Why Humans Are Only Species Essay

Too view language as if it were an object devoid of its social context would not be seeing language for its creation and use, language is used at its full potential when spoken, language is so important to humans, we use language to express, to think and communicate within the world we live. Language has changed over time, it is thought that at one time we had one original language that was spoken, and “as different human groups spread across the world and communicated only with each other, the original language changed in different ways in different places” (Gee, P,. & Hayes, E. (2011). pg 8), because of these changes, and socialisation of different humans, we now have many diverse human languages. Language has changed and will continue to

Speciesism, as defined by Peter Singer, “is a prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of the interests of members of one’s own species and against those of members of other species” (Singer, Animal Liberation, p. 6). The rationale for the preferential treatment encapsulated in this definition is simply the fact that those receiving the preferred treatment belong to the same species, and not on the basis of any grounds of higher intelligence or other attributes.

As nonhuman primates seem to be able to communicate meaningful messages, the question arises whether our ancestors developed language from a similar state.

“What makes us human?”, is an unanswered question asked by many. Is it because of our ability to have empathy for others? Or is it because of our cognitive ability which allows us to look into the future? One of the main arguments made that separates humans from animals is our communication style; our language. Is language inherently unique to human? To answer such a question, we first operationally define language as; “a system of communication based upon words and the combination of words into sentences” (University of Oslo). The purpose of language is for us to be able to convey an infinite amount of ideas to one another. Sign language in general also falls under this definition as it has a complex system of rules and syntax that allow the signed figures to function as words. Animal communication on the other hand, is operationally defined as, “the transmission of a signal from one animal to another such that the sender benefits, on average, from the response of the recipient” (Pearce 1987). With this in mind, current research has shown that the answer is that language is inherently unique to humans.

Language is one of the main things that sets us apart from other animals. Why is that? How does language make us so different from other animals? Why does it make us so different? Picture this. We are in a time period where hominids are currently the newest species to have evolved. After hundreds of years, two different species have emerged; apes and Homo Erectus. The apes evolved one way, and the Homo Erectus evolved a different way. Us as humans, then evolved from the Homo Erectus. The apes evolved in a way that they couldn’t speak, and we evolved in a way that we could. Our surroundings were different, so we had to adapt in different ways, and we as humans adapted in a way that allowed us to speak. Now we can exchange ideas like building

FOXP2 gene is required for proper development of speech and language (Spiteri et al., 2007) and it is located on chromosome 7 that expressed in foetal and adult brain in basal ganglia and inferior frontal cortex that affecting motor control and neural structures (Lai et al., 2003).

The researchers explained that FOXP2 may have an impact on language development since it is responsible for motor movement. Mutations occurred in FOXP2 in the evolution from chimpanzees to humans, suggesting a role in human language development (Newbury et al., 2010). The clinical implications of variations in FOXP2 could include impaired speech, expressive language, and written language. (Newbury et al., 2010). Newbury et al. (2010) also described the role of CNTNAP2 in speech and language. CNTNAP2 has a role in neuronal pruning, and the researchers explained that its mutation has been related to SLI, Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome, autism, ADHD, and intellectual

The evolution of human language is a highly debated topic with many perspectives and theories dating back to the 19th century and as a result is it a subject full of ambiguity. This is due to the fact that there is an abundance of theories with evidence to give them grounds to argue, not only this, but because more than one aspect of the evolution of language is in question. The first question lies in the purpose of its development, what evolutionary advantages would it present early humanity. The second is how it came to fruition, was it through natural selection or was it taught. The third query lies within the early stages of human language, what form did it take and why. Was language always vocal or did it start by being gestural similar to sign language. There is an abundance of forms of communication in the animal kingdom, namely babies crying for their mothers’ attention or calls to warn of danger. However, this can not be deemed as a language because in the context of evolutionary linguistics, language is defined “as any system which allows for the free and unfettered expression of thoughts into signals, and the complementary interpretation of such signals into thoughts” (Fitch, 2010 pg.

One of the incredible discrimination between the mankind and the animals is language, due to in whole the planet each species has an identical means for communicating, albeit man-kind is the exemption. For instance, in Iran, it is ordinary that two villages in the similar state speak totally distinguished. Thus, langue

Proposed Universal Grammar: Idea of innate grammatical catergories, that facilitate the development of language in children.

He suspects that the key to our success lies in our use of language. Our language is an extremely effective system that allows a limited number of vowels and consonants to form words, which then creates an endless amount of different sentences. Endowed with this ability that allowed us to share in complex identities ranging from tribal spirits and human rights, we came to cooperate in complicated procedures and consequently form societies. It was this great cognitive revolution that fundamentally differentiated us, argues Harari, from our ape

Homo sapiens were a potent factor on eliminating the remaining Neanderthal population due to their intelligence (Echoes).

On planet earth, there are a lot of smart animals and primates, however, none of them can talk to each other in the way that human beings do. The biggest distinction between humans and animals, is language (The Children of the Code Project, 2012). Language is a shared symbolic system, it is a means to expressing ideas and concepts, it is inquisitive, and it is also the link between the past and the future (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013, p. 97). Language consists of groups and combinations of words and is the prime means of communication between humans (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014, p. 17). Many linguists question whether language is a naturally inherited process, or whether it emerges and develops through instruction. Others however, like Noam Chomsky, an American linguist and cognitive scientist, believe that with more than 4000 languages existing today, some are too complex to the learned through formal instruction and that children possess an inborn “language acquisition device” (O'Donnell et al., 2016, p. 127). Chomsky believed that language is made of words, nouns, verbs and subsequently, the rules on how those are moved around for example syntax and grammar (O'Donnell et al., 2016, p. 127); this is also known as a cognitive phenomenon (Gee & Hayes, 2011, p. 6). During his / her career, a teacher will have in the classroom a vast variety of students with diverse linguistic backgrounds, and it is imperative that educators use language as the social bridge that connects his /

Long before living in the Anthropocene when humans become the Earth system’s stewards, back when we just discovered fire, we used it to our advantage in hunting and digesting more protein-rich food. This shift in diet enhanced our physical and mental capabilities: human’s brain size nearly tripled up, rendering the ratio between our brain and body size the greatest among mammals. The increased mental capability was one of the component needed for the development of spoken language. Since spoken language cannot be preserved through the course of time, archeological evidences are almost non-existent and most of the answers are still hiding in the dark. As there is hardly any direct trace of human language’s emergence, many hypotheses have been proposed to connect the few dots we have now.

Human beings should be more than animals, but are they really? In Republic, by Plato, Antigone, by Sophocles, The Aeneid of Virgil, by Virgil, and On Justice Power and Human Nature, by Thucydides, it seems as though human beings really are nothing more than animals.