2. Definitions of language
Many definitions of language have been proposed.
Henry Sweet, an English phonetician and language
scholar, stated: “Language is the expression of ideas by
means of speech-sounds combined into words. Words
are combined into sentences, this combination
answering to that of ideas into thoughts.”
The American linguists Bernard Bloch and George L. Trager
formulated the following definition: “A language is a
system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a
social group cooperates.” Any succinct definition of
language makes a number of presuppositions and begs a
number of questions.
3. What was the first language on earth?
World's oldest language is Sanskrit. The
Sanskrit language is called Devbhasha.
All European languages seem inspired by
Sanskrit. All the universities and
educational institutions spread across
the world consider Sanskrit as the most
ancient language.
4. How do you explain the origin of
language?
According to this theory, language
began when our ancestors started
imitating the natural sounds around
them. The first speech was
onomatopoeic—marked by echoic
words such as moo, meow, splash,
cuckoo, and bang.
5. Who created language?
The oldest known invented language,
Lingua Ignota, was devised in the 12th
century by the German nun and mystic
Hildegard von Bingen; its purpose has
been lost to history. During the
Enlightenment, European philosophers
aspired to create languages that could
express any concept in the universe with
precision.
6. What was the first language spoken by
Adam and Eve?
Adamic language
The Adamic language, according to
Jewish tradition (as recorded in the
midrashim) and some Christians, is the
language spoken by Adam (and possibly
Eve) in the Garden of Eden.
