Study paper from 2011 in the field of German - Education, Didactics, Linguistics, grade: 2.0, University of Bremen, course: Main seminar "The Debate on the Origin of Language (from Condillac to Chomsky)", language: German.

Abstract: The topic of "language origin" has long been considered a marginal subject in linguistics. Since the 1980s, the topic has been gaining attention again due to new findings from the fields of paleoanthropology, neurophysiology, and behavioral research. The present text engages with the following theories of language emergence: gestures, imitation of natural/animal sounds, nativism, evolution, and social contacts. In a second part, the question is explored as to what type of humans were already capable of speech.