Language and Cultures - Ori-

gins of Language

Overviews:
No one knows exactly when or how human beings came up with spo-
ken language. 0 One hypothesis is that language began between 100,000
and 50,000 years ago, with the advent of modern man, i.e., homo sapiens.
© This is well before the invention of the written language, about 5,000
years ago. We have direct evidence and artifacts about writing,

1. Accounts on the Origin of language

Language - comes from Middle English: from Old French langue, based
on Latin lingua ‘tongue’. So, language is a symbolic, rule-driven system of con-
ventional signs employed for purposes of communication, self-expression, rep-
resentation, thinking and manipulation of concepts, definition of the world and
reality, storage and transmission of knowledge, establishing and maintaining
of social relations, creating and participating in group identities, incorporating
new members into an existing group, marking boundaries with or excluding
other individuals or groups, and the creative

and receptive transformation of the world. In addition, language is a system of

symbols, with several levels of the organization, at least phonetics (the sounds),
syntax (the grammar), and semantics (the meanings).

Noam Chomsky (1957) defines the term ‘language ’ as:

“Language is a set of finite number sentences, each finite in length and con-
structed out of a finite set of elements”

John Algeo (The Origins and Development of the English Language) defines
language as:
“A Language is a system of conventional vocal signs by means of which hu-
man beings communicate. This definition has several important terms, each of
which is examined in some detail in the following sections. Those terms are
system, signs, vocal, conventional, human, and communicate.”

Bernard Campbell states flatly in Humankind Emerging (Allyn & Bacon, 2005),
“We simply do not know, and never will, how or when language began.” It is
hard to imagine a cultural phenomenon that is more important than the origin

of language.

Where do you think language comes from?

A. The divine source: Human language is a gift from God, In the biblical tradi-
tion, as described in the book of Genesis, God created Adam and “whatsoever
Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof”.
1. Christianity:
> In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God (John 1:
> And out of the ground the Lord God 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)
> And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all
one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will
be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go
to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that
they may not understand one another speech. So, the Lord
scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the
earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore, is the name
of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the lan-
guage of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter
them abroad upon the face of all the earth (Genesis 11:7- 9)
2. Hinduism
> There grew in the centre of the earth the wonderful ‘world tree,”
or ‘knowledge tree ’. It was so tall that it reached almost to
heaven. It said in its heart, I shall hold my head in heaven and
spread my branches over all the earth, and gather all men to-
gether under my shadow, and protect them, and prevent them
from separating ’. But Brahma, the creator-god, to punish the
pride of the tree, cut off its branches and cast them down on
the earth, when they sprang up as wata trees, and made differ-
ences of belief and speech and customs to prevail on the earth,
to disperse men upon its surface.

3. The Americas
> The Aztecs’ belief maintains that a great flood occurs and only
a man, Coxcox, and a woman, Xochiquetzal, survive, having
floated on a piece of bark. They find themselves on land and be-
get many children who are at first born unable to spealk, but
subsequently, upon the arrival of a dOve, are endowed with lan-
guage, although each one is given a different speech such that
they cannot understand one another.

4. Africa
> The Wa-Sania, a Bantu people of East African origin, have a

tale that in the beginning, the peoples of the earth knew only
one language, but during a severe famine, a madness struck

the people, causing them to wander in all directions, jabbering

strange words, and this is how different languages came about.

Although, some believe that language is a divine gift given to

humans by God, others argue that language is simply the prod-
uct of many years of natural selection (invented by Max Muller
and George Romanes a century ago.)
1. First, there are four Invention or imitation theory
(an idea or explanation of something that is based
on a few known facts but that has not yet been
proved to be true or correct). that hold that lan-
guage began through some sort of human mimicry.
(The action or skill of being able to copy the voice,
movements, etc.) of naturally occurring sounds or
movements.
2. Physical Adaptation origins, (this theory associ—
ated with the quotation of Macneilage at the begin-
ning of this assignment). in which, physical fea-
tures humans possess, especially those that are
distinct from other creatures, may have been able
to support speech production. In the study of evolu-
tionary development, there are certain physical ad-
aptations, which appear to be relevant for speech
such teeth and lips, mouth and tongue etc. Human
teeth are upright, not slanting and outwards like
those of apes, and they are roughly even in height.
Such characteristics are not very useful for ripping
or tearing food and seem better adapted for grind-
ing and chewing. They are also very helpful making
sounds such as for v. Human lips have more intri-
cate muscle interlacing than is found in other pri-
mates and their resulting flexibility certainly helps
in making sounds like p or b. The human mouth is
relatively small compared to rapidly, and contains a
smaller, thicker and more muscular tongue which
can be used to shape a wide variety of sounds in-
side the oral cavity.

Various Theories of the Origins of Language

1. The Ding-Dong theory or Invention /Imitation theory or Na-
tivistic theory or the Natural sound.

4 Some people, including the famous linguist

MAX MULLER, have pointed out that it is a
theory that harmony with natural environ
ment created the need for language, and
sound and meaning are innately connected
through nature. While it is true that there
are some examples of “sound symbols” (for
example, words in English associated with
light and quick), studies have not been able
to prove an innate connection between sound
and the meaning of a word.

