Abstract
The paper asserts that the advent of language cannot be compared to anything else in the history of the human race. The paper describes how it enabled humans to communicate and transfer knowledge, express feelings, describe events, and later, with the development of writing, store the information for the future. As such, the paper shows how language plays an important role in both our individual lives and the society as a whole. The paper discusses how language is not a static phenomenon; it changes with society over time, but we also "change" the language as we go from one environment to the other or gather new life experiences. The paper reveals that among the most important motivators of the language evolution are also the developments in science and emergence of new technologies.

From the Paper
"The advent of language cannot be compared to anything else in the history of human race. It enabled humans to communicate and transfer knowledge, express feelings, describe events, and later with the development of writing store the information for the future. As such, language plays an important role in both our individual lives and the society as a whole. Language is not a static phenomenon. It changes with society over time but we also "change" the language as we go from one environment to the other or gather new life experiences. Among most important motivators of the language evolution are also the developments in science and emergence of..."

Tags:youth culture, internet, language

Abstract
This paper discusses language acquisition and the evolution of language, describing models that have been proposed for the evolutionary development of the human language faculty and for the processes involved, with some empirical support for the different models. The paper concludes that the issue remains unresolved as far as deciding on one specific model over all others.

From the Paper
"Language acquisition has been much studied as to ways in which speakers learn language in the first place, then learn other languages if they do and add words to their store of knowledge as an ongoing process. Another issue has been the origins of language of any sort, extending back as far in the historical record as possible and then considering how human beings may have first started communicating using a language. Different models have been proposed for the evolutionary development of the human language faculty and for the processes involved, with some empirical support for the different models. The issue remains unresolved as far as deciding on one specific model over all others. One view of the origin of language is discussed by Hewes 1992 and the idea that the first human language was primarily gestural, following the way various primates communicate (1992:65)."

Tags:language, development, evolution

Abstract
This paper takes a look at the history and evolution of language. The paper discusses the various factors that influenced the changes in our language. According to the paper, one of the biggest influences on our modern language, was the development of the computer and related technologies. The paper further discusses how words are adopted from other languages to become an accepted part of another tongue.

From the Paper
"The next huge change in language was also due to technological change, but instead of printed books, it was a great change in our environment. Technological development was accelerated by the development of the personal computer. All this "new stuff" had to have names. Sometimes, a new name might simply be a new meaning for an old word. One such example is the word "bug". In the 1940s the only computers in use were huge machines: Eniac, Univac etc. These machines were made using vacuum tubes, some of which burned out every time the computer was used. People on roller skates would replace the burned out tubes after every use. One day, the machine stopped working, and no burned vacuum tubes could be found. A concerted search of the entire machine turned up a large moth fried on the wires behind one circuit panel. That is how the word "bug" became a problem in computer functioning, both mechanical and digital. (AskOxford.com 2006)"

Tags:spelling, speech, culture, pidgin, english, latin, french, words, technology, sounds

Abstract
The paper provides a literature review on the evolution of language in humans and primates that explores why man is overtly superior to non-Homo sapiens. The paper reveals current findings that have demonstrated that chimpanzees can communicate verbally. The paper proposes a study that will identify brain activities occurring in chimpanzees and localize areas involved in the production of verbal language.

Outline:
Review of Related Literature
Objective of the Proposed Study
Study Design

From the Paper
"Numerous studies have been conducted to further understand the unique ability of man to use language as a tool for communication. Common issues have been attempted to answer by developmental scientists and psychologist with regards to the evolution of language in humans and primates (Pinker and Jackendoff, 2004). One of these issues is to discern which components of language are learned from the environment, and which are innate in man and other species. The influence of one's external surroundings - education system, interaction with others, and ability to pick up a new language system - has been dissected. At the same time, the biological and neurological characteristics of man have been investigated to understand why man is overtly superior to non-Homo sapiens. These characteristics innate in man must be contributory to the development of a highly sophisticated language system."

Tags:brain, speech, semantic, signals, sounds, gestures

Abstract
The following paper will briefly discuss the evolution of Quebec language laws since the 1960s. In particular, the paper will note the eventful history surrounding Bill 101 while paying attention also to its 1974 predecessor, Bill 22. Despite the tensions the Quebec government's legislative efforts have caused, there is actually some evidence that the French tongue is stronger today than it has been in many decades - even generations.

From the Paper
Quebec Language Laws over Time: The 1960s to the Present The following paper will briefly discuss the evolution of Quebec language laws since the 1960s. In particular, the paper will note the eventful history surrounding Bill 101 while paying attention also to its 1974 predecessor, Bill 22. Despite the tensions the Quebec government's legislative efforts have caused, there is actually some evidence that the French tongue is stronger today than it has been in many decades - even generations. Glancing at the available evidence, it certainly appears as though Quebec's language laws did not start gaining widespread notoriety until

Tags:language, laws, quebec

Abstract
This paper examines the human ability to develop and utilize language skills, citing two opposing views of how this is accomplished. One side of the debate contends that humans are hard-wired for language while others feel that that language is a learned trait just like most other aspects of human behavior and skill. These views are further developed in the paper, with research studies and a literature review supporting both sides of the argument. The paper also describes the branch of science devoted to the study of how language developed. The paper concludes by stating that although there is certainly an innate biological basis for language, it is far from the sole cause and progenitor of language.

From the Paper
"There is even an entire branch of science devoted to the study of how language developed, much of it concerned with the historical period, which suggests what seems intuitively true at first glance: that language continues to be adapted and modified, not just in the words we have and use but in the effects and uses of language itself, even as human appear to have basically reached a genetic stasis (Wortham 2008). The field of linguistic anthropology views language as innate part of humanity, it is true, but one that changes as conditions and people change (Wortham 2008). Such transformations would simply not be possible if language were hard-wired into the brain; the language skills we have inherited from the previous generation, and they from theirs, and so on, are simply not adequate to handle the changing landscape of today's world."

Tags:linguistic anthropology, vocabulary, evolution, neurobiology

Abstract
The paper examines how language educators and researchers continue to debate how language is developed in humans. The paper further examines the differences between humans and other higher primates regarding language. The paper explores how, in order to gain more insight on how language evolved in early humans, researchers closely study language acquisition in primates.

From the Paper
"What Stokoe finds most interesting is the turning of the head, just as signers of American Sign Language turn their head and gaze to mark a change from one part of a complex structure to another. Concludes Stokoe: Children are fortunate that elementary sign language preceded spoken language. As people get older, they forget how they used their bodies, eyes and heads. However, once speech is acquired at another stage and a person is fully articulate, it is still possible to go to "Nevada or Oklahoma and enter into conversation with a chimpanzee." "

Tags:evolution, brain, chimpanzee, Washoe, sign, gesture

Abstract
This paper uses five authors and their ideas of human behavior, evolution, culture and science to support the argument that the theory of co-evolution is the only comprehensive concept that adequately accounts for the origins of human behavior.

From the Paper
"A simple non-human explanation of co-evolution is provided by the case of the common bumblebee and flowers. Bees depend on nectar they collect from flowers to survive and flowers on bees spreading their pollen to reproduce. One influences the other's survival and vice versa. Among human beings, genes and culture are repositories of information that are transmitted from one generation to the next. Within the theory of co-evolution where human beings are concerned, both genes and culture are thought to impact phenotype. It is for this reason..."

Tags:Darwin, natural selection, manhood, God, memes, language, chimpanzees, altruism, self-sacrifice, ration, survival

Abstract
This paper examines the question of what mathematical premises would be dependent on the biological and physical evolution of a given species, assuming of course that we knew other intelligent species had evolved. The writer discusses that some critics suppose that language and mathematics by extension are dependent upon the physical parameters set out by the body. The writer explains: ten fingers and hence a decimated numerical system. This essay probes that assumption.

From the Paper
"There is almost certainly a connection between biology and the ability to conceptualize. The basic logical processes that we, as humans, often take for granted are in reality quite dependent upon our own physical evolution. How likely is it that we would have developed a base ten numerical system if we didn't just happen to have ten fingers? It would be perfectly plausible to have a base six system or base twelve, for example. But the question becomes how much of mathematics is a product of biological evolution and how much of it exists unto itself."

Tags:biology, evolution, mathematics

Abstract
This paper examines the evolution of the Spanish language over time. It particularly discusses the historical development of the sibilants in Spanish and focuses on the most prominent area where the modification of sibilants can be heard - in the Andalusian Spanish of the southern Spain. The paper looks at the origins of Spanish and the Ladino language.

Table of Contents:
The Origins of Spanish
The Ladino Language
Spelling Errors
Conclusions

From the Paper
"One of the most well known examples of this approach is the Appendix Probi. Compiled in the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D., this appendix lists the correct spellings of 227 Vulgar Latin words along with their common misspellings. Lines would come in the form "porphireticum marmor non purpureticum marmur", "tolonium non toloneum", "speculum non speclum", and so on. This list was meant to be an orthographical aid to scribes. However, it also offers insight as to the evolutionary direction of pronunciation in Vulgar Latin, as one can imagine that such spelling errors were a result of an evolved pronunciation that was represented as it sounds. (A great example in this in English would be if somebody spelled "night" as "nite".)"

Tags:spelling, Ladino, pronunciation