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Language has remained as one of humanity’s most important aspects since its very beginning. It is impossible to imagine how our life would be without languages. All over the world, people communicate with the help of language. There are an estimated 7100 living languages spoken in the world. And there are numerous dead languages, some which we do not even know about. Even amongst the living languages, around 40% of them are considered endangered and have less than 1000 speakers. Language is the method of communication in which humans convey their emotions and thoughts through words, sentences, tones and sounds. Most languages have scripts or writing systems where people convey their words through specific symbols often referred to as their alphabets or lexicons. The world’s largest languages have 3.7 billion native speakers which makes up nearly half of the world’s population using 0.3% of the world’s languages.

The origin of languages has remained one of humanity’s greatest mysteries. Historians have estimated the earliest evidence of languages dates back to 200,000 to 100,000 years ago. Though there are many linguistic theories on how we humans are able to communicate through and develop languages no one knows what the actual truth is. Some of the most major theories are:

Bow-wow theory

Often referred to as the Cuckoo theory, it states that language originated from the sounds humans made as imitations of animal sounds.

Pooh Pooh theory

This theory states that languages originated from natural emotional sounds produced by humans out of instinct.

La La theory

La La theory states that the first words actually developed from playful, melodic and emotional sounds. It also emphasises that language developed not for rational needs but for fun.

Ta Ta theory

This theory states that languages developed from tongue and mouth movements which were the audible version of gestures.

Divine source theory

This theory is found in various religions and faith throughout the world. This theory states that language is a form of gift granted to humans by God.

There have been numerous theories regarding the origin of language in the field of linguistics. However, this causes another question to arise. Which language is the oldest? All languages do not have writing systems which makes it difficult to find solid evidence to prove which the oldest language is. But based on recent studies the oldest language is considered to be Sumerian with evidence going back to 3400 to 3100 BCE. After Sumerian, other languages like Egyptian, Tamil, Chinese and Sanskrit follow. Languages are linked with each other through their origin. One language will be divided into different languages when the group of people using that language divide and separate. A group of people might separate from the bigger group of people using the same language and travel to different climates and environments. Over the course of years, the languages in the two places will change and develop in such a way that the two will become completely indistinguishable. A variety of language often associated with only a particular group of people of a particular region is called dialect. Dialects of the same language may be completely different from each other which causes them to not be able to communicate with each other. However, dialects of different languages might be able to communicate with each other due to the similarities between them.

We often see cartoons, movies, books or other forms of entertainment that portray animals communicating with each other. But is this even possible in real life? It is not. Why not? Because they are not humans. Why are humans the only animals in the world to be able to communicate with each other using language? Researchers say that the reason why humans have the ability to use languages is because of the higher biological functions of humans. Human brains are considered to be the most complex yet most intelligent brain in the world. Human brains have developed to become more complex which in turn contributes to intelligence. Similarly, humans are considered as social animals due to their higher understanding and use of language.

Humans have been using this wonder called language to communicate with each other so much that it has become an integral part of our own identity. Therefore, the preservation of this language is a must. We, as Nepali people, should preserve our own languages.