Language

Hundreds of thousands of years ago our ancestors were communicating with each other via grunts and signs. But what makes human language unique is its complexity. When did this sophistication arise? […]

What do the features of human language that Charles Hockett identified as distinguishing factors from animal communication tell us about the nature of human language? And why is animal communication completely separate from human language? […]

You might feel that your pet dog is speaking to you when she barks. But do animals really have the capacity for the language the same way that humans do? Do they engage in ‘small talk’? […]

There are several languages that exist in the world where, when you pronounce a syllable in a particular pitch, it brings about complete differences in meaning. Learn about these tone changes and how they came to be. […]

Read about the Great Vowel Shift, an evolutionary change that despite weakening sounds, did not allow elements of language to become obsolete. […]

Today, about 6000 known languages exist. However, they were not always all present, at least as they exist now. Learn about how changes in sound contribute to the evolution of Language. […]

Language has always been an integral part of human cultural interactions. But is culture the only place from which language emerges? Read on to find out more. […]

Read about arguments in favor of Noam Chomsky’s path-breaking hypothesis about the Human language: that it is, in fact, programmed within us. […]

Find out about Noam Chomsky’s groundbreaking Innateness Hypothesis, which stipulates that the human language is not simply a part of our culture and learning; we are born with language in our genes. […]