the theorizing continues, and these days there is a revival of interest, as new archaeological finds and modern techniques of analysis provide fresh hints of what may once have been.

One of the best-known reports concerns the Egyptian king, Psamtik I, who reigned in the 7^th century B.C. According to the Greek historian, Herodotus, Psamtik wished to find out which of all the peoples of the world was the most ancient. His way of de­termining this was to discover the oldest language that, he thought, would be evidence of the oldest race. This is how Herodotus tells the story, — “He gave two newly born babies of ordinary men to a shepherd, to nurture among his flocks in a special way. He charged him that none should utter any speech before them, but they should live by themselves in a solitary habitation; and at the due hours the shepherd should bring goats to them, and give them their fill of milk, and perform the other things needful.

For after the shepherd had wrought thus for a space of two years, when he opened the door and entered in, both the babes fell down before him, and cried becos, and stretched out their hands. When this word was oftentimes spoken as he came to care for them, he told his lord, and brought the children into his presence when he com­manded. And when Psamtik had also heard it, he enquired which nation called anything becos; and enquiring, he found out the Phrygians called bread by this name. Thus the Egyptians, guided by this sign, confessed that the Phrygians were elder than they”.

Phrygian is now extinct, but at the time it was spoken in an area corresponding to the northwestern part of modern Turkey.

Psamtik’s conclusion was wrong, for we know from philological studies that Phrygian is but one of several languages, which had developed in that period of history. So why did the children say becos? Doubtless they had begun to babble naturally and repeti­tively to each other, in a similar way to twins. Some commenta­tors have even suggested that they were imitating the sound of the goats.

Whether the Psamtik experiment ever took place is open to question. Possibly the origins of the story lie in a fiction invented by someone to discredit the Egyptians. But whatever the reality, the initiative credited to Psamtik has been paralleled later. At least two similar experiments have been reported — though, again, there are doubts as to their authenticity.

It was the German scientist Wilhelm Wundt in the nineteenth century (1832–1920) who prepared the ground for a classification of theories of the origin of language. He distinguished between theories of invention and imitation, miraculous and evolutionary theories. Since his time, the problem of the chronological sequence of the two forms of language, phonetic and gestural, have occu­pied a special place in theories of origin of language.

In recent years serious attempts have been made to see if modern science can throw any light on the question of the origins of language. The study of the formation and development of hu­man language, in both the child and the race, is sometimes called glosso-genetics. Such investigations involve biology (especially sociobiology), anthropology, psychology, semiotics, neurology (for the study of brain evolution), primatology, and linguistics.

(Levitsky A.E. Linguistics / A.E. Levitsky, Slavova L.L.,

Borisenko N.D. – Київ: Знання України, 2006. – С. 20 – 22.)

2. Read the text again and answer the questions. Substantiate your ideas using the information from the text. Discuss the questions in pairs.

1. Do we have any direct knowledge of the origins and early development of language?

2. What drastic action did the Linguistic Society of Paris take in 1866? What were the reasons for it?

3. What provides fresh hints of what may once have been?

4. What is one of the best-known legends about the origins of language?

5. Why was Psamtik’s conclusion wrong?

6. Who prepared the ground for a classification of theories of the origin of language in 19^th century?

7. What theories did he distinguish between?

8. What is glosso-genetics?

VOCABULARY

Task 1. Find these words and expressions in the text. Explain their meaning in English. Then look them up in the dictionary to check their translation if necessary. Give an example of the situation in which these words and phrases can be used.

Impasse, to speculate, drastic action, edict, to nurture, to utter, solitary habitation, wrought, to babble.

Task 2. Match each word from the text with its synonym. Make up sentences with the words from the text.

a) impasse	1) violent
b) to speculate	2) to bring-up
c) drastic	3) deadlock
d) edict	4) proclamation
e) to nurture	5) to think
f) to utter	6) to prattle
g) solitary	7) succession
h) sequence	8) lonely
i) to babble	9) to pronounce
j) revival	10) trustworthiness
k) to enquire	11) rebirth
l) authenticity	12) to ask

Task 3. Fill each gap with one word. Then re-read the text if necessary.

1. Man’s search for the origin of language is________________.

2. Each generation asks the same questions, and reaches the same ___________— the absence or any evidence.

3. One of the best-known reports concerns the Egyptian king, Psamtik I, who __________ in the 7^th century B.C.

4. He charged him that none should _________any speech before them, but they should live by themselves in a _________________.

5. ___________is now extinct, but at the time it was spoken in an area corresponding to the northwestern part of modern Turkey.

6. It was the German scientist _______________in the nineteenth century (1832–1920) who prepared the ground for a classification of theories of the origin of language.

7. He distinguished between theories of __________and__________, __________and ___________theories.

8. The study of the formation and development of hu­man language, in both the child and the race, is sometimes called ________________.

WRITING

Read the beginning part of the text “The Functions of Language” below and write a summary of it. While writing, remember that a summary should be organized so that others can understand the source or evaluate your comprehension of it. The following format works well:

The introduction (usually one paragraph)

1. Contains a one-sentence thesis statement that sums up the main point of the source. This thesis statement is not your main point; it is the main point of your source. Usually, though, you have to write this statement rather than quote it from the source text. It is a one-sentence summary of the entire text that your essay summarizes.

2. Also introduces the text to be summarized:

· Gives the title of the source (following the citation guidelines of whatever style sheet you are using).

· Provides the name of the author of the source.

· Sometimes also provides pertinent background information about the author of the source or about the text to be summarized.

· The introduction should not offer your own opinions or evaluation of the text you are summarizing.

The main body of a summary (one or more paragraphs)

In your summary, be sure that you:

· Include importantdata but omit minor points.

· Include one or more of the author’s examples or illustrations (these will bring your summary to life).

· Do not include your own ideas, illustrations, metaphors, or interpretations. You are simply repeating what the source text says, in fewer words and in your own words. But the fact that you are using your own words does not mean that you are including your own ideas.

When you have summarized the source text, your summary essay is finished. Do not add your own concluding paragraph unless your teacher specifically tells you.

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