4 The problem with this theory is that one-

matopoeia (imitation of sound), is a very
limited part of the vocabulary of any lan-
guage; imitative sounds differ from language
to language: as Russian: ba-bakh=bang,
bukh= thud. Even if onomatopoeia provides
the first dozen or words, then where did
names for the thousands of naturally noise-
less concepts such as rock, sun, sky, or love
come from?

2. The Pooh-Pooh theory or Invention/Imitation theory or In-

terjectional theory or the natural sound,

4 The “pooh-pooh ” theory holds that speech

comes from the automatic vocal responses
to pain (“Ouch!”), fear, surprise (“Oh!”), or
other emotions (“Yabba dabba do!’
laugh, a shriek, a gasp eventually leading to
the expression of more developed ideas and
emotions. But plenty of animals make these
kinds of sounds too, and they didn’t end up
with language. In this case, the first word
would have been an involuntary ha-ha-ha,
wa-wa-wet, These begin to be used to name
the actions which caused these sounds.

4 The problem with this theory is that no

language contains very many interjections,
and, DAVID CRYSTAL points out, “the
clicks, intakes of breath, and other noises
which are used in this way bear little re-
lationship to the vowels and consonants
found in phonology.” So, exclamations,
like most words are symbols, showing at least a partially arbitrary relationship betwe e n so und and me a n ing .
The Bow-Wow theory or Invention/Imitation theory or Echoic theory or the natural sound.
4 Ac c o r d i n g to th i s th e o r y (t h e m o s t fa m o u s and therefore the most ridiculed hypothesis (synonymous word for theory)),
language bega n wh e n an y o n e an c e s t o r s st a r t e d im i t a t i n g t h e na t u r a l s o u n d s a r o u n d t h e m . T h e first speech was
onomato poeic or ech oism - ma r k e d by ec h o i c wo r d s su c h as m o o , meow, splash, cuck oo, an d bang.
4 The pro b le m wit h th is th e o ry is th a t re la ti v el y fe w wo r d s ar e ono m a to po e i c, and these words vary from one language
to an other. For example, a dog's bark is heard as au-au in Brazil, ham-ham in Albania, and svang-wang in China. In addition,
many onom atop o eic word s are of re cen t orig in , and no t a l l a r e de r i v e d fr o m na t u r a l so u n d s . Th us, th e hum a n
inte rp r e ta ti on of an im a l so u n d s is de p e n de n t upo n th e in div idua l language, and it seems unlikely than entire
vocabularies derive from them.
The Ta-Ta or Chew-Chew theory or Invention/Imitation theory or Oral Gesture or the natural sound or the toolmaking.
4 SIR RICHARD PAGET, influenced by CHARLES DARWIN, believes that words aro s e fr o m a de s i r e to im it a t e ge s t u r e s
vi s the use of the tongue and mouth. For exam ple, saying ta-ta is like waving goodbye with

belonging (I 'm wit h yo u ! ) . one may also cry out in fear, anger, or hurt (h e l p me ! ) . this is more commonly called the
contact theory.
9. The Mam a the ory .
1 Language began with the easiest syllables attached to the most significant object. For example, when a child speaks
first time in his fam i ly or so c ie ty , he pr o n o u nc e s a wo r d m a m a , although he does not know about its meaning.

2. Semiotics or sign language

A. Semiotics
Also called semiology, the study of signs and sign-using behavior.
It was defined by one of its founders, the Swiss linguist FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE, as the study of "the life of signs
within society."
It is an in ve st iga tio n in to how me a n in g is cr e ated and how meaning is communicated. Its origins lie in the academic
study of how signs and symbols (visual and linguistic) create meaning.
It is a vary of seeing the world, and of unders t a n d i n g ho w t h e l a n d s c a p e a n d c u l t u r e i n which we live has a massive
impact on all of us unconsciously.
Model of Semiotic Theory

• De s cr ipt io n - wit hin th e co n t ex t of Be rg e r an d Luckman's (1966) grand theory of social con structionism, the ST
model consist of three concepts:
The sign - is composed of both the fo r m it ta k e s in ph y s i c a l re a l it y (called a signifier) and how it is conceived or
interpreted by its viewer (th e sig n ified) . A sign must have both; it is the intergraded whole tat results from the
combination of the signifier and what is signified (Saussure , 1983 ). A sign can be man i fes te d in ma n y wa ys, in c luding
sounds, smells, and body language.
The context - refers to those aspects in a conversation or interaction that provide relevant and specific mean ing to the
particular exchange that is occurring. This enables the recipient in th i s e x c h a n g e to m a k e pr o p e r se n s e of th e
in te r a c t io n an d de r i v e th e in ten de d mean in g from it. (Bowcher, 2018).
T h e m e a n i n g - i s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between the recipient of a sign an d th e i r pe r s o na l ex p e r i e nc e of th e world around
them. This means that meaning is created when the recipient makes sense of the sign by con necting an d interacting with
their surrounding reality.
• A constru ct - refers to th e re la tion ship betwe en the sign, the context, and the meaning, Peirce,18 7 3 de s c r i be d th a t
in v o lv e s si g n s , in c l u di n g the production of meaning. Within the context of th e se m i ot i c s mod e l abo ve , se m i o s i s
de s c r i be s the int e r p la y and in te r a c t io n be t w e e n th e con cepts of sign, context, and meaning.
• The pre position that sign s th at conv ey pre cise context can trigger appropriate responses from an inten ded recipient.

