How Using Language Propelled the Human Species

by Dayanara Flores Gonzalez, age 16

Scientists do not know exactly how language began; however, verbal communication allowed humans to build civilizations.

Human language may have started hundreds of thousands of years ago. Scientists are not sure of the exact time humans first spoke to each other, as writing was not invented until 3200 B.C., and recording devices were not invented yet. Despite this, there are some clues that give insight into language in the past.

Humans communicate with one another to complete certain complex tasks. For example, Neanderthals, a hominid that was related to humans, used communication to bury their dead. Early humans may have created language for complex work. Scientists say that no other species can communicate the way humans do, especially in terms of working alongside nonrelatives.

Chimpanzees, the closest relative to humans, use vocal sounds to communicate with other members of their family group. Humans, on the other hand, communicate with a large number of people outside their family, so a more standardized form of communication was needed. An animal, for example, might make ten different sounds, but a human adult knows more than 20,000 words. Scientists think that early humans might have started communicating like many animals, with sounds and signals with multiple meanings.

There are two main theories that scientists have developed to explain how humans started using language to communicate. One theory says that early humans imitated the sounds in their environment to communicate specific occurrences to others. Another theory claims that the first communication between humans was through hand gestures. In both cases, humans needed to develop language in order to understand each other. As humans became more intelligent with more complex ideas, communication started to combine sounds to create sentences.

While there is no way to fully understand how language initially developed in humans, it is no question that the ability to communicate allowed for the advancement of the species and creation of more complex communities. Language is what makes us truly human.

[Sources: Discover Magazine; Universityofcalifornia.com]