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Language origin accounts: was the gesture in the beginning?

University of Virginia

Amanda Miller Garber

University of Virginia

Susan B. Dell

University of Virginia

Human beings have long been intrigued by questions about language precedence and the origins of language. Accounts abound, from diverse-cultures, of concerted efforts to answer these questions. In the Greek historian Herodotus' account of a language study by King Psammetichus of Ancient Egypt. the first word spoken by children reared without speech input was 'bekos', the Phrygian word for bread. This utterance established, for many Egyptians, that Phrygian was the world's oldest language. In various other historical accounts of children reared without exposure to speech, the children also reportedly learned a spoken language. The languages that the children purportedly acquired, however, differed between accounts. This failure to replicate results calls into question the claims made about the particular languages acquired and may raise doubts as to whether the studies were actually conducted. There is, however, compelling evidence that at least one study of children reared without exposure to spoken language definitely took place. This study was conducted about 400 years ago under the direction of Akbar, the emperor of Hindustan. The outcome was quite different from that of the other studies. The young children, who were reared by mute nurses, failed to acquire any spoken language. Instead, according to several accounts, these children communicated through gestures. This finding is consistent with the view that the roots of language are in gesture.

First Language, Vol. 17, No. 51, 219-239 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/014272379701705110


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