The Evolution of Language
The Evolution of Language
The study of language is very intriguing once you start looking a little farther into it. I read through many books and sources to help make the history of language a little more clear and found many interesting ideas. I found that something as simple as the way you use your hand could shape the brain, language, and human culture (The Hand). I also found many sources on human evolution; and digging a bit deeper into this area showed me many thoughts and ideas I never even have thought about. The book that was most helpful in this area gave me many topics to think about. It had a few chapters in it that really caught my eye. It had historical views on this subject, a modern evolutionary theory, examples on the physical context of evolution, and extinction/patterns of evolution. It stated that humans are the only species that has evolved an advanced system of communication between individuals (Human Evolution). A third area I researched in this process was telling ways to teach and explain languages to children (Easy Ways to Reach and Teach). This was very interesting and gave tips and strategies for being successful. Researching the history and the many different ideas that go along with language showed me many things that I was unaware of and has helped me greatly. After looking through the research I did, I feel that the evolution of language did not happen rapidly, it happened over time and gradually.
The evolution of the brain, intelligence, and consciousness is the first topic I researched. There are two major ideas that have been advancing in recent years that go along with a special problem faced by hominines in brain expansion (Human Evolution). Robert Martin of the Field Museum, in Chicago, proposed the first of these major ideas. He found that the mother’s metabolic rate is the key to the size of the brain a species can afford. In other words, the higher the metabolic rate, the bigger the relative brain size. The
The study of language is very intriguing once you start looking a little farther into it. I read through many books and sources to help make the history of language a little more clear and found many interesting ideas. I found that something as simple as the way you use your hand could shape the brain, language, and human culture (The Hand). I also found many sources on human evolution; and digging a bit deeper into this area showed me many thoughts and ideas I never even have thought about. The book that was most helpful in this area gave me many topics to think about. It had a few chapters in it that really caught my eye. It had historical views on this subject, a modern evolutionary theory, examples on the physical context of evolution, and extinction/patterns of evolution. It stated that humans are the only species that has evolved an advanced system of communication between individuals (Human Evolution). A third area I researched in this process was telling ways to teach and explain languages to children (Easy Ways to Reach and Teach). This was very interesting and gave tips and strategies for being successful. Researching the history and the many different ideas that go along with language showed me many things that I was unaware of and has helped me greatly. After looking through the research I did, I feel that the evolution of language did not happen rapidly, it happened over time and gradually.
The evolution of the brain, intelligence, and consciousness is the first topic I researched. There are two major ideas that have been advancing in recent years that go along with a special problem faced by hominines in brain expansion (Human Evolution). Robert Martin of the Field Museum, in Chicago, proposed the first of these major ideas. He found that the mother’s metabolic rate is the key to the size of the brain a species can afford. In other words, the higher the metabolic rate, the bigger the relative brain size. The
Cited: Bingham, Sara. “The Baby Signing Book.” 2007. Lewin, Roger. “Human Evolution.” 2005. SchifferDanoff, Valerie. “Easy Ways to Reach and Teach English Language Learners.” 2008. Wilson, Frank R. “The Hand.” 1998.