- Language is complex, perpetually evolving
- Myriad of faces of language, humans are the only species to develop language
- Learn at an early age
- North east Africa à language used is close to the way it was when homosapiens first evolved
- Ideologies may contrast but language permeates these
- Nouns, verbs, adjective à rich and adaptable
- Link between language and culture
- Communication used in all species around the world
- Animal vocals linked with emotions e.g. apes
o Very little flexibility
- Apes can learn to understand sign language and symbol sequences
- Humans had to collaborate to acquire food à team work towards a common goal
o Enabled them to hunt efficiently
- Where speech comes from
o 2 letter gene difference foxP2 à2 amino acids difference between humans and chimpanzees
o 3 amino acid difference between mice and humans
- Mice with the foxP2 gene produce different squeaks to those without
- Strokes are linked with language ability
- Nurture doesn’t affect ability to speak
- Language uses most of the brain à 50-80% used in making language
- Robert Crum
o Stroke
o Unable to walk or talk
o Right hemisphere of brain paralysed
o Still able to think language but not actually able to verbalise thoughts
o Stammer produced brain to ‘re-wire’ itself
- Is language automatic or learned? à nature or nurture?
- French revolution
o Feral boy – Victor
o Unable to speak – needs to be learnt from others
o Within first 5 years
o Never learnt to talk
- Window for language acquisition à closes in early puberty
- Dr. Roy filmed son for 3 years
o 18 months phonemes
o 24 months 10 words a day
- Ruby
o 2 years old
o Siblings help with language
o 2 years 3 months – talking full sentences
- Steven Pinker
o Children acquire rules of grammar for personal thoughts
o Innovative word combinations
- 1958 – Jean Burko (wugs)
- Parental language before schooling age is essential
- Language can made up for comedy à ‘cling-on’ (star trek)
- Son learnt ‘cling-on’ successfully
- Sign language
- Cannot hear but can still communicate à visual language
- 200 variations of sign language
- Evolving signs start with a big name and an agreement is made to produce new signs
- Comical signs produce a reaction
- Adam and Eve
o Single word language
o Primary language
- Babel
o Grims founding scientific roots of language
- Grims law
o Consonants and language
o Proto Indo European (PIE)
§ 1500 years ago
o Language is what makes humans, humans
- 6000 languages spoken around the world
- English, French, Spanish, Arabic, German more used in the UN
- French and English are working languages
- Language defines who we are, our identities
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