The Seed of Language

There is a fascinating article in the NY Times about the origin of language. Quentin D. Atkinson, a biologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, used mathematical modeling to argue that southern Africa is where modern human language originated.

His study was based on the theory that the number of phonemes in a language increases with the number of people who speak it. Using that as a base, Dr. Atkinson contends that phoneme diversity would decrease when groups split off and migrated away from the parent group. There are about 44 English phonemes. In contrast, the Khoisan languages – the click languages of Africa – have 90 phonemes. Among the speakers of Khoisan languages are the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. Based on human mitochondrial DNA, the Bushmen belong to one of the earliest branches of the genetic tree.

So did language originate in Africa, split into separate dialects and languages, and then continue diversifying as people began to move to other parts of the world?

Phoneme inventories are tricky things. However, languages, like genes, provide vital clues about human history. Language greatly leveraged the power of individual brains to understand the world. As Mark Pagel, a biologist at the University of Reading in England who advised Dr. Atkinson, states, “Language was our secret weapon, and as soon we got language we became a really dangerous species.” Dr. Atkinson's theory may not solve all the riddles of language origin, but it certainly adds to the discussion.