Linguistics has provided valuable insights into the development of over 1,000 languages, including the Indo-European group of languages, which includes Norwegian, Hindi, and English. However, there are still areas of knowledge that need to be explored in evolutionary biology. Human language is more complex than that of even our most intelligent relatives, like chimpanzees, as it allows us to express complex thoughts, convey subtle emotions, and communicate abstract concepts. This is achieved through the use of grammar, which is a set of structural rules that govern the order of words.

To understand the origins of our ability to use language, we need to examine how our brains differ from other animals beyond just size. Artifacts left by our ancestors do not reveal what speech they were capable of making. However, we can observe the development of the mouth, throat, and tongue in early humans, which enabled them to create complex sounds around 100,000 years ago.

The brain also evolved the capacity to produce vowel and consonant sounds and invent words to name things around us. The next step was to put these words into sentences, similar to the ‘proto language‘ children use when they first learn to speak. It remains unclear whether this evolution required further development in the human brain or was simply a response to our increasingly civilized way of living together.

Between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, evidence of early human civilization, such as cave paintings, began to appear. However, no connection between this and language exists. Brains didn’t suddenly grow bigger, but humans did become more complex and intelligent.

Additionally, genetics may have played a role in language development. Researchers have found a gene mutation between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago that seems to have a connection with speaking and how our brains control our mouths and faces. While it’s too early to determine the extent of genetic influence on language, one day, answers might be found in our DNA.