How doth human language evolve?
Lots of animals make noise; much of it even conveys information. But for sheer complexity, for developed syntax and grammar, and for the ability to articulate abstract concepts, you can’t beat human speech. MIT linguist Noam Chomsky and Harvard experimental psychologist Steven Pinker say it’s genetic. Pinker theorizes that language emerged about 200,000 years ago, when early humans who were efficient communicators were more likely to pass on their genes. (Less-than-efficient communicators were more likely to scream incoherently – instead of imparting an escape plan – before being devoured by a saber-toothed tiger.) A little more evidence: People with particular genetic defects have specific difficulties with speech and grammar. Other scientists argue that spoken words are actually an outgrowth of other human skills, such as planning, memory, and logic. “There is no ‘language gene,’” says Luc Steels, a computer scientist at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium. “Language was a cul
