TASCA D’AVALUACIÓ INICIAL. INDICA EL TEU GRAU D’ACORD O DESACORD.

1. A la gent sempre li ha agradat parlar de com es va sorgir el llenguatge humà

2. És molt difícil conèixer del cert com és va originar el llenguatge dels humans perquè els sons se’ls endú el vent

3. Fa més de 200 anys, hi havia gent que creia que els humans havíem començat a parlar imitant els sons de la natura.

4. Abans del segle XIX hi havia gent que creia que el llenguatge dels humans derivava dels crits i sons que fem quan sentim por, fàstic, enuig.

5. Fa més de dos segles, hi havia persones que creien que la necessitat de construir coses plegats havia fet que es desenvolupessin ordres senzilles per dirigir tasques i portar-les a terme

6. Abans de 1800 hi havia gent que pensava que el llenguatge dels éssers humans s’havia produït a partir de la bellesa dels cants i sorolls agradables de la natura.

7. Els animals no es poden comunicar uns amb els altres.

8. La capacitat simbòlica dels humans en la prehistòria es plasma en per exemple les pintures rupestres.

9. L’homo sàpiens ja tenia llenguatge.

10. Els bebes humans triguen molt més en ser independents, en poder ser autosuficients que cap algre cria d’animals.

Mira el vídeo de 3:40’ How Did Language Begin? per copsar-ne el sentit general. Hi haurà moltes coses que potser no entendràs. No intentis retenir tots els detalls.

1. Conèixer com s’originà el llenguatge dels humans és molt més difícil que esbrinar a partir de les excavacions arqueològiques d’altres orígens humans perquè del llenguatge no en queden pas restres.

2. Les persones sempre hem especulat sobre l’origen del llenguatge i hem acabat postulant propostes sense cap fonament científic com ara les ‘teories populars’ del Bow-vow, Pooh-Pooh, Yo-He-Ho, La-La que defensaven que els humans havíem començat a parlar o bé com a imitació dels sons dels animals i sorolls de la naturalesa; com a expressió del patiment, por o fastig; en el moment en què havíem de donar i entendre ordres per executar una tasca difícil; o bé com a resultat de la poesia del plaer de les cançons i sorolls agradables.

3. Al segle XIX a França els lingüistes estaven tips d’aquestes idees sense fonament i es prohibí seguir especulant sobre l’origen del llenguatge dels humans. Van ser els científics els que posaren aquests ‘motes’ a les creences populars.

4. Malgrat el llenguatge no deia restes com les troballes arqueològiques, els fòssils si ens indiquen si el tamany del cervell i d’altres parts del cos (laringe) fan possible la parla.

5. Una de les diferències que va permetre la parla en els humans és que la laringe canvià de mateix lloc respecte els ximpanzés, els nostres avantpassats més propers. Nosaltres ens podem ennuegar al menjar i en canvi ells no s’ennueguen.

6. No sabem del cert si 100.000 anys, l’homo sapiens ja tenia llenguatge. Potser ens va caldre primer desenvolupar la memòria o comptar amb una estructura social més complexa

7. Quan els humans començarem a fer construccions complexes a bon segur ja havíem desenvolupat la capacitat de parlar.

8. Quan els humans pintaven a les coves, gairebé segur que ja posseïen el llenguatge

9. En l’actualitat, entre els científics hi ha dos grans hipòtesis: els que creuen que el llenguatge es deu a una mutació genètica i aquells que pensen que és el resultat de la interacció de diferents factors com ara la millora de la memòria de curt termini, l’empatia, les estades més llargues dels infants amb els adults. Alguns animals tenen algunes tenen algunes d’aquestes característiques però no pas totes.

10. No sabem del cert com va començar el llenguatge dels humans però si quan: al voltant de 10.000 anys enrere

TASK: CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER. BEGINNERS (12-14)

How did language start / begin (1) [i] ?

