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Chris Soriano
Submitted by sorchr23 on Wed, 09/26/2007 - 6:14pm.Week I
Chris Soriano
Evolving Communication Fall 2007
Seminar 1 Essay
In their writings, authors Bo Graslund and Jared Diamond argue many different cases for the evolution of language in humans. While many of their arguments seem similar, they do have strikingly different views on the onset of language in evolutionary history. Diamond says that language is what might have “triggered the Great Leap Forward”(p138) from hominid to human and that our hominid relatives likely didn’t have the same potential for innovation and intellect as Homo sapiens. Graslund claims that even Homo neandertalensis might have been capable of simple words because “the Neanderthals’ throats, air canals, and sound production do not seem to have differed much from modern humans” (p111). The source of the basic nature of our language is in our primate past, predating any great leaps but those from tree to tree.
But there are many aspects of the evolution of our ability to speak and understand language that they agree upon. As initially proposed by Noam Chomsky, both authors contend for a Universal Grammar of human languages that is a relic of the oldest language of our prehistoric ancestors. Diamond claims the only plausible answer is “the anatomical basis for spoken complex languages”(p 54) and Graslund says we are “the bearers of certain inherited basic structures for language”(p108). But the requirements for language are anatomical as well as social. The biological constraints included the placement of the larynx in the throat, the higher neurological demand for speech, and the shapes of our mouths all influenced our capacity for language. Both authors also believe that monkeys and apes potentially have a complex language yet to be deciphered. Diamond warns us “to keep an open mind on how large the vocabulary gap is between apes and humans” (p152) while Graslund chastises us for not realizing “that a brain of 400 cubic centimeters has room for considerable ability” (p128).
Evolving Communication Fall 2007
Seminar 1 Essay
In their writings, authors Bo Graslund and Jared Diamond argue many different cases for the evolution of language in humans. While many of their arguments seem similar, they do have strikingly different views on the onset of language in evolutionary history. Diamond says that language is what might have “triggered the Great Leap Forward”(p138) from hominid to human and that our hominid relatives likely didn’t have the same potential for innovation and intellect as Homo sapiens. Graslund claims that even Homo neandertalensis might have been capable of simple words because “the Neanderthals’ throats, air canals, and sound production do not seem to have differed much from modern humans” (p111). The source of the basic nature of our language is in our primate past, predating any great leaps but those from tree to tree.
But there are many aspects of the evolution of our ability to speak and understand language that they agree upon. As initially proposed by Noam Chomsky, both authors contend for a Universal Grammar of human languages that is a relic of the oldest language of our prehistoric ancestors. Diamond claims the only plausible answer is “the anatomical basis for spoken complex languages”(p 54) and Graslund says we are “the bearers of certain inherited basic structures for language”(p108). But the requirements for language are anatomical as well as social. The biological constraints included the placement of the larynx in the throat, the higher neurological demand for speech, and the shapes of our mouths all influenced our capacity for language. Both authors also believe that monkeys and apes potentially have a complex language yet to be deciphered. Diamond warns us “to keep an open mind on how large the vocabulary gap is between apes and humans” (p152) while Graslund chastises us for not realizing “that a brain of 400 cubic centimeters has room for considerable ability” (p128).
