{"id":97985,"date":"2023-04-03T13:43:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T17:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=97985"},"modified":"2023-04-07T11:16:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T15:16:32","slug":"origin-of-human-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/","title":{"rendered":"The Origin of Human Language: An Evolved Trait?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When and how did human language begin? Why did language develop in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>The Language Instinct<\/em>,<em> <\/em>experimental psychologist Steven Pinker argues that language is an innate, biological ability in humans\u2014not just an element of human culture that gets passed from person to person. He discusses the theorized origin of human language\u2014the when, the how, and the why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more to learn about the possibilities of this fascinating subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-origin-of-human-language\">The Origin of Human Language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The scientific community doesn&#8217;t provide clear answers on the origin of human language. But, Pinker believes that <strong>language is a genetic adaptation that arose from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/natural-selection-in-evolution\/\">natural selection<\/a><\/strong> in early human communities. He says that language could have started evolving four to seven million years ago, although it\u2019s unclear if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/homosapiens-and-neanderthals\/\">Neanderthals<\/a> (an extinct human subspecies) had language. Pinker suggests that random genetic variation might have enabled some humans to express themselves with more nuance than before, and then people with this skill were more likely to survive longer, reproduce, and pass on their language skills.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>The Debate on the Origin of Human Language<\/strong><br><br>To date, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discovermagazine.com\/planet-earth\/could-neanderthals-speak-the-ongoing-debate-over-neanderthal-language\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">researchers still aren\u2019t sure if Neanderthals had language<\/a> or when human languages first appeared. Some researchers argue that language only occurred when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/science\/archive\/2019\/12\/when-did-ancient-humans-start-speak\/603484\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Homo sapiens<\/em> started living in social groups<\/a> about 100,000-200,000 years ago. Others point out that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aaw3916\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">language was <em>physiologically <\/em>possible over 20 million years ago<\/a> in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/charles-darwins-tree-of-life\/\">common ancestor<\/a> of primates and humans (although the neurological ability to use language is more recent).<br><br>Unlike other aspects of ancient cultures that leave physical evidence behind (like fragments of tools), spoken languages are much harder to trace. However, some researchers are analyzing the physical capacity of Neanderthals to produce speech by examining fossils of the hyoid bone (below the lower jaw), ear ossicles, and the part of the spine that allows humans to precisely control their breathing.<br><br>These studies indicate that Neanderthals were capable of producing and hearing complex vocalizations, but this still doesn\u2019t prove that they had syntactic language (following consistent grammar and structural rules) like we have today. Neanderthals might have had the physical anatomy to produce speech and only used it to sing\u2014to soothe children or attract mates\u2014or they might have produced a more basic form of communication.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Pinker argues that language would have increased humans\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/premature-birth-chances-of-survival-at-weeks-24-26\/\">chance of survival<\/a> by allowing them to express abstract ideas and complex logic. For example, language would help people talk about where they discovered a new potential place to take shelter or warn others of danger by telling a story. Pinker also writes that language would have helped people cooperate and rally together to defeat rivals. He claims that it would have enhanced people\u2019s ability to persuade others\u2014possibly increasing political power for those who were skilled orators. Because of these advantages, natural selection continuously favored people who could express and interpret early forms of language.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Although Pinker explains how language would have benefited early human communities, he doesn\u2019t go into much detail about the evolutionary precursors to modern language. In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-mother-tongue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Mother Tongue<\/em><\/a>, Bill Bryson writes that <em>Homo sapiens <\/em>might have <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-mother-tongue\/chapter-1#origins-of-language\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">jump-started language development by using onomatopoeia<\/a>\u2014words that imitate a physical sound, like \u201cthump\u201d or \u201csmack.\u201d Like Pinker, Bryson writes that the ability to describe natural sounds to each other most likely improved <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/social-unity\/\">social cohesion<\/a>.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When and how did human language begin? Why did language develop in the first place? In The Language Instinct, experimental psychologist Steven Pinker argues that language is an innate, biological ability in humans\u2014not just an element of human culture that gets passed from person to person. He discusses the theorized origin of human language\u2014the when, the how, and the why. Read more to learn about the possibilities of this fascinating subject.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":84510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,39,160],"tags":[968],"class_list":["post-97985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-history","category-science","tag-the-language-instinct","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Origin of Human Language: An Evolved Trait? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Steven Pinker asserts that language is a genetic adaptation that arose from natural selection. Learn his view on the origin of human language.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Origin of Human Language: An Evolved Trait?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Steven Pinker asserts that language is a genetic adaptation that arose from natural selection. Learn his view on the origin of human language.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-03T17:43:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-07T15:16:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/neanderthals-prehistoric.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"The Origin of Human Language: An Evolved Trait?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-03T17:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-07T15:16:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/\"},\"wordCount\":568,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/neanderthals-prehistoric.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Language Instinct\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Communication\",\"History\",\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/\",\"name\":\"The Origin of Human Language: An Evolved Trait? - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/origin-of-human-language\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/neanderthals-prehistoric.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-03T17:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-07T15:16:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"Steven Pinker asserts that language is a genetic adaptation that arose from natural selection. 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