If we want to know[ii] when humans began / started (2) making fire[iii], or cultivating plants, or domesticating animals we can look at / look for[iv] (3) the things they left behind[v] / the things left aside[vi] (4) when doing those things.

But what if we want to know how language began / started (5) ?

Language appears on the air / disappears on the air[vii] (6) as soon as[viii] it is produced. It doesn't get left behind[ix]. We will always / never (7) dig up[x] the first word, or discover a fossilized sentence.

That hasn't stopped people from[xi] speculating about how that first word came about[xii] / came down (8) .

For centuries, people have put forth theories / put forth ideas [xiii] (9) on it.

There's the bow-wow theory, that language began from/ language started from (10) imitation of sounds that things make.

There's the Pooh-Pooh theory, that it came from / it began from (11) automatic vocal responses to fear, pain, surprise or other emotions.

There's Yo-He-Ho theory, that it emerged from / it began from (12) rhythmic grunts or chants used to coordinate actions when working on big projects together.

There's the La-La theory, that it emerged from / began from (13) the sounds of inspired playfulness, poetic sensibility and song.

This one is lovely, but no more likely than any of the others.

By the late 19th century so much fruitless speculation about the origin of language was going on / was going around [xiv](14) that the Paris Linguistic Society banned / prohibited / forbade [xv](15) all discussion of the topic in its bylaws. It was fed up scholars who gave / put [xvi] (16) the theories those silly nicknames[xvii].

But even though[xviii] language itself doesn't leave a trace[xix] we can tell from fossils / we can’t tell from fossils [xx] (17) when we had the brains[xxi] and other physical parts that make speech[xxii] possible.

For instance, we can tell / we can't tell[xxiii] (18) when the voice box[xxiv] moved[xxv] into its current position.

Chimps, our closest relatives[xxvi], have their voice boxes in a different place, so they can produce / they can't produce (19) the sounds we can, but can't choke on food[xxvii].

We have speech, but we can choke / we can't choke [xxviii] (20) .

Evolutionarily speaking, it must have been really worth it[xxix] to have the lower voice box.

So the physical pieces were falling into place 100,000 years ago, when we became[xxx] homo sapiens. Did we have language then? Maybe. Maybe we first needed to develop better memory, or more complex social structures, or other abilities.

By the time[xxxi] we were making / we were building (21) things that required a lot of coordination, language was probably happening.

If we had the ability to think symbolically enough to make cave paintings, language was probably not happening / language was probably happening [xxxii] (22) .

Maybe it was first a sort of rudimentary toddler-like language[xxxiii].

Maybe it began with / it started with (23) gestures.

Yes, that's a lot of maybes.

Which should give you some sense of how much people still agree about / people still disagree about [xxxiv] (24) this.

Humans are the only beings that have language, and we are the only ones / but we are not the only ones (25) that communicate.

Why didn't it develop in other species?

Some people think / Most people think (26) there was a genetic mutation that created an innate language ability.

Others think you need to assume / you don't need to assume (27) a sudden[xxxv] mutation, but the right accumulation of other skills:

(a) good working memory / poor working memory (28) ,

(b) fine motor control / bad motor control (29) ,

(c) skill for pattern recognition and imitation,

(d) the ability to image / the ability to guess[xxxvi] (30) other people's minds[xxxvii] and make assumptions about what they understand[xxxviii],

(e) an impulse toward social cooperation,

(f) a short period / a long period (31) where the young stay with adults as their brains are still developing.

Some animals have some of these things, but humans have all of them / none of them (32) , and maybe, if you have all those things together at a certain level, you get language for free on top of that[xxxix].

So when / how (33) did language begin?

We know / We don't know (34) , but some time between, oh, 100,000 and 10,000 years ago we began / we started (35) to share[xl] our thoughts[xli] with each other in words and sentences. Then we immediately started using it to criticize teenagers for how they were ruining / they were improving[xlii] (36) our language. That's what I think anyway. I'm calling it the tsk-tsk theory.

------------------------

TASK: FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THE APPROPIATE WORD FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS 14-18

How did language begin? If we want to know when humans started making fire, or cultivating plants, or domesticating animals we can look (prep) (1)______ the things they left (prep) (2)______ when doing those things. But what if we want to know how language (begin, pt) (3)______?

Language disappears on the air {tant aviat com} (4)______ it is produced.It doesn't get left behind. We will never dig (prep) (5)______ the first word, or discover a fossilized sentence.

That hasn't stopped people (prep) (6)______ speculating about how that first word came (prep) (7)______. For centuries, people have put (prep) (8)______ theories on it.

(a) There's the bow-wow theory, that language started (prep) (9)______ imitation of sounds that things make.

(b) There's the Pooh-Pooh theory, that it came (prep) (10)______ automatic vocal responses to fear, pain, surprise or other emotions.

(c) There's Yo-He-Ho theory, that it came (prep) (11)______ rhythmic grunts or chants used to coordinate actions when working on big projects together.

(d) There's the La-La theory, that it emerged (prep) (12)______ the sounds of inspired playfulness, poetic sensibility and song.

This one is lovely, but no more likely than any of the others.

By the late 19th century so much fruitless speculation about the origin of language was going (prep) (13)______ that the Paris Linguistic Society banned all discussion of the topic in its bylaws. It was fed (prep) (14)______ scholars who (give, pt) (15)______ the theories those silly nicknames.

{Però malgrat, 'èro a pesar de que'} (16)______ language itself doesn't leave a {rastre, 'traza'} (17)______ we can tell (prep) (18)______ fossils when we had the brains and other physical parts that make speech possible. For instance, we can tell when the voice box moved into its current position. Chimps, our closest relatives, have their voice boxes in a different place, so they can't produce the sounds we can, but they also can't choke (prep) (19)______ food.

We have speech, but we can {ennuegar-nos} (20)______. Evolutionarily speaking, it must have been really {merèixer la pena} (21)______ to have the lower voice box.

So the physical pieces were were falling into place 100,000 years ago, when we became homo sapiens. Did we have language then? Maybe. Maybe we first needed to develop better memory,or more complex social structures, or other abilities.

{Per a quan} (22)______ we were building things that required a lot of coordination, language was probably happening. If we had the ability to think symbolically enough to make cave paintings, language was probably happening. Maybe it was first a sort of rudimentary toddler-like language. Maybe it started with gestures.

Yes, that's a lot of maybes. Which should give you some sense of how much people still disagree (prep) (23)______ this.

Humans are the only beings that have language, but we are not the only ones that communicate. Why didn't it develop in other species? Some people think there was a genetic mutation that created an innate language ability. Others think you don't need to assume a sudden mutation, but the right accumulation of other skills: (a) good working memory, (b) fine motor control, (c) skill for pattern recognition and imitation, (d) the ability to imagine other people's minds and make assumptions (prep) (24)______ what they understand, (e) an impulse (prep) (25)______ social cooperation, (f) a long period where the young stay with adults as their brains are still developing.

Some animals have some of these things, but humans have all of them, and maybe, if you have all those things together at a certain level, you get language (prep) (26)______ free (prep) (27)______ top of that.So how did language begin?

We don't know, but some time between, oh, 100,000 and 10,000 years ago we started to share our thoughts with each other in words and sentences. Then we immediately started using it to criticize teenagers (prep) (28)______ how they were ruining our language.That's what I think anyway. I'm calling it the tsk-tsk theory.

[i] To begin, began, begun = To start, started, started: començar

[ii] To know, knew, known: saber, conèixer

[iii] To make, made, made: fer, construir. To make fire: fer foc.

