LINGSTICA STUDY QUESTIONS (PAGE 6)

1) With which of the four types of sources would you associate the quotation from
Mac Neilage at the beginning of the chapter? With the BOW WOW theory.

2) What is the basic idea behind the bow-wow theory of language origin?

Primitive words could have been imitations of the sounds that early humans heard around
them and all modern languages have words that are onomatopoeic in some way.

3) Why are interjections such as Ouch! considered to be unlikely sources of human

speech sounds?
Interjections contain sounds that are not otherwise used in ordinary speech production.
They are usually produced with sudden intakes of breath, which is the opposite of ordinary
talk, produced on exhaled breath.

4) What special features of human teeth make them useful in the production of speech
sounds?
Human teeth are upright, not slanting outwards like those of apes, and they are roughly
even in height.

5) Where is the pharynx and how did it become an important part of human sound
production?
The pharynx is above the larynx (or the voice box of the oral box). When the larynx moved
lower, the pharynx became longer and acted as a resonator, resulting in increased range
and clarity of sounds produced via the larynx.

6) Why do you think that young deaf children who become fluent in sign language
would be cited in support of the innateness hypothesis?
If this deaf children do not develop speech first, then their language ability would not seem
to depend on those physical adaptations of the teeth, larynx, etc., that are involved in
speaking. If all children (including those born deaf) can acquire language at about the same
time, they must be born with a special capacity to do so. The conclusion is that it must be
innate and hence genetically determined.

RESEARCH TASKS
A. What is the connection between the Heimlich maneuver and the development of
human speech?

Is that both movements try to push air out through the lungs. The connection
is the importance of the muscle known as the diaphram. When we use our
diaphragm to push air out forcefully, we are able to tighten and relax our
vocal chords to produce speech. Without this muscle, speech is not possible.
The Heimlich maneuver is also reliant on the diaphragm muscle. When
performing the Heimlich, you use a closed fist and open hand to push
upwards and inwards on the diaphragm to force air out through your throat
to expel the blockage.

B. What exactly happened at Babel and why is it used in explanations of language

origins?

There was only one language throughout the earth before the Tower of

C. The idea that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny was first proposed by Ernst
Haeckel in 1866 and is still frequently used in discussions of language origins. Can
you find a simpler or less technical way to express this idea?

D. What is the connection between the innateness hypothesis, as described in this

chapter, and the idea of a Universal Grammar?