How did Neanderthals talk?

Theories, theories, theories ... But I find it fascinating to think about such subjects as where and when language began and if we only stick to the known facts, we will never progress our knowledge. So, take a look at this:

"Right-hand dominance is the latest in a growing list of evidence that Neanderthals had language. In 2008 the French archeologist Francisco D’Errico hypothesized that Neanderthals had language based on artifacts related to symbolic meaning, such as body paint, beads and other decorative materials. In addition, the only bone in the vocal tract, the hyoid, in Neanderthals and in early Homo sapiens is strikingly similar, especially in contrast to the vocal tracts of the great apes, our other cousins. Great apes have an air sac that produces a huge booming sound, but not articulation. Neanderthals and modern humans do not have an air sac. The hypothesis is that the sac diminished as survival became dependent on what was said, not how loud it was said."

Read more information at http://hotword.dictionary.com/neanderthals/

From Frank Parker's work-in-progress

Language


older than we are

invented only this morning

all houses, all landscapes

marry those sounds

we call our friends

and read poems to them


- Frank Parker
poet and editor from Tucson, Arizona

For more of his work-in-progress, and even a biog detail or two, go to http://frankshome.org/WinPo.html

from The London Review of Books ...

The Land East of the Asterisk by
Wendy Doniger reviewing
Indo-European Poetry and Myth by M.L. West

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n07/doni01_.html

The Living Tongue cleansed

My eldest son, Miles, has inherited a few things from me, and he has put them to good use :-) Just take a look at http://wrongwrite.com/ He would have a field day here in the People's Republic! Even the textbooks in English about how to Write English have screamers. Sometimes it is funny ... like a student - a Freshman to use Americano lingo which they favo(u)r here - said the other day in a writing class:

'Cohesion is very important in English testes.'