While the explanation for the origin of human language varies from the bow-wow theory to the pooh pooh theory (they're real!), Darwin couldn't have better put it when he said that the origins of words may have come from singing, which gives rise to words with emotions as well.
Simply put, human language comes from the combination of elaborate songs of birds and the more utilitarian, information bearing types of expression found in other animals. This, therefore, leads to the idea that human language in essence has two different layers. The first layer is called the "expression" layer, or the fluidity of order of the words. The second layer is called the "lexical" layer, or the core content of the sentence. For example, take the sentence "Bob saw a bird". The expression layer is revealed as we could manipulate the order of the words and even add other words to ask, "When did Bob see the bird?". However, the lexical layer is that the main content of the sentence remains the same, "Bob," "see," and "bird."
So, how do the birds and bees play a role?
According to Miyagawa and Chomskey, birdsong contains the expression layer of human language. Rather than containing actual content in the songs, birds simply use melodies that simply have one meaning, such as mating or territory. Nightingales are known to be able to recite from 100 to 200 different melodies. (Listen to some of those soothing bird calls here.) Whereas the communicative waggle of bees, resembles the lexical layer. For example, bees communicate through precise waggles in order to share with other bees the location of food, while other primates use a range of short sounds to indicate threats.
Humans have simply put the two together to create language that contains both expression and content. Darwin even goes to suggest that humans first developed the ability to sing, and then learned to apply the lexical layer to the singing. Thus, developing the ability to communicate in essential information in melodious, flexible structures.
Parents all around the world will have a hard time explaining this "bird and bees" story.
This is really cool. What I'd like to add to it are the differing purposes of the two parts of language. You highlight how the expressive component is, for birds, used for mating. And for bees, the lexical communication is used for information communication. Humans have similar purposes. The lexical layer of our language is designed to provide communicative skills, to pass on information. In this way, differing cultures and languages have different lexical systems. Germany's method of verb always second increases efficiency of information transfer. The expressive component of our language allows us to promote diversity and persuade certain action. English promotes these abilities more strongly than German due to the freedom of verb placement. Thus, language and culture, and the differing emphasis placed upon lexical or expressive speech, are all tied together in a fascinating bundle.
ReplyDelete