We use language everyday; spoken, written, and expressed.
as an everyday process, yet we do not ever stop to question how language evolved. In my.
paper we will discuss the meaning of language and analyze the theories as to how language.
was born and had developed.
Language is the primary method used by humans for communication. Language.
can be spoken, written, and expressed. It lets us renter the past, explore the present, and.
travel to the future. The combination of both language and emotion is essential for.
communication. According to linguists, there are about 6,000 languages spoken in the.
world today. Language is used to express ideas and emotions, ensure survival, tell stories,.
reminisce about the past, and negotiate with one another. It is the essential source of.
communication for both humans and animals, yet without language, communication would.
still exist ("Language," Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99.). .
There are many theories and concepts that try to explain the evolution of language. .
Some say that language has developed among such mammalian primates as monkeys and.
chimpanzees. Others believe that language evolved from natural hand gestures. For.
example, when asked to describe the length of a baseball bat or what a spiral is, many.
people respond using hand gestures because that's the easier way to respond. Describing.
these elements without using your hands is quite difficult ("Communication" Microsoft.
Encarta Encyclopedia 99.).
People naturally resort to gestures when trying to communicate with people about.
sizes, shapes, directions, etc. If gestures were to be the key element in the evolution of.
language, this would explain ".how words came to represent objects and events in an.
arbitrary fashion." ( Corballis, "The Gestural Origins of Language: Freedom of Hand", .
par. 4). Theories suggesting that gestures developed language use sign language as their.
key element. In sign language, gestures convey information thoroughly, free of spoken.
