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Karen Stollznow, Senior Research Fellow of Linguistics, University of Colorