Language

Language is learned

Used to communicate about other things in other places, or past/present

Comprised of sounds put together to make words

Language is instinctive

Grammar

Pictorial representations

Sign language

Animal sounds

Yes

No

Humans needed to communicate while their hands were busy using tools.

Humans developed spoken language to sing.

Spoken language was developed to communicate with animals.

Humans used spoken language because it was easier than walking.

Gestures required more energy than spoken language.

Spoken language could be used even when humans could not see each other.

Spoken language was easier to learn than gestures.

Gestures were only used in religious ceremonies.

Language was necessary for individual survival in harsh climates.

Language development was driven by the need to create art.

Humans needed a way to communicate complicated messages to survive.

Language was developed to remember historical events.

Groups of languages that are similar in vocabulary and grammar

Large groups of languages that are related by descent from the same ancestor language in the distant past

Collections of dictionaries and language learning resources

Organizations that govern the rules of different languages

Niger-Congo language family

Nilo-Saharan language family

Afro-Asiatic language family

Austronesian language family

Language is determined by thought

Language influences how we think

Thought is independent of language

Language and thought are not related