第1章　語言的起源

1.1　復習筆記

本章重點介紹語言的起源，并從不同的角度探索語言的起源。語言的起源是語言學的基本理論問題之一，語言在生命的開庭之日就已經誕生，語言不是枯燥無味的反而充滿了趣味。

人類何時萌發對語言的興趣已無法確切考證。人類經歷了幾千年的文明演變，知識一直在積累，語言一直在變化，一切都變得面目全非。由于考證資料有限，直接證據匱乏，人類語言起源問題難下定論。

本章要點：

1．The divine source 神授說

2．The natural-sound source 自然聲音模仿說

3．The oral-gesture source 口語—手勢相關說

4．Glossogenetics 言語遺傳學

本章考點：

語言的起源（神授說，人造說自然聲音模仿說，口語-手勢相關說，言語遺傳學等）。

本章內容索引：

I. The divine source

II. The natural-sound source

1．The bow-wow theory

2．The yo-he-ho theory

III. The oral-gesture source

1．Theory

2．Problem

IV. Glossogenetics

1．Definition

2．Physiological adaptation

V. Interactions and transactions

1．Interactional function

2．Transactional function

I. The divine source（神授說）

【考點】神授說的定義

God created and Adam and “whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof” (Genesis 2:19).

In most religions, there appears to be a divine source who provides humans with language. In an attempt to rediscover this original, divine language, a few experiments have been carried out, with rather conflicting results.

據《圣經》中“創世紀”記載，亞當給萬物命名，萬物因此得名。

大多數宗教將語言的起源歸功于神，有的甚至試圖用實驗來證明人類的初始語言，但結果是互相矛盾的。

II. The natural-sound source（自然聲音模仿說）

【考點】自然聲音模仿說的兩種相關理論

Primitive words could have been the imitations of the natural sounds.

人類先民聞自然界的聲音而模仿之，造出了最原始的詞語。

1．The bow-wow theory（摹聲說）

①Primitive words could have been imitations of the natural sounds that early humans heard around them.

②Problem: most of the soundless, abstract entities can’t be referred to in this theory.

①最原始的詞語是模仿身邊自然界的聲音而形成的。

②問題：該理論無法涉及大部分沒有聲音的或者抽象的實體。

2．The yo-he-ho theory（勞動號子說（“喲—嘿—吼”理論））

①The sounds of a person involved in physical effort could be the source of our language, especially when that physical effort involved several people and had to be coordinated.

②Problem: It doesn’t answer the questions regarding the origins of the sounds produced.

①人們從事體力勞動發出的聲音可能是語言的起源，尤其當該勞動需要多人共同協作完成時。

②問題：該理論并沒有回答這些發出的聲音的起源。

III. The oral-gesture source（口語—手勢相關說）

1．Theory（理論觀點）

The origins of the sounds of language involve a link between physical gesture and orally produced sound.

語言的發音起源與手勢和口頭發音之間的聯系有關。

2．Problem（問題）

It is hard to visualize the actual “oral” aspect which would mirror such gestures.

很多描述一些動作的口頭發音是很難看出來的。

IV. Glossogenetics（言語遺傳學說）

【考點】言語遺傳學說的定義及相關發音部位

1．Definition（定義）

Glossogenetics focuses on the biological basis of the formations and development of human language.

In the evolutionary development, there are certain features, best thought of as partial adaptations that appear to be relevant for speech.

該學說認為，人類語言的形成與發展具有生物基礎。

在發展進化過程中，人類為適應環境而發生的部分變化似乎與語言功能相關。

2．Physiological adaptation（生理適應）

Teeth: upright and roughly even in height.

Lips: have much more intricate muscle interlacing and the resulting flexibility.

Mouth: relatively small, can be opened and closed quickly.

Larynx: lowered, creating a longer cavity called the pharynx, and making the sound speech possible.

Human brain: has the feature of lateralization; divided into a left side and a right side, with control of functions on one side or the other.

牙齒：直立、有一定的高度。

嘴唇：肌肉復雜，更具靈活性。

嘴：相對較小，能迅速張開、閉合。

喉：位置下降，并形成了一個長的腔道叫做咽，使人能夠發出聲音。

人腦：具有偏側優勢特征；大腦分為左右兩側，兩側有各自的分工。

V. Interactions and transactions（交互功能與傳遞功能）

1．Interactional function（交互功能）

It has to do with how humans use language to interact with each other, socially or emotionally; how they indicate friendliness, co-operation or hostility, or annoyance, pain, or pleasure.

交互功能是關于人類如何利用語言來彼此進行社交或情感交流，表達友好、合作、敵意、煩惱、痛苦、愉悅等情感信息。

2．Transactional function（傳遞功能）

Humans use their linguistic abilities to communicate knowledge, skills and information.

傳遞功能指的是人類使用語言能力傳播知識、技能和信息。