The document discusses several key points about the evolution of human language: - Human language is complex, with large vocabularies built from a small set of speech sounds, and every child is able to learn the language they are exposed to. - While animal communication is different, human language allows for complex meanings and ideas to be expressed through combinations of sounds. - Evidence for how language evolved is sparse, but it is believed that early humans started with simple sounds that gradually developed over time into the complex languages we have today. - Factors like mutations in genes related to language and control of the face/mouth have provided some insights, but the exact process remains unclear as the brain structures that allow for

1. Reported by:
Ma. Elizabeth Martinez
Claire Bejerano

2. *Every human language has a
vocabulary of tens and thousands of
words, built up from several dozen
speech sounds.
*What is still more remarkable is
that every normal child learns the
whole system from hearing others
using it.

3. *Animal communication is
different from human
*Languages change gradually over
time, sometimes due to changes
in culture and fashion but the
basic architecture and expressive
power of language stays the
same.

4. *Human ancestors started by
grunting or hooting or crying
out, and ‘gradually’ this
‘somehow’ developed into
the sort of language we
have today

5. • The basic difficulty with studying
evolution of language is that the
evidence is sparse. The only
definitive evidence we have is the
shape of the vocal tract (the
mouth, tongue and the throat)

6. *Earlier hominids could have a
sort of language that used a
more restricted range od
consonants and vowels, and the
changes in the vocal tract may
only have the effect of making
speech faster and more
expressive.

7. *Everything in language is built
out of other human abilities:
the ability for vocal imitation,
the ability to memorize vast
amount of information, the
desire to communicate, the
understanding of human beliefs
and to cooperate.

8. • It came in a single leap creating
through one mutation of the
complete system in the brain by
which humans express complex
meanings through combinations of
sounds.

9. *In early stage, sounds would
have been used to name a
wide range in objects and
actions in environment, and
individuals would be able to
invent new vocabulary items
to talk about new things.

10. *A next plausible step
would be the ability to
string together several
such ‘words’ to create a
message built out of the
meanings and its parts.

11. *The final series of changes
would add to
‘protolanguage’ a richer
structure, encompassing
such grammatical devices as
plural markers, tense
markers, relative clauses
and complement clauses.

12. *One source of evidence has
emerged recently. A mutation
in a gene called FOXP2 has
been shown to lead to
deficits in language as well
as in control of the face and
mouth.

13. With the great advances of
neuroscience, we currently know
about how the genes determine
the growth and structure of brains
or how the structure of the brain
determines the ability to use
language.