How did languages started? How did they spread? At what point

>>2731635
People spend lifetimes trying to answer these questions.

But there's little question that it started in pre-history. "History" begins with writing.

>>2731635
People copy each other. If someone makes a specific noise at a certain object, it's an instinct for the other members to copy him. That's how slang spreads so quickly. Someone makes up a word, and without any organised effort or even a conscious acknowledgement, the whole town is using that word within a month or two

>>2731635
Language evolved with us, first modern humans must have already had proto-language 200k years ago. Developed language appeared around 75k years ago.

>>2731651

You can use a definition of history that doesn't start with writing. Which is obviously the definition you'll want to use when talking about events in the past that happened before written records existed.

>>2731635
Likely started with body language, which is mostly universal. Lots of pointing, gesticulating. People would also make base sounds while gesticulating, and soon enough specific sounds would be associated with specific gesticulations, enough that you could get the same meaning with just the sound. This probably started off conveying only very simple info, think simple sentences discussing only concrete topics, no abstracts. "Grog go there", "Mammoth that way" things like that.

>>2731635
God created the base languages of the world after people tried to build the tower of babel, after that people played around with it and that's the origin of all languages.

>>2731635
Aliens taught us like we teach apes.

It's probably an inherent capability of the human brain to use noise to communicate in a reproducible manner. IIRC there are examples of sets of children who get neglected developing their own languages

>>2732120
That just kicks the can. Who taught the aliens?

>>2732154
Other aliens. And they were taught by God. And he learnt to speak naturally, by making simple sounds while gesticulating.

>>2732120
How long until apes start composing poetry?

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>>2731728
I went to college last year and I realized I'd been saying something that literally no one outside of the town I grew up in said and I felt really fucking stupid.

>>2731879
So classical conditioning?

>>2732366
wut were you sayin

>>2732402
when you feel really self conscious and awkward, you feel "crunchy". so if I got drunk and made a fool of myself in front of a group of hot girls, I'd feel crunchy

>>2731635
the same answer as
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_deprivation_experiments

>>2732331
Rap music

>>2732322
Wrong, we are God's chosen, not some slimey green spacenigger. They're not even made in His image

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>>2732471

So it is my understanding that lanfuage literally started for the purpose of gossip.
Creatimg the ability to pass on knowledge of events that occured when the listener was not present.

Haha I too watched Arrival anon

>>2732606
It started for the purpose of cooperation, you dumbass.

>>2732120
apes can't speak even if they were taught. It's biologically impossible for them to voluntarily vocalize.

>>2732660
That's why we teach them sign language.

>>2732405
kinda like if you were in a crunch

The short answer is no one knows and it's one of the biggest mysteries in both the study of history and language.

>>2732729
The long answer is that there's no real mystery there, just like with the origin of life, we just haven't created a comprehensive theory yet, and we aren't sure about some details.

>>2732471
>>2732563
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLsTskih7_I

>>2731635
Monkeys have been observed connecting sounds they make with meanings meaning language started long before we were even human.

>>2732725
someone gets it. thank you anon

>>2732366

>I went to college last year and I realized I'd been saying something that literally no one outside of the town I grew up in said and I felt really fucking stupid.

That's how everyone who moves from Massachusetts to a normal state feels desu.

>>2732850
What normal state?

>>2732860

The other 49.

>inb4 "but [state] isn't normal!"

>>2731635

Language is a form of singing, humans have been making noises since forever just like other animals. Language itself no doubt took a long time to fully form, and probably began as a system of calls for specific events, much as some types of monkey have different calls for different predators.

>>2732863

>Language is a form of singing

I've heard that suggested as a theory before, but what reasons do you personally have for believing that's actually the case?

>>2732653
>birds evolved wings for the purpose of flying

>>2732875

Many animals have elaborate calls that resemble singing, only we have language. Singing and language use the same exact mechanism (breath control), singing is certainly the older of the two so it makes sense to describe language as a subset of singing rather than vice versa (as it is usually considered).

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>>2731635
This book provides an interesting take on it, though it starts from humans already using basic words.

god divided us because our forebears were greedy

>>2731635
>How did languages started?

Not with you, that's for sure.

>>2731635
To some extent also apes (or at least bonobos and chimpanzee) have some basic universal body language that's still shared with us, like shaking your head to say no or putting out your hand palm up to ask for something

Watch someone learn a language and you'll see.

Nouns were probably first. Can't talk about things you don't have names for.

"goat"

After than we probably got verbs which allowed basic sentences.

"Kill goat"
"Fuck goat"

And everything built off that.

>>2732850
Wicked pissah.

>>2733026
How is evolution of bird wins relevant to the discussion of language? The analogy doesn't work, any form of proto-language or earlier forms of vocal communication were used for communication.

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>>2731635
Isn't it obvious?

>>2731635
the animals that randomly evolved the ability to send signals to others, for example signaling danger or mating calls, were positively selected by having more opportunities to reproduce due to higher attractive ability and longer lives.

jumping a bit forward, these first bits of language became more differentiated through mutation, while still encoded to the genes, which allowed coordinating actions over longer distance which also caused an advantage at surviving selective pressure due to being able to accomplish tasks the individual alone cant.

further mutation regarding the brain structure allowed to use that hardcoded set of language in a more free manner, being able to name things and actions manualy which allowed for a quicker modification of language than evolution alone could achieve. the resulting adaptivity allowed coordination under the most different circumstances, increasing the selective advantage by many times while exponentially speading up the process and effectivity of passing on culture and knowledge.

this in the end, led us to how we are today.
due to the manual modification of language the individual is capable of, the languages themselves were formed in ways that differentiate as much as different communities do