THE MOTHER TONGUE
Ray Ingram: Talk, Talk, Talk

1.  What does the Tower of Babel suggest about global language development?

2.  What is meant by The Mother Tongue?

3.  What are some of the oldest word roots in the world, according to some

     linguists?

4.  What makes Dr. Flemming and other linguists believe there was once a

     Mother Tongue?

5.  Where and when did the Mother Tongue arise, according to Ingram's guests?

6.  Which word does Ruhlen suggest may have been the first (or one of the first)

     word ever spoken on earth?

7.  How can scientists study whether early humans 2 MYA could even talk?

8.  What was spoken before the Mother Tongue?  Describe it.

9.  Why did language evolve according to Dr. Dunbar?  What does it allow people

     humans to do?

10.  According to Dr. Bickerton, can people think without language?

11.  What type of language did Genie and Kamala use?  Why?

12.  What is the purpose of grooming in the chimp world?

13.  How do we groom each other according to Dr. Dunbar?  Why is this method

       more efficient?

14.  What do most people spend time talking about according to Dr. Dunbar?   Why

       is this more important than discussing the physical world?

15.  Where does the word gossip from and what did it originally mean?

THE MOTHER TONGUE
Ray Ingram: Talk, Talk, Talk

If you were to determine if the world's languages really came from one language how would you go about doing it?

1.  What does the Tower of Babel suggest about global language development?

that there was one language which split into many others.

2.  What is meant by The Mother Tongue?

the first language ever spoken on earth

3.  What are some of the oldest word roots in the world, according to some

     linguists?

mi = what             guan = dog (hound)          akwa = aqua (water)

papa                      mama                     tik = finger, one

pal = two              (from me:  tum = dark   kuni = woman (queen)

4.  What makes Dr. Flemming and other linguists believe there was once a

     Mother Tongue?

so many root words appear in so many different languages spread

around the world.

5.  Where and when did the Mother Tongue arise, according to Ingram's guests?

in eastern Africa, between Tanzania and Ethiopia some 100,000 YA.

6.  Which word does Ruhlen suggest may have been the first (or one of the first)

     word ever spoken on earth?

tik

7.  How can scientists study whether early humans 2 MYA could even talk?

The inside of the skull has imprints left by the brain.  These are

compared to the same area in modern brains which are associated

with the ability to speak.  For instance, in the left hemisphere, there

are grooves left in the left frontal lobe, known as Broca's speech

centre.  This is not seen in chimps and is associated with our ability

to speak.

8.  What was spoken before the Mother Tongue?  Describe it.

Protolanguage.  This had no structure like language today.  Words were

delivered slowly and were accompanied with gesturing.  Words were 

strung together but the language probably lacked the essentials of grammar.

For example, such things as endings (s, ed, ing) and vocabulary including           ifs ands and buts, were almost certainly missing.

9.  Why did language evolve according to Dr. Dunbar?  What does it allow people

     humans to do?

It evolved not specifically for hunting since wolves hunt in packs without

speaking, but in order to interact and socialize.

10.  According to Dr. Bickerton, can people think without language?

Yes, but they can think a whole lot better with language.

11.  What type of language did Genie and Kamala use?  Why?

Protolanguage, because they did not have enough of a grammar

(endings and vocabulary) to form normal sentences.

12.  What is the purpose of grooming in the chimp world?

1) to remove lice and bugs          2) to indicate where alliances are being

formed, who's in, who's out.

13.  How do we groom each other according to Dr. Dunbar?  Why is this method

       more efficient?

by talking.  It would take 1/2 of our waking state to groom our friends.

Speech allows for mass grooming (compliments, flattery, flirting) while

leaving the hands free to do other things.

14.  What do most people spend time talking about according to Dr. Dunbar?   Why

       is this more important than discussing the physical world?

the relationships of those in the group, and those of importance to the

group.  This is important because first and foremost we need the help

of those around us to survive.

15.  Where does the word gossip from and what did it originally mean?

Gossip came from "god sibb" meaning = god and kinsman (relation) special friend, some one you spent time with and felt close enough to share things with.