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Chapter 1

Chapter 1. The origins of Language. Four sources. The devine source Biblical tradition: (Adam’s creation and naming of creatures) Psammetichus (an Egyptian Pharoah ) and his trial 2500 years ago. Experimant of King James the fourth. The natural sound source.

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Chapter 1

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  1. Chapter 1 The origins of Language

  2. Four sources • The devine source • Biblical tradition: (Adam’s creation and naming of creatures) • Psammetichus (an Egyptian Pharoah) and his trial 2500 years ago. • Experimant of King James the fourth

  3. The natural sound source • Primitive words could have been imitations of the natural sounds which early men and women heard around them. • In English ex. Splash, rattle, bang, buzz has been called the bow wow theory (Onomatopoeic)= natural cries of of emotion such as pain, anger and joy. • Yo-he-ho theory: the sounds of a person envolved in the physical effort could be the source of our language.

  4. The physical adaptation source • Look at types of physical features humans possess instead.

  5. Characteristics of speech organs • Teeth: upright not slanted like those of apes, and they are roughly even in height • The mouth: is relatively small compared to other primates • Tongue: can shape a wide variety of sounds inside the oral cavity • The larynx: or the ‘voice box’ (containing the vocal cords) • The pharynx: it is above the vocal cords which acts as a resonator for the for increased range and clarity of the sounds produced by the larynx.

  6. The human brain • The human brain is lateralized which means that it has specialized functions in each of the two hemispheres. • Thoses functions control motor movements involved in things like speaking, and object manipulation= left hemisphere for most humans.

  7. The Genetic source • Innateness hypothesis is a linguistic theory of Language acquisition which holds that at least some linguistic knowledge exists in humans at birth. (Noam Chomsky)

  8. Home assignment and Research tasks • Study questions from 1 to 6 • Research task: Search Wikipedia for the terms innateness or innatism and tabula rasa or blank slate. Compare and contrast between both theories. Give your opinion regarding the hypothesis that you think that describes the origin of language.

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