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    LINGÜÍSTICA

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    ELISABETH FERNANDEZ
    The document discusses the origins and evolution of human language. It explores several theories on how early language developed, including the "bow-wow" theory that primitive words were imitations of sounds heard in the environment. It also examines how physical adaptations like upright teeth and a lowered larynx enabled increased sound production capabilities in humans. The document notes that deaf children who acquire sign language supports the idea that language ability is innate, as they can develop language without speech.

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    LINGÜÍSTICA

    Uploaded by

    ELISABETH FERNANDEZ
    567 views2 pages
    The document discusses the origins and evolution of human language. It explores several theories on how early language developed, including the "bow-wow" theory that primitive words were imitations of sounds heard in the environment. It also examines how physical adaptations like upright teeth and a lowered larynx enabled increased sound production capabilities in humans. The document notes that deaf children who acquire sign language supports the idea that language ability is innate, as they can develop language without speech.

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    LINGUISTICA INGLES

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    The document discusses the origins and evolution of human language. It explores several theories on how early language developed, including the "bow-wow" theory that primitive words were imitations of sounds heard in the environment. It also examines how physical adaptations like upright teeth and a lowered larynx enabled increased sound production capabilities in humans. The document notes that deaf children who acquire sign language supports the idea that language ability is innate, as they can develop language without speech.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    567 views2 pages

    LINGÜÍSTICA

    Uploaded by

    ELISABETH FERNANDEZ
    The document discusses the origins and evolution of human language. It explores several theories on how early language developed, including the "bow-wow" theory that primitive words were imitations of sounds heard in the environment. It also examines how physical adaptations like upright teeth and a lowered larynx enabled increased sound production capabilities in humans. The document notes that deaf children who acquire sign language supports the idea that language ability is innate, as they can develop language without speech.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    LINGSTICA STUDY QUESTIONS (PAGE 6)

    1) With which of the four types of sources would you associate the quotation from
    Mac Neilage at the beginning of the chapter? With the BOW WOW theory.

    2) What is the basic idea behind the bow-wow theory of language origin?

    Primitive words could have been imitations of the sounds that early humans heard around
    them and all modern languages have words that are onomatopoeic in some way.

    3) Why are interjections such as Ouch! considered to be unlikely sources of human


    speech sounds?
    Interjections contain sounds that are not otherwise used in ordinary speech production.
    They are usually produced with sudden intakes of breath, which is the opposite of ordinary
    talk, produced on exhaled breath.

    4) What special features of human teeth make them useful in the production of speech
    sounds?
    Human teeth are upright, not slanting outwards like those of apes, and they are roughly
    even in height.

    5) Where is the pharynx and how did it become an important part of human sound
    production?
    The pharynx is above the larynx (or the voice box of the oral box). When the larynx moved
    lower, the pharynx became longer and acted as a resonator, resulting in increased range
    and clarity of sounds produced via the larynx.

    6) Why do you think that young deaf children who become fluent in sign language
    would be cited in support of the innateness hypothesis?
    If this deaf children do not develop speech first, then their language ability would not seem
    to depend on those physical adaptations of the teeth, larynx, etc., that are involved in
    speaking. If all children (including those born deaf) can acquire language at about the same
    time, they must be born with a special capacity to do so. The conclusion is that it must be
    innate and hence genetically determined.

    RESEARCH TASKS
    A. What is the connection between the Heimlich maneuver and the development of
    human speech?

    Is that both movements try to push air out through the lungs. The connection
    is the importance of the muscle known as the diaphram. When we use our
    diaphragm to push air out forcefully, we are able to tighten and relax our
    vocal chords to produce speech. Without this muscle, speech is not possible.
    The Heimlich maneuver is also reliant on the diaphragm muscle. When
    performing the Heimlich, you use a closed fist and open hand to push
    upwards and inwards on the diaphragm to force air out through your throat
    to expel the blockage.

    B. What exactly happened at Babel and why is it used in explanations of language


    origins?

    There was only one language throughout the earth before the Tower of

    C. The idea that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny was first proposed by Ernst
    Haeckel in 1866 and is still frequently used in discussions of language origins. Can
    you find a simpler or less technical way to express this idea?

    D. What is the connection between the innateness hypothesis, as described in this


    chapter, and the idea of a Universal Grammar?

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