When Were Words Invented?

when were words invented

There are a lot of words out there. According to the Oxford English dictionary, as of 1989, the English language alone contained over 171,000 words. And those ranks are constantly growing, as humans develop new words to describe both new and old phenomena, making it impossible to ever label the ‘newest’ word in the world. But what about the oldest? When were words invented?

What Counts as Language?

Before we even get into what the oldest word in the world is, we have to figure out how we want to define a word. Technically, a word is “a single, distinct, meaningful element of speech or writing.” But that still leaves some wiggle room. After all, elephants and dolphins can scream and exclaim. In fact, many animals have a small repertoire of sounds they make which they use to communicate amongst themselves, especially about potential threats.

But we tend to think there’s a difference between animal communication systems. Animal ‘languages’ can’t be used to discuss abstract topics, like future or past events: they can only reference what is in the here and now. In contrast, human language allows us to discuss not only the possibility of rain tomorrow but also the beginning of the universe and metaphysical issues. Clearly, humans and animals have different linguistic systems. The problem is that we’re not exactly sure where the distinction between these two types of systems lies.

The question is complicated by the fact we can’t use written records for evidence. Writing wasn’t invented until around 3400 B.C.E., when early pictorial signs were gradually replaced by a complex writing system on clay tablets. But language existed for thousands of years before these tablets were created.

When Were Words Invented?

Most researchers estimate that words have been around for at least as long as modern humans. According to the Linguistic Society of America, this means language developed between 50,000 and 150,000 years ago, in response to evolutionary changes to humans’ vocal cords and brains. These developments allowed humans the new ability to create the range of sounds we use in speech today. Quickly, language branched out, changing in different regions and amongst different peoples, and developing into complex, differentiated dialects.

It’s important to note that these first modern words were not the first-ever words. We know pre-modern humans used sounds to communicate, even if they didn’t exist in the same linguistic form we might expect today. But we probably will never know what precisely those sounds were.

What Were the First Words?

It is impossible to say for sure what the first words were. However, linguists can use statistical models to identify words that are similar across many languages. These words, linguists have theorized, are likely core words which evolved in an initial ‘proto-language,’ and are now present in many different languages. In one study, researchers came up with a list of words that they estimate are at least 15,000 years old.

That list includes:

  1. Thou
  2. I
  3. Not
  4. That
  5. We
  6. This
  7. What
  8. man/male
  9. Ye
  10. Old
  11. Mother
  12. To hear
  13. Hand
  14. Fire
  15. To pull
  16. Black
  17. To flow
  18. Bark
  19. Ashes
  20. To spit
  21. Worm

Predictably, these words are very basic words: either core elements of speech, like ‘I’ and ‘this’, which are used very frequently in every language; or nouns and verbs that describe actions and objects which would be very common in the life of ancient humans, like ‘ashes’ or ‘black’. 

Why Were Words Invented?

It was far from an inevitability that humans would develop language. In fact, of all the millions of species of animals on earth, we’re the only ones who ever developed the ability to speak. This has led many scientists to wonder: why did language evolve? There are several theories, including:

  1. The cuckoo theory.

The cuckoo theory states that early words were likely meant to mimic animals. These words could have been used in multiple different situations, such as telling your wife about the mammoth you saw while hunting. Later, humans branched out into creating words to describe more abstract or silent objects.

  1. The mother tongues hypothesis

This theory says that language was actually initially a way for parents to teach complex lessons to kids. Over time, these languages could have come to be shared amongst families or tribes.

  1. The ta-ta theory.

This theory states the first words were created when humans made shapes or gestures with their tongues, mimicking things they saw in their environment.

  1. Chomsky’s hypothesis.

Noam Chomsky, a famous American philosopher and linguist, believes that there is an innate mechanism in the brain that allows us to understand language. He believes this sets humans apart from other animals and allowed people to come up with language virtually overnight.

What Can We Expect for the Future of Language?

If language once evolved from a single, central proto-language, we may be headed back there soon. The number of languages actively spoken is shrinking. A few core languages — including Chinese, Hindu-Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, and English — are becoming more popular as smaller languages are falling off.

English, which has the most second-language speakers of any language in the world, is also expected to continue to grow its reach. There are almost a billion English-as-a-second-language speakers in the world, compared to only 274 million for second-place Standard Arabic. This is in part because English is generally considered to be the current world diplomatic language. People who don’t share each other’s languages will chat in English. Collectively, these second-language speakers have helped make English the most spoken language in the world. In a few hundred years, who knows – everyone might speak English.

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