The origin of language is a complex and much-debated topic. It's generally agreed that language wasn't invented by a single person or group, but rather evolved naturally over time among early humans. This evolution likely occurred between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago³.
There are two main theories about how language developed¹:
- **Continuity theories** suggest that language evolved from earlier pre-linguistic systems among our primate ancestors due to its complexity¹.
- **Discontinuity theories** propose that language, as a unique trait which cannot be compared to anything found among non-humans, must have appeared fairly suddenly during the course of human evolution¹.
Some theories consider language mostly as an innate faculty—largely genetically encoded. Other theories regard language as a mainly cultural system—learned through social interaction¹.
As for sign language, it's believed that early humans probably used gestures and signs before spoken language. Some scientists credit mankind as the inventors of the first sign language².
It's important to note that these theories are not definitive, and the exact origins of language remain a mystery due to the lack of direct, empirical evidence¹. The study of language origins is an ongoing field of research involving linguists, archaeologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and others¹..
Source: Conversation with Bing, 1/23/2024
(1) How did language evolve? | HowStuffWorks. https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/evolution/language-evolve.htm.
(2) Origin of language - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_language.
(3) Who Invented Sign Language? | Start ASL. https://www.startasl.com/who-invented-sign-language/.
(4) When was talking invented? A language scientist explains how this .... https://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news/2022/2022-08-08-futrell-when-was-talking-invented.php.
(5) When was talking invented? A language scientist explains how this .... https://theconversation.com/when-was-talking-invented-a-language-scientist-explains-how-this-unique-feature-of-human-beings-may-have-evolved-186877.
(6) en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_language.
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