1 SOME THEORIES ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE: The Natural Sound Theory (ONOMATOPOPIC): It means echo in natural sound

as caw caw sound, cuckoo coo coo sound, splash, bowwow, rattle, buzz, hiss, screech etc gave birth to the language. This theory is also called bowwow theory. Some people say that language originated out of the natural cries of emotion such as; pain, anger, enjoy having Ah! Hey! Wow Yuch! It is by the sudden intake of air, so it is opposite to the natural or ordinary talk. Another hypothesis of natural source theory is called YO-HEAVE-HO theory. It means that sounds come out of mans mouth while he is busy in some kind of physical effort. So group of men used to grunt, groan or swear in the same rhythmic style, there came sound system. So language has the social context and interaction but the objection is that the apes do grunt for social call but they do not have the ability to speak. The Oral Gesture Theory: It shows a link between physical gestures and orally produced sounds. It does seem reasonable that physical gestures involving a whole body could have been a means of indicating a wide range of emotional status and intentions. Indeed many of our physical gestures are the means of non-verbal communication skill developed by modern humans even with the developed linguistics skills. The oral gesture theory however proposes an extremely specific connection between physical and oral gesture. It is claimed that originally a set of physical gestures was developed as a means of communication then a set of oral gestures, specifically involving mouth, developed in which the movements of tongue, lips and so on are involved. Glosso Genetics Approach: This theory focuses mainly on the biological basis of the formation and development of the human language. There is a concentration one some of the physical aspects of the humans that are not shared by any other creature. It starts with the observation that at some early stage, our human ancestors made the transition to an upright posture with bipedal

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2 locomotion and a revised role for the front legs. The effects of this change can be seen in the physical differences between the skulls of the gorilla and that of Neanderthal man from around 60000 B.C. the reconstructed vocal track of the Naendarthal suggest that some consonant sounds distinctions could have been possible. We have to wait until about 35000 B.C for reconstruction of fossilized skeletal structures to begin to resemble to those of modern humans. But the objection is there that such partial adaptations would not leave to produced a developed sound system so abruptly. Physiological Adaptation Theory: Human are upright not slanting outwards like that of apes, and they are roughly even in height. Such characteristics are not needed for eating but they are extremely helpful in making sounds such as; F, B, V, Th. Human lips have much more intricate muscles in the lacing than is found in any other primates and their resulting flexibility certainly helps with sounds like; p, b, v the human mouth is relatively small and can be opened and closed rapidly. It contains a very flexible tongue to have a wide variety of sounds. There are larynx, pharynx, vocal cords, and wind pipe and so on in a systematic way in order to produce sounds. Such adaptations are positively missing ought in different forms in the other species. The human brain is lateralized that is it has specialized functions in each of the two hemispheres. The left side of brain is actually productive and active part and most presumably, the language center in our body. This part has specific constructions for language productions, analysis and transmition. Here building, coding and decoding of messages do happen. Interactions and Transactions: In developing speech humans have obviously incorporated versions of naturally occurring sounds, physical gestures and physiological adaptations. But the rare thing is the manipulation of the language in social context which we make all interactional functional. It is the way how humans use language to interact with each other. Another major function of language is transactional one that is why humans use their linguistics abilities to communicate knowledge skill and information. We consider cave dwelling ancestors just having broils, grunts, howls, fierce and so on. But actually they have the transmition of message and information to their juniors by speech. By its nature, speech is transient. The desire for a more permanent record of what was known must have been the primary motivation for the development of marking and prints through different way and thus evolving writing skill.

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3 In conclusion we can say that the fact of matter is that language is a unique human trait, all attempts to shed light on the evolution of human language have failed due to the lack of knowledge regarding the origin any language. And it is also due to the lack of an animal that posses any transitional form of communication. The truth however is that evolutionists can only speculate as to the origin of language. Evolutionist Cal Zimmer summed it up when he wrote: No one knows about the exact chronology of this evolution, because language leaves few precious traces on the human skeleton. The voice box is flimsy piece of cartilage that rots away. It is suspended from a slender C shape bone called hyoid but the ravages of time usually destroy the hyoid too. LANGUAGE AN INTRODUCTION: Language is a vital tool. Not only it is a means of communicating thoughts and ideas, but it focuses friendships, cultural ties and economic relationships. That is why it is said that: Language is the currency with which we exchange ideas, thus, language is the single, greatest skill an individual can, and should master Language is complex and constantly evolving. Throughout history, many have reflected on the importance of language. For instance, the scholar Benjamin Whorf has noted that: Language shapes thoughts and emotions, determining ones perception of reality. John Stuart Mill said: Language is the light of mind. According to the linguist Edward Sapir: Language is not only a vehicle for the expression of thoughts, perceptions, sentiments and values characteristic of a community; it also represents a fundamental expression of social identity.

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4 It is composed of alphabets and words. Words are not just representations of things that are concrete. Words are much more powerful that when in the hands of we, the humans. Indeed, we have the propensity to want to talk about things that are abstract, intangible, unthought-of of and not even in existence. We, the humans like to talk about everything, and as you know, we are a gregarious a lot! That means that words have to be able to convey anything and everything that the human mind can conceive. It is a fact that our mind is always talking, thinking, mulling, worrying, viewing the past, present, future and fiddling with a multitude of ideas all at once. So, we are always finding ways to use our basic building blocks for language, words to convey to others, what is going on inside our always turned on minds. Language is the fabric that allows cultures, with their shared set of values, customs and history, to exist. It is the glue that holds societies together and allows for mankind to evolve, grow and prosper. Language is also, at the end of the day, a mirror that allows us to understand what we are thinking and shed some light on which we are as individuals. So we can say that: Language is the key that unlocks our mind. DEFINITIONS OF LANGUAGE: Many definitions of language have been proposed: Henry Sweet, an English phonetician and language scholar said: Language is the expression of ideas by means of speechsounds combined into words. Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas into thoughts. According to Robins: Language is the symbol system based on pure or arbitrary conventions. Infinitely extendable and modifiable according to the changing needs and conditions of the speakers. Sapir stated:

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5 Language is purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. Hall is of the view that: Language is the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral auditory arbitrary symbols. Noam Chomsky defined language as: A language is a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements. Wardaugh said that: A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Bloch and Trager defined language as: Language is undoubtedly a kind of means of communication among human beings. It consists primarily of vocal sounds. It is articulatory, systematic, symbolic and arbitrary. According to Encyclopedia Britannica: Language is a system of conventional spoken or written symbols by means of which human beings, as a member of social group and participants in its culture communicate. Lyons says: Languages are the principle systems of communication used by particular groups of human beings within the particular society of which they are members. It is clearly evident that all these definitions cannot define the term language. On the basis of these definitions one can, however easily list out the various characteristics of language.

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