INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE MODULE

PROF BOUYA

ASSIGNMENT
1- The origin of language
1) With which of the four types of ‘sources’ would you associate the quotation from
MacNeilage at the beginning of the chapter?

“ Chewing, licking and sucking are extremely widespread mammalian activities, which, in
terms of casual observation, have obvious similarities with speech.” MacNeilage (1998)

We could associate it to physical adaptation. We don’t usually think of speaking as similar to

chewing, licking and sucking, but, like speaking, all of these actions involve movements of the
mouth, tongue and lips in some kind of controlled way. So, perhaps this connection is not as
improbable as it first sounds. It is an example of the type of observation that can lead to
interesting speculations about the origins of spoken language. They remain, however,
speculations, not facts. We simply don’t know how language originated. In the study of
evolutionary development, there are certain physical features, best thought of as partial
adaptations, which appear to be relevant for speech. They are streamlined versions of features
found in other primates. By themselves, such features would not necessarily lead to speech
production, but they are good clues that a creature possessing such features probably has the
capacity for speech.

2) What is the basic idea behind the ‘bow-wow’ theory of language origin?

. A quite different view of the beginnings of language is based on the concept of natural
sounds. Primitive words started as imitations of the natural sounds early humans heard around
them (bow-wow theory) The imitations of sounds were then used to refer to the things
associated with the relevant sound (onomatopoeia still exist in our language today: splash,
rattle, boom, ...!)

3) Why are interjections such as Ouch! considered to be unlikely sources of human speech
sounds?
Ouch! and other interjections such as Ah!, Ooh!, Wow! or Yuck!, are usually produced with
sudden intakes of breath, which is the opposite of ordinary talk. We normally produce spoken
language on exhaled breath. Basically, the expressive noises people make in emotional
reactions contain sounds that are not otherwise used in speech production and consequently
would seem to be rather unlikely candidates as source sounds for language.

4) What special features of human teeth make them useful in the production of speech
sounds?
Human teeth are upright, not slanting outwards like those of apes, and they are roughly even
in height. Such characteristics are not very useful for ripping or tearing food and seem better
adapted for grinding and chewing. They are also very helpful in making sounds such as f or v.
 Human lips have much more intricate muscle interlacing than is found in other primates and
their resulting flexibility certainly helps in making sounds like p or b.

5) Where is the pharynx and how did it become an important part of human sound
production?
The pharynx, is situated above the vocal cords and acts as a resonator for increased range and
clarity of the sounds produced via the larynx.

6) Why do you think that young deaf children who become fluent in sign language would be
cited in support of the innateness hypothesis?

If these deaf children do not develop speech first, then their language ability would not seem
to depend on those physical adaptations of the teeth, larynx, etc. that are involved in speaking.
If all children (including those born deaf) can acquire language at about the same time, they
must be born with a special capacity to do so. The conclusion is that it must be innate and
hence genetically determined.

2- The properties of the human language

I Listed below are six other properties (or ‘design features’) which are often discussed when human
language is compared to other communication systems:

use of the vocal-auditory channel (language signals are sent using the vocal organs and received by
the ears)

specialization (language signals do not serve any other type of purpose such as breathing or feeding)

non-directionality (language signals have no inherent direction and can be picked up by anyone
within hearing, even unseen)

reflexivity the humans capacity to use language to think and talk about language itself.

rapid fade (language signals are produced and disappear quickly) reciprocity (any sender of a
language signal can also be a receiver)

prevarication (language signals can be false or used to lie or deceive)

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(i) Are these properties found in all forms of human communication via language?

(ii) Are these special properties of human language or can they be found in the communication
systems of other creatures?

These special properties of human language are Hockett's Design Features that characterize
human language and set it apart from animal communication. They were defined by linguist
Charles F. Hockett in the 1960s. He called these characteristics the design features of
language. Hockett originally believed there to be 13 design features. While primate
communication utilizes the first 9 features, the final 4 features (displacement, productivity,
 cultural transmission, and duality) are reserved for humans.[citation needed] Hockett later
added prevarication, reflexiveness, and learnability to the list as uniquely human
characteristics. He asserted that even the most basic human languages possess these 16
features.

