Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?

Language plays a crucial role in human evolution and communication, serving as a bridge that connects people and expresses thoughts. It has evolved from early gestures and sounds used by primordial humans to intricate systems of speech, made possible by anatomical changes and genetic mutations. In India, a country rich in linguistic diversity, four major language groups exist: Indo-European, Dravidian, Austroasiatic, and Sino-Tibetan, with numerous regional dialects reflecting the country’s varied cultures. Language not only facilitates communication but also embodies cultural identity, as individuals typically access multiple languages, with English serving as an important global connector.

Gift of Mother Nature

One of the many gifts that Mother Nature has bestowed upon human beings is language. It is a concerted and cohesive array of individual letters and syllabi that form words. Put in an orderly form according to fundamental rules, words become sentences to convey a thought in a meaningful way. It is the language that helps connect people and conveys their thoughts, which reside in their minds in an abstract form. The language is a tool that helps craft thoughts into words and reach far and wide for everyone to comprehend.

Language

The thing that helps connect people in a community is language. It may or may not contain sound or phonetics. Various animal groups communicate by sheer gesture. The evolution of human beings has simultaneously brought many things. The fast pace of human evolution was mainly because of the highly developed brain, housed in a closed and rounded bony case called the cranium. Composed of various fused bones sealed by immovable joints the cranium is a stout case. The capability of logic, thinking, argument and counterargument gives the human brain an edge over other animal groups.

Communication in living organisms

It depends on the nature of communication. Some animals, like birds, give a definite call when in distress. It may be a long, high-pitched, shrill or sharp call with very short intervals. This is their language of communication. In higher animal groups, animals rely on mutual behaviour, which is instinctive. The vocal cords help produce sound but are not articulative. Thus, a tiger growls, grunts, or roars as the situation warrants. It is its way of communication. Similarly, primates express their emotions by different degrees of howling or calling.

Speech in Humans

The human race started evolving around seven million years ago. It is an interesting story of human evolution from primordial apes, including their physical appearance, bipedalism, and the ability to use their hands in activities.  The erect posture helped develop and improve their cranial capacity and brain. The brain gradually developed more complex functions and started taking the central stage in human physiology. It became the core organ which controlled the whole body’s function, including the heartbeat and respiratory function. Despite significant physical development and brain power, the speech and language were still a far cry. Early humans still used their gestures and grunts to convey their feelings. Dexterity gave humans an edge. They started drawing lines and later shapes to convey their feelings. The cave paintings are primordial evidence of their drawing skills, which were the precursor of language and writing.

Speech developed

Millions of years after the Earth was born, the human race started developing, and millennia thereafter, they started learning to speak. Scientists assign erect posture, refinement in the larynx and development of vocal cords as reasons for the development of speech. Most crucial was the mutation in the FOXP2 gene. It regulates motor learning, important for speech and language. Humans can produce eight hundred different sounds, which helps them develop refined speech and language. (Propio)

First language

It took a long time to become a master of language and refine speech. Before that, they might have used pantomiming and hand gestures to express their emotions and communicate. The first modern human, Homo sapiens, appeared in Africa some three hundred thousand years ago. They gradually learned to diversify by migrating to other parts of the globe. The evidence is scanty on the origin of protolanguage, as there is no written history of that time. It is, nonetheless, not strange that the first human to learn the use of language for communication might be from Africa.

The Power of Words in Communication

Means of communication

Needless to say, language is the most important component of human evolution and development. They learned,  mastered the skill, and honed it to perfection by developing the grammar of languages. The main objective has been the communication and effective expression of emotions. It later helped a lot in developing commerce and improving the economy. The usage and context differentiated various languages, making them diverse to a great degree. They differ in their semantics, creating a wide variety of daughter languages even though they belong to the same parent language. Hindi, for example, is a member of the Indo-Aryan language group, which itself is a subgroup of the vast Indo-European language family.

Languages in India

India is a diversified country where many languages, ways of living, customs and cultures prevail in perfect harmony. It is a popular saying in India telling many facets and the diversified life of the country. The essence of the saying is that languages and water change after a few kilometres. There are four language groups in India. They are:

• Indo-European (Indo-Aryan branch) This group includes languages like Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujrati and Odia. It is spoken in the northern and central India by about 75% of the people.

• Dravidian – This is spoken by about twenty percent of people resident of South Indian States of India that contain Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Keralam and Karnataka. The languages are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

• Austroasiatic – It is in use in the central, eastern, and northeastern tribal belts of the country. The languages are mainly Santhali, Khasi and Mundari, spoken by about three per cent of the people.

• Sino-Tibetan – This is spoken predominantly in the Himalayan and the North-East area. Manipuri, Bodo, Naga, and Mizo are some of the languages that belong to this group, which is spoken by about three per cent of people.

Languages in the Constitution

With a population of about 1.4 billion and a plethora of varieties, India is a unique nation. Twenty-two languages are contained in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. It is more than enough to prove the point of unity in diversity. Out of 29 states of India, the most populous state of India is Uttar Pradesh having a population of about 25 crores. It is noteworthy that the population of the USA is 349 million (34.9 crores). Uttar Pradesh is the Hindi heartland where about 97% people speak Hindi.

Regional languages

Besides the main languages, various versions of Hindi are affected by local conditions and the vernacular style of pronunciation. These languages are named mostly after the region of their prevalence. These are basically spoken in interior rustic places. The languages like Bhojpuri, Maithili, Awadhi, Bundeli et cetera are but a few of them.

Mother tongue

The vegitus of an infant brings happiness. It is the first language of an infant who expresses emotions through their cries. As they grow,  they pick up the language their family members usually speak. It is their mother tongue. Language is not merely a medium of conversation but reflects the culture and tradition of the family. The language acts as a strong glue that keeps them grounded who are future young people, an important demographic component and torchbearer of culture and heritage.

People of India usually speak in their mother tongue, but they automatically learn one or two other regional languages by heart because of work compulsion and travelling to other parts of the country. English is a universally accepted connecting language in India. Knowing one foreign language is beneficial and English is a language that, with time, has acquired worldwide acceptance. Knowing English gives them an edge to show their mettle in the field of their expertise.

Some more interesting reads:

• The Power of Words in Communication
• Navigating the Power of Social Media
• Modes of Communication: From Ancient to Modern
• Celebrating Hindi Diwas: A Cultural Connection Through Food
• Cultural Mistakes Tourists Make in India

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