This is the story of Thag. He has small, beady eyes, long, hairy arms, and a forehead like the rocky overhang of a particularly steep cliff.

      Thag is what he calls himself. All the others of his tribe don’t bother with names. Life is complicated enough as it is, but a fire is some comfort, especially on a cold windy night like tonight.

      Thag hears thunder, faintly, over the distant hills; no one else does.

      He motions for them to get in the cave, but they don’t move from the warm fire, ...

      ... so Thag imitates the sounds of the storm and points over the hills.

    BOOM!!!…

Satisfied, they all go into the cave.

     The early origins of language are, for the most part, lost in the mists of time. It is possible that the story of Thag the Caveman (or as he prefers to be called, Thag the Hominid) tells how humans first learned to use language.

     It’s easy to see why language was important. Imagine, for one moment, living life without the ability to communicate with one another. Imagine how things would be different. Place a piece of duct tape over your mouth for even half a day and see what you would have to do to communicate.

     This thought might not always occur to us, but communication is one of the most important things that we humans do. Without the ability to share with others our likes and our dislikes, our desires and needs, cooperation would be nearly impossible.

     Technological advancement would rarely take place and everyone would basically be left to fend for themselves. Without communication, just surviving would be a struggle. Thankfully, humans have the ability to speak and write.

     We communicate through the use of language, and it is through that use of language that we have an interchange of ideas which allows civilization to advance. Language is our website’s primary focus.

     Every people group has their own language, and there are over 7000 different languages all over the world. Languages change over periods of time, as do the actual languages that people speak.

     Mankind has created language because of his need to communicate with others like himself and to further his drive to make his life better. We will explore the origins of language but most importantly why many languages are disappearing from our planet. Many languages are like endangered species with only a few speakers of that language remaining.

Sources:

Opening Cartoon: Original artwork by team member Ron

Opening Story: Original scenario by team member Hannah