When was speech first used

Evolutionists freely acknowledge that:. But, the human brain is not simply larger. The connections are vastly different as well. To speak a word that has been heard, we must invoke the primary auditory cortex, not the visual cortex. Deacon commented on this complex neuronal network— which does not occur in animals —when he wrote:.

The specific mechanics involved in speaking have anatomical requirements that are found primarily in humans the exception being angels—1 Cor. As Deacon noted:. To simplify the anatomy required for human speech by using an analogy, think of a small tube resting inside a larger tube see Figure 3.

The inner tube consists of the trachea going down to the lungs, and the larynx which houses the voice box. At the larynx, the inner tube opens out to the larger tube, which is known as the pharynx. It not only carries sound up to the mouth, but it also carries food and water from the mouth down to the stomach. A rather simplistic description of how humans utter sounds in speech can be characterized by the control of air generated by the lungs, flowing through the vocal tract, vibrating over the vocal cord, filtered by facial muscle activity, and released out of the mouth and nose.

Just as sound is generated from blowing air across the narrow mouth of a bottle, air is passed over the vocal cords, which can be tightened or relaxed to produce various resonances. The physiological components necessary can be divided into: 1 supralaryngeal vocal tract; 2 larynx; and 3 subglottal system see Figure 4.

In , Johannes Muller demonstrated that human speech involved the modulation of acoustic energy by the airway above the larynx referred to as the supralaryngeal tract. Sound energy for speech is generated in the larynx at the vocal folds. The subglottal system—which consists of the lungs, trachea, and their associated muscles—provides the necessary power for speech production. The lungs produce the initial air pressure that is essential for the speech signal; the pharyngeal cavity, oral cavity, and nasal cavity shape the final output sound that is perceived as speech.

This is the primary anatomy used in common speech, aside from those sounds produced by varying the air pressure in the pharynx or constricting parts of the oral cavity. Imagine the conundrum in which evolutionists find themselves when it comes to speech and language.

The animal that comes closest to producing anything that even vaguely resembles human speech is not another primate, but rather a bird. Deacon observed:. For instance, a famous African gray parrot in England named Toto can pronounce words so clearly that he sounds rather human.

Like humans, birds can produce fluent, complex sounds. We both share a double-barreled, double-layered system involving tunes and dialects—a system controlled by the left side of our brains. Humans use language for many more purposes than birds use song. Consider, too, that it is mostly male birds that sing.

Females remain songless unless they are injected with the male hormone testosterone. Matata never did master the keyboard, but Kanzi did. Through many years of intense training and close social contact with humans, this remarkable animal attained the language abilities of an average two-year-old human. By age ten, he had a vocabulary via the keyboard of some two hundred words. Inasmuch as Kanzi could accomplish such things, does this prove that chimps are merely hairy, child-like versions of humans?

Among other things, they wrote:. Kanzi does not possess the anatomical equipment required for speech. In fact, aside from parrots mimicking ability, no other animals are anatomically equipped for speech.

But it is not always true of humans! Consider the following case in point. This, he believes, is why children can grasp elaborate language rules, even at an early age— without adults to teach them.

Chomsky noted:. This quickly was modified by younger children entering school, with the current version taking on a complex and consistent grammar. If Chomsky is correct, where, then, did humans get their innate ability for language? Chomsky himself will not even hazard a guess.

The fact is, no animal is capable of speaking in the manner in which people can speak. Speech is a peculiarly human trait. Without detracting anything from primates like Kanzi and Washoe, fundamental differences between animals and humans nevertheless remain.

Unlike human children, animals: 1 do not have a special region in the brain devoted to language; 2 possess a much smaller brain overall; and 3 lack the anatomy to speak the words they may think. In summary, humans have an innate, built-in, hard-wired ability to acquire and communicate complex language from the moment of their birth. Animals do not. Admittedly, animals do possess a measure of understanding. They can learn to respond to commands and signs, and in some instances even can be trained to use minimal portions of human sign language.

The intelligence of animals is, quite bluntly, unlike that of humankind. Chimpanzees might be able to produce a muffled approximation of human speech—if their brains could plan and execute the necessary articulate maneuvers.

But to do this, they would have to have our brains, which they obviously do not. In her book, What is Linguistics? Suzette Elgin wrote:. Nowak and his colleagues attempted to discount the gulf that separates human and animals. The mathematical models presented in these papers do not tell us anything about the origination of the multitude of languages used in the world today.

If man truly did evolve from an ape-like ancestor, how did the phonologic [the branch of linguistics that deals with the sounds of speech and their production] component of our languages become so diverse and variegated?

Also, consider that when language first appears on the scene, it already is fully developed and very complex. The late Harvard paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson described it this way:. The fact of the matter is that language is quintessentially a human trait. This leaves evolutionists with a huge gulf to bridge between humans with their innate communication abilities, and the grunts, barks, or chatterings of animals. As noted:. Gap indeed! Humans are capable of communicating in human language because God created them with the ability to do so!

Norton, New York, p. The Tower of Babel account by linguistics, TJ, 16 3 , , p. Moreland Ed , The Creation Hypothesis, p. USA , He also earned a Ph. He was an invited speaker to the International Conference on Creationism. Currently, Dr. He earned his M. And as a membership organization, Speech First is structured slightly differently than those other organizations, Neily tells me. Jacob Sullum Robby Soave Brian Doherty Scott Shackford Joe Lancaster Search for:.

Email Address. Jorge Salcedo A brand new legal organization has joined the fight to defend free expression on college campuses.