Category Communication

We know that the first form of writing was in the form of pictures of animals, people and objects. These were called pictograms, and they first appeared about 3000 BC. It was easy to read this type of writing since it was easy to recognize the symbols. But it was also a little confusing, because these pictures could not always express ideas or actions fully. So, ideograms or symbols to express thoughts and actions were developed. For example, a picture of a pair of legs walking can mean ‘go’.In time, these symbols changed their shape into signs that did not look much like the real thing… but they kept their meaning. In ancient Indian civilization for example, there were over 400 signs that represented things, and names of people and places

Can you imagine what it would be like if there was no writing? We would have to pass on information only through spoken words, and remember everything in our heads! There would be no books from which we could learn, and we would not be able to communicate with people far way.Writing is a method of putting down information so that it can be stored, and passed on to others. No one person invented writing. It evolved gradually from the need to keep accounts or record events. Writing took many different forms over the ages, from simple picture writing to modern scripts. It was done on different types of materials too… on rocks, clay, pottery… and of course, paper.

The ding-dong theory holds that speech arose because there is a mysterious connection between sound and our senses. People react to stimuli in the world around them by spontaneously producing sounds. For example, a nursing baby produces a sound similar to ‘mmmmm’ as it drinks milk, and this sound eventually became the word ‘mama’!

When you are surprised or hurt you make sounds like ‘OH!’ or ‘OUCH’. Some people believe that the sounds we make when we are angry, frustrated, sad or happy were the starting point for the development of language. This is called the ‘pooh-pooh’ theory about how language began… but to be frank, many people ‘pooh-pooh’ this theory!

Have you noticed how people use their hands to emphasize a point when they are speaking? The gesture theory about the origin of language states that man first started using gestures to communicate. These gestures began to be accompanied by sound that eventually developed into a language.We do know that American Indians used an elaborate system of gestures to communicate with each other. However, most people believe that speech and gestures developed together. There is really no proof that gestures came before speech, so the gesture theory is not accepted by many.

We all know that when a dog barks, it goes ‘bow-wow’. But how does that explain the origin of language? According to the bow-wow theory, language began as imitations of the sounds made by animals and other natural sounds. Thus the word ‘moo’ describes the noise made by a cow, while ‘meow’ sounds just like a kitten’s cry, and ‘plop’ sounds just like a drop of water falling!But this is just a theory, and many people do not agree with it.