How did Language begin?

Do you remember learning your first language?  I don't.  Most of us use language (or our native language at least) seemingly effortlessly.  It just happened when we were very young, like being able to crawl and walk

But the how, when, why and by whom questions of the origin of language have been explored throughout the ages.  We still have no specific answer.  What is intriguing is why we continue to be interested in a phenomenon that probably began somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago.

In the absence of physical evidence of the beginnings of language, we have much speculation. Most religions have a Divine Source for language, like Adam naming all things in the Christian religion.  And the Natural Sound theory states that there is some evidence that humans started vocalizing by imitating sounds of the natural world. Modern examples would be words like "cuckoo," "splash," "boom," or even a "Slurpee" from the nearby convenience store.  You may remember from studying English poetry that these types of words are known as onomatopoeic words because they sound like what they represent.  But they comprise only a small number of the words in any language.

Another theory of language origins is the idea of Social Interaction creating a need for language.  Early humans lived in groups and probably needed to cooperate for survival.  

Yet another theory is that of the Physical Adaptation of human beings.  I love the images of humans standing upright, walking on two legs, the larynx (voice box) dropping, and pharynx now becoming longer and available as a resonating chamber to make a variety of sounds.  Our lips and tongue became more muscular and flexible, which also increased the variety of sounds that we could make.  

Still another explanation lies in the Tool Making Source. Tool-making indicates brain activity. Our human brains are lateralized. The left brain is generally used for language. The motor movements to make speech and manipulate objects are located near one another in the left hemisphere of the brain.

And finally there is the Genetic Source.  Noam Chomsky's Innateness Theory states that the human brain has a special capacity to acquire language which is present at birth.  In modern day terminology, we might describe the brain as being "hard-wired" for language.  It is further theorized that a crucial mutation took place in the brain which made language possible.

Whew!  That is a lot of heavy information to answer the question of how language began.  And we didn't really find a definitive answer.  But many present day linguists are still searching for that elusive answer because having language is an essential element in being human.