[iv] To look for: cercar. To look, looked, looked: mirar. To look at: mirar

[v] To leave, left, left: marxar, sortir, abandonar. To leave behind: deixar enrere

[vi] To leave, left, left: marxar, sortir, abandonar. To leave aside: deixar de banda, ‘dejar de lado’

[vii] To disapear, -ed, -ed: desaparèixer. To disappear on the air: desaparèixer a l’aire

[viii] As soon as: tan aviat com, ‘tan pronto como’

[ix] To get, got, got or gotten: aconseguir, obtenir. To get left behind: quedar-se enrere

[x] To dig, dug, dug: cavar, excavar. To dig up, dug up, dug up: cavar, excavar.

[xi] To stop somebody from + -ingVerb: aturar a algú a, evitar que algú faci quelcom. E.g. It hasn’t stop people from speculating: No ha evitat que la gent especuli

[xii] To come, came, come: venir. To come about = To happen or to start to happen: passar, ocórrer

[xiii] To put, put, put: posar To put forth, put forth, put forth: proposar. To put forth ideas: proposar idees

[xiv] To go, went, gone: anar. To go on: continguar. To go around: seguir, continuar, donar voltes

[xv] To ban, banned, banned = To prohibit, prohibited, prohibited = To forbid, forbade, forbidden: prohibir.

[xvi] To put, put, put: posar. To give, gave, given: donar. To put a name = To name = To give a name. E.g. gave / put the theories those silly nicknames.

[xvii] Nickname: ‘apodo’, ‘mote’. E.g. Silly nicknames: estúpids ‘apodos’.

[xviii] But even though: però malgrat que, però malgrat això

[xix] To leave, left, left: marxar, deixar. To leave a trace: deixar rastre, ‘dejar traza’

[xx] To tell, told, told: dir, explicar. To tell from: esbrinar a partir de; dir, concloure a partir de, dir gràcies a. E.g. We can tell from fossils: Podem dir o concloure o esbrinar a partir dels fòssils.

[xxi] Brain, brains: cervell, cervells

[xxii] To make, made, made: fer. Speech: la parla, conversa. E.g. To make speech possible: Fer la parla possible

[xxiii] To tell, told, told: dir, explicar. E.g. We can’t tell when the voice box moved to the current position: No podem dir o explicar quan la laringe canvià de posició.

[xxiv] Voice box = larynx: laringe, literalment caixa de veu

[xxv] To move, moved, moved: mudar-se, canviar de lloc

[xxvi] Relative, relatives: parent, parents. E.g. closest relatives: parents més propers

[xxvii] To choke, choked, choked: ennuegar-se, ‘atragantarse’. To choke on food: ennuegar-se amb menjar.

[xxviii] To choke, choked, choked: ennuegar-se, ‘atragantarse’.

[xxix] To be worth it: valer la pena. E.g. Evolutionary speaking, it must have been worth it: des d’un punt de vista de l’evolució, deu haver valgut la pena.

[xxx] To become, became, become: esdevenir, arribar a ser

[xxxi] By the time: per a quan

[xxxii] To happen, happened, happened: succeir, ocórrer.

[xxxiii] Toddler-like language: llenguatge dels nens petits.

[xxxiv] To agree, agreed, agreed: estar d’acord. To disagree, disagreed, disagreed: estar en desacord.

[xxxv] Sudden: sobtada. Suddenly: sobtadament, ‘repentinamente’

[xxxvi] To guess, guessed, guessed: endevinar.

[xxxvii] Mind, minds: ment, ments

[xxxviii] To understand, understood, understood: comprendre, entendre.

[xxxix] To get something for free on top of that: emportar-te quelcom de regal, de franc a més a més.

[xl] To share, shared, shared: compartir

[xli] Thought, thoughts: pensament, pensaments. To think, thought, thought: pensar

[xlii] To improve, improved, improved: millorar. To ruin, ruined, ruined: arruïnar, malmetre.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/69007/how-did-language-begin

https://quizlet.com/94816334/video-how-did-language-begin-from-mental-floss-flash-cards/