| LANGUAGES LEARNING i t EDSYNTTG PETRA cma Rosca Just as physicists ponder the origins of the universe, so linguists efiet on the origins of language. Here are some popular nincteenth- ‘which were later given de sive names to suggest their essence as well as the attitudes of their critics, 1. The Bow-Wow Theory Language grew out of man’s attempts to imitate natural sounds. This can be compared with observations of infant behaviour. The infant calls a cow ‘moo’, copying its sound. ‘The logical development of this theory is that man's first words would have been ‘onomatopoeie or echo words, for example, sneeze, bump, grumble. 2. The Pooh-Pooh Theary Language originated from the spontaneous hhuman cries: of recognition (‘ah’), surprise Cwow'), joy Cooh’ or ‘mm’) and disgust Cush’ 3. The Goo-Goo Theory This theory drew on the others and held that any sonnd consistently witered. with purpose and meaning will. with The passage of time, _come to be consistently understood as having. that meaning. 4. The Ding-Dong Theory Originally proposed by Greek philosophers, this theory suggested that language emerged nmystically. As each emity appeared on the face of the earth, it got its own unique name. So, when man frst encountered dog, he said ‘Dog" and that's how it got its name. Read through the feature article above and answer the questions which follow: 5. The Ta-Ta Theory People’s earliest communication was by gesture, Ata later developmental stage these gestures were regubarly accompanied by ‘movements of the mouth. At the final stage, when it was no longer practical to use the hands for gesture because they were occupied ‘with some other activity, humans eared 6 modify the air blowa through the mouth and nose to make understandable sounds. 6. The Sing-Song Theory Human speech emerged from the musical expression of emotions. So, the melodious chants used in primitive courtship rivuals between men and women were later extended to display other emotions. And from these sprew the richness of human specch, 1. Which theories relate the origins of human language to animal sounds? 2. Which theories relate these origins to vocal human behaviour? 3. Which theories relate these origins to non-vocal human behaviour? 4. Which theories claim human language emerged spontaneously?