PIE vs. Proto-Language

Ralf-Stefan Georg Georg at home.ivm.de
Tue Oct 12 08:07:45 UTC 1999


SG:
>> Again: homo sapiens is a biological species endowed with certain
>> intellectual abilities, among which the ability to develop, learn and
>> handle such a complicated thing as language is possibly the most remarkable
>> one. The next step, from homo sapiens to, say, homo loquens is not I
>> biological one, but a cultural one. Nothing prevents us from assuming that
>> it could have happened more than once, maybe even often, or, in short:
>> language is a tool.

>[PR]
>I am afraid that we will not be able to settle this question to the
>satisfaction of either of us.

We should not give up so early ...

>So much hinges on at what point we begin to regard the noises that early man
>was making as 'language'. As another thread on this list attests, that does
>not seem to be a question that all can answer with consensus.

The point is: we have not heard these noises. If we could, we could decide
whether those people were making use of anything worthy of the name "lg" or
not. The thread you mention is, if I'm not mistaken, about the notion of a
*given* language as opposed to others, i.e. about discreteness in
"language-space". For distinguishing between human language and other
systems of communication, say, of animals, there are rather good and
straightforeward criteria (openness, double articulation aso.).

>I am convinced by the genetic evidence that modern humans are, at least,
>principally descended from a single ancient (pre-)human stock, whether out
>of Africa, which I think likeliest, or from another place.

I don't take issue with the generally held position that biologically
modern humans descend from a single ancestior.

>Was this ancient group capable of 'language'? I think so but I would not
>unequivocally assert it. It justs seems to be the simplest scenario, hence,
>possibly, the most probable.

Capable, yes.

>If you believe that a scenario of 'language' developing in separated human
>groups (hence unrelated except indirectly by the biological potential to
>develop it) is preferable,  then tell me, if the original stock (presuming
>you buy the genetic argument) was capable potentially of language, what
>prevented that potential from being realized?

The fact that they had to find out about this ability first. They were also
capable of inventing the wheel and eventually the moderated e-mail list ...

>Would you go so far as to
>assert that 100(-150) ya there was *NO* language?

I simply don't have any opinion about this, as long as precise dates are
involved. Biologically modern humans may have begun to exploit their unique
mental capacities fairly quickly; it may also have taken them some time
(millennia ??). I dunno. The only thing I find fairly easy to imagine and
accept is *biologically* modern man existing without language for some
time, thus *culturally* not being significantly more advanced than the
brightest primates. Why not ?
Once those mental capacities started to be used, we may well reckon with a
kind of cultural explosion, leaving all early human groups not able to
catch up with it quickly behind and dooming their fate.
For this, it is not necessary to assume that the actual material make-up
of the "first language", or its form-meaning-clusters,  were imitated by
others. Finding out the usefulness of such a thing as language, together
with finding out that one is actually capably to manage it is enough to
develop one.

The question when language arose is one I simply cannot claim to be able to
judge competently about, but it is clear to me that the two notion of
*biologically* and *culturally* modern man are not necessarily the same
thing. Palaeontologists a/o archaeologists should be looking for signs of
early culture, i.e. social organisation, sophisticated artefact use,
tradition, art, emergent religion etc. to approach the time where it would
simply be necessary to assume that people who did this and that or used
this and that, or cooperated in this and that way could not well have none
so without considerably elaborate communication skills. Having the brains
is only a prerequesite for this.

St.G.

Stefan Georg
Heerstrasse 7
D-53111 Bonn
FRG
+49-228-69-13-32



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