Re: Baby Babble Early Human Language?

On 1 May, Barry Garcia wrote:

>Did any of you read this article, found here:
>http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20000420/misc_babble.html
>
>If, and when you do, what are your thoughts on it?
                <LOL>!!!

But then, again, upon sober reflection,

  <LOL> <GGGGGGG>!

Sorry, I can't help myself!  _That_ old chestnut is still
making the rounds? It was laughed out of serious
linguistics consideration back almost 30 years ago
when I was learning linguistics!
For those who haven't read it, I just did and the title
says it all: "Did Early Humans Speak Baby Talk?"
I realize that the article is a popular account of
research. Still, I fail to see how universals in the linguistic
development of human babies in our time has anything
to say about the language of early human adults: it has
little enough to say about the langs _we_ all speak as adults
and we're contemporary with said babies!


Actually, I loved the concluding sentence:

"Instead, he says, speech evolution was likely an organic process -- that
like babies, early humans fiddled with their mouths until, inevitably,
words came out."

Sounds sort of like conlanging, no?  :-D


Dan Sulani
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likehsna rtem zuv tikuhnuh auag inuvuz vaka'a.

A word is an awesome thing.