things like using fine tools, creative cave art, making bows and arrows, building tends and huts, etc.. Perhaps this was when language developed as well?
Again there are problems. The gene which has been connected with the ability to use language (FOXP2) can be traced back around 100,000 years – long before this ‘explosion’ period. If we were genetically capable of language for all that time, why did we wait so long? What else did we need before that genetic potential was exploited?
It’s not a particularly academic answer, but at the moment the best we can say in answer to the question of when language started, is ‘not sure – but it's interesting trying to find out!’ Having said this, it is possible to trace the heritage of language.
There are many different languages in the world, and all of them are constantly changing and evolving. If we trace back all those evolutions, we start to realise that although many of those different languages sound completely different, they can often seem to stem from the same root.
In other words, a long time ago there were far fewer languages. This heritage of language is something we will be exploring in this module.
Click on 'play' button for a video where Chomsky explores the nature of language