3. Icon, index, symptom, signal, and symbol

A. SEBEOK'S SIX SIGNS, 1976.
Icon - a sign is said to be iconic when there is a topological similarity between a signifier and its denotata.
Index - a sign is said to be indexic insofar as its signifier is contiguous with its signified, or is a sample of it.
Symptom - is a co mpulsive, automatic, non arbitrary sign, such that the sig nifier is coupled with the signified in the
manner of a natural link.
Signal - when a sign token mechanically or conventionally triggers some reaction on the part of a receiver, it is said to
function as a signal.
Symbol - a sign without either similarity or contiguity, but only with a conventional link be t w e e n it s si gn i f ie r an d it s
de n o t a t a , an d with an intentional class for its designatum.
Name - a sign which has an extensional class for its designatum.
4. Sign languages (finger spelling, filipino sign language, other means of sign language, etc.)

Sign lang ua ge - any mea ns of com mu nic atio n th roug h bod il y m o v e m e n t s , e s p e c i a l l y of th e ha n d s an d ar m s , us e d

when spoken communication is impossible or not desirable. Th e pra c tic e is prob a bly ol d er th an sp e e ch. Si gn la ngu age
may be as coarsely expressed as mere grimaces, shrugs, or pointing; or it may employ a delicately nuanced combination
of coded manual signals reinforced by facial expression and pe r ha ps aug m e nt e d by wo r d s sp e l l e d ou t in a ma nu a l
al phabet.
Finger spelling - is the representation of the letters and numerical of a writing system using only the hands. In
finger-spelling, distinct hand and finger arrangements and move me nt s ar e us e d to re pr e s e n t al ph a b e ts and nu m b e r .
Wh a t is Fi l i p i n o Si g n La n g u a g e ?
N a t u r a l s i g n l a n g u a g e o f Fi l i p i n o d e a f .
Indigenous sign language especially of deaf adult communities.

5. Theories in language and culture

A. Sapir-Whorf hypotheses
4 The Sap i r- Whor f the o ry , nam e d af te r th e American linguist Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, is mold theory
of language,
Sa pir (19 29 ) - human bein gs do no t liv e in th e society alone. Language of the society predispose certain choices of
interpretation how we view the world.
Wh o r f (1 9 3 0 s ) - we d i s s e c t n a t u r e al o n g li n e s laid down by our native languages. We categories objects in the scheme
laid by the language and if
we do not subscribe to this classification we can no t talk or co mmunicate.

2 principles:
1. Linguistic determinism• language may determine our thinking patterns, the way we view and think abo ut th e wor l d .
Li ng ui s t i c de te r m i n i s m is als o called strong determinism.
a. Advantages:
Language does exert great influence on patterns of thinking and therefore on culture.
Language may reinforce certain ideas and push them into atten tion.

2 . Linguistic relativity: the less similar the languages more diverse their conceptualization of the world; different languages
view the world differently.
a. Advantages:
There can be differences in the sematic associations of concepts.
Encoding of life experience in language is not exclusively accessible to everyone but only to remembers of that social
group.
Linguistic structure doesn't cons t r a i n w h a t p e o p l e t h i n k bu t only influence what they rou tinely think.
Language reflects cultural preoccupations.
B. Ethnopoetics - is a method of recording text versions of oral poetry or narrative performances (verbal lore) that uses
poetic lines, verses, and stanzas (instead of prose paragraphs) to capture the formal, poetic performance elements which
would otherwise be lost in the line written texts.
3 phenomena:
Poetic language.
A social group.
The individual.
Ethnopoetic poetry - the writing of poetry inspired by distant reaches of the world sample should be included at the outset
of ethnopoetic theorizing. It is the alpha of maximally intuitive and emotional synthesis versus the omega of objective
criticism and analysis.
Ethnopoetics translation - the translation harvest or often hunting an d gathering, or just poaching, ac celerated greatly
during the 19th century partly as a result of massive contact with native American, AM-can, Asian, and Near Eastern
literartures, both written and oral, within the ideologies of Western Romanticism.
Linguistic ethopoetics or linguapoetics. Linguistic ethnopoetics is extended into many fields and comes in many forms
and is by no ,eans limited to what is labeled or self-labelled as ethnopoetics.

C. Oral gestures by Paget

1 Th e or a l - ge s t u r e th e or y pr o po s e s an ex tremely specific connection between physical an d oral gesture. It is claimed
that origin ally a set of physical gestures was developed as a means of communication. It is propo sed by Ricard Paget (1930).
1 Then a set of oral gestures, specifically in volving the mouth, developed, in which the movement of the tongue, lips and
so on were re c o g n i z e d ac c or d i ng to pa t t e r n s of mo ve men t similar to physical gestures.