(For background reading, see chapter 17 of O’Grady et al., 2005.)

II The most persistent criticism of the chimpanzee language-learning projects is that the chimpanzees
are simply making responses like trained animals for rewards and are consequently not using language
to express anything.

Read over the following reports and try to decide how the different behaviors of these chimpanzees
(Dar, Washoe and Moja) should be characterized. Signs are represented by words in capital letters.

After her nap, Washoe signed OUT. I was hoping for Washoe to potty herself and did not comply.
Then Washoe took my hands and put them together to make OUT and then signed OUT with her own
hands to show me how. Greg was hooting and making other sounds, to prevent Dar from falling
asleep. Dar put his fist to Greg’s lips and made kissing sounds. Greg asked WHAT WANT? and Dar
replied QUIET, placing the sign on Greg’s lips. Moja signed DOG on Ron and me and looked at our
faces, waiting for us to “woof”. After several rounds I made a “meeow” instead. Moja signed DOG
again, I repeated “meeow” again, and Moja slapped my leg harder. This went on. Finally I woofed
and Moja leapt on me and hugged me. Moja stares longingly at Dairy Queen as we drive by. Then for
a minute or more signs NO ICE CREAM many times, by shaking her head while holding fist to mouth,
index edge up.

(For background reading, see Rimpau et al., 1989, which is the source of these examples.)
Important lessons have been learned from attempts to teach chimpanzees how to use forms of
language. We have answered some questions. Were Washoe and Kanzi capable of taking part in
interaction by using a symbol system chosen by humans and not chimpanzees? The answer is
clearly “Yes”. Did Washoe and Kanzi perform linguistically on a level comparable to a human
child of the same age? The answer is just as clearly “No”.

3- THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING

I) According to Florian Coulmas, “the present distribution of scripts testifies to the close link between
writing systems and religion” (2003: 201).

Do you think that the spread of different religions (more than anything else) accounts for the different
forms of writing used in the world today? What kind of evidence would you use to argue for or against
this idea?

(For background reading, see chapter 10 of Coulmas, 2003.)

II) Pictograms may be language-independent, but they do not seem to be culture-independent. In

order to interpret many pictographic and ideographic representations, we have to be familiar with
cultural assumptions about what the symbols ‘mean’.

(i) As a simple exercise, show the twelve symbols illustrated below to some friends and ask them if
they know what each one means. (People may say they have never seen them before, but they should
be encouraged to guess.)
(ii) Next, provide them with the following list of ‘official meanings’ and ask them to decide which
symbol goes with which meaning.

(a) agitate 10 (g) registration 7

(b) blood donors 1 (h) telegrams 6

(c) dry, heat 4 (i) open door or lid 8

(d) keep frozen 2 (j) press, interview room 11

(e) lock 3 (k) protection and safety equipment5

(f) lost child 9 (l) turning basin maneuvring (boats) 12

(iii) Can you describe what kinds of cultural assumptions are involved in the interpretation of these
symbols?

(The symbols are from Ur, 1988.

I) A nineteenth-century scholar named Curtius (quoted in Aitchison, 2001) described a major goal of
historical linguistics in the following way:

A principal goal of this science is to reconstruct the full, pure forms of an original stage from the
variously disfigured and mutilated forms which are attested in the individual languages.

Do you agree that languages decay and become worse (“disfigured and mutilated”) through time?
What kind of evidence would you use to argue for or against this point of view? (For background
reading, see chapter 17 of Aitchison, 2001.)

One of the most detailed accounts of language death involves the (near) demise of Gaelic in
northern Scotland. Although it has undergone a revival in recent years and is taught as a second
language in many Scottish schools, Gaelic became a language with fewer and fewer native
speakers.

II) Using what you have learned about comparative reconstruction, try to recreate the most likely
proto-forms for these cognates (from Sihler, 2000: 140).