Modern Language and Caveman Language Share Similarities

Many of us believe the caveman was so very different from ourselves. Certainly their societies were simpler and their language matched that simplicity. However, the very beginning of our modern language is based in the impressions and experiences of the past.  Some words have made it into the modern world suggesting that even though we have more complex lives our history cannot be detached from those that came before us. Professor Pagel from the University of Reading has recently published in the PNAS journal some interesting findings as to where our modern language started. 

It may be surprising to learn but languages come from root associations based in our understandings and impressions of the world. The images in our heads are represented by words that we use to share those images with other people. At the root of our language are 23 words that existed 15,000 years ago in much the same way as they do today. 

According to Discovery the 23 words are as follows (2013):

 give, who, this, that, not, what, man, mother, old, ye, hear, hand, black, pull, flow, bark, worm, spit, ashes, though, I, we, thou

Mark Pagel led a team of researchers that have traced back words through time. Proto languages are the words before language that are believed to have passed away around 8,000 years ago (DW, 2013). However, the root words that make up the modern European (Eurasian)  language are currently thought to have started in Turkey and Iraq and then moved northward as the ice receded in Europe allowing people to migrate and develop their own language patterns.

Professor Pagel believes that language is a form of identity. Each tribe had different types of languages that helped them not only identify each other but also maintain that identity when interacting with others. This appears to be logical considering that language is a representation of images that the same tribal members share from their shared past experiences. It is these images that create their shared experiences, manners of thinking, identity, and approaches to life.

You may be interested in reading the abstract and report free online (Pagel et. al., 2013):

The search for ever deeper relationships among the World’s languages is bedeviled by the fact that most words evolve too rapidly to preserve evidence of their ancestry beyond 5,000 to 9,000 y. On the other hand, quantitative modeling indicates that some “ultraconserved” words exist that might be used to find evidence for deep linguistic relationships beyond that time barrier. Here we use a statistical model, which takes into account the frequency with which words are used in common everyday speech, to predict the existence of a set of such highly conserved words among seven language families of Eurasia postulated to form a linguistic superfamily that evolved from a common ancestor around 15,000 y ago. We derive a dated phylogenetic tree of this proposed superfamily with a time-depth of ∼14,450 y, implying that some frequently used words have been retained in related forms since the end of the last ice age. Words used more than once per 1,000 in everyday speech were 7- to 10-times more likely to show deep ancestry on this tree. Our results suggest a remarkable fidelity in the transmission of some words and give theoretical justification to the search for features of language that might be preserved across wide spans of time and geography.

What I find most interesting about this research study is that as our brains become more complex and able to handle greater complexity of thought we have invented additional methods of expressing our experiences. Yet, we as a human species still hold some of the very same things important today as we did in the past. The 23 words presented are common everyday words used in modern language and are central to our experiences. Most of these words express concepts revolving around work (foraging and hunting), family, and social arrangements. 

You may be interested in Mark Pagel's book Wired for Culture. You may view a review at a previous post.

 

Indo-European language came from a common root about 15,000 years ago. (May 7^th, 2013). DW. Retrieved May 7^th, 2013 from http://www.dw.de/indo-european-languages-came-from-a-common-root-about-15000-years-ago/a-16796900

Pagel, M., et. al. (2013). Ultraconserved words point to deep language ancestry across Eurasia. PNAS. Retrieved May 7^th, 2013 from http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/05/01/1218726110.full.pdf

Viagas, J. (May 7^th, 2013). 15,000 Year Old Words? Discovery. Retreived May 7^th, 2013 from http://news.discovery.com/history/15000-year-old-words-130507-2.htm

Book Review: Wired for Culture by Mark Pagel

Wired for Culture by Mark Pagel moves deeply into the undiscovered nature of human biology and how this influences societal development. Rooted in our biology is the deep desire for all human beings to work within social groups. This biology manifests itself into altruistic actions that further the survival needs of that group. Without the use of social mirroring and individuals showing their societal worth through altruistic actions society would eventually dissipate into chaos. 

To him culture is a domestication tool that helps individuals find a place that furthers their self-attainment and the overall development of society. Through this specialization of effort the entire economic chain is developed that contributes to each other by providing specific products and services that benefits the group of most. This benefit comes to individuals in the form of wages and financial security. It keeps the chain bound together.

Religion is seen as a cultural enhancer that helps to foster togetherness among certain ethnic groups. Such beliefs are pushed in order to ensure that members adhere to societal standards defined by that group. Those who violate religious norms are often chastised as though they have violated a group norm. This reason exists because for many people religion is a definition of oneself and their identity that moves across multiple planes of understanding the world. 

Language is also biological in nature, but the type of language people use is part of group identity and culture. It enhances this societal definition with certain groups using certain types of language and phrases more than others phrases. Where there is difference in language use there is also the potential for group differences based upon perceptions of both group identity and world perception the language defines.

The book further discusses the concept of human social structure revolving around the natural order of creatures in nature. “That large groups of humans can be led by a small number of elite for the same reasons as termites, ants, bees and wasps. “ Those on top of the social structure are seen as more important genetically as well as more worthy to lead a group of people. Yet this is only a perception and is defined by group values that may or may not represent the reality.

The book sheds light on the structure of society and how the biological nature of humans have come to form people, nations, and societal order. Most people are not aware they are in a network of other people and fit within this societal order in some defined way. They follow the rules because to step outside of those rules means to incur the wrath of those who find their value in that particular order.  This is one of the reasons why change can be so stressful to a society as it adjusts the patterns and beliefs to create new understandings of the world.

I found the book to be thought provoking in the sense that it helps to come to the conclusion that those things that define us as a nation are really based within our cultural perceptions. There are some who will view themselves as part of a different group based upon ethnicity even within the larger societal structure as defined by a nation. People must change the way they view others within society in order to fully incorporate them into the societal network. The change of the mind can take many years to complete as people slowly adjust the perception of self and others into a more cohesive framework.

Pagel, M. (2012). Wired for Culture: The origins of the Human Social Mind. NY; W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 978-0-393-34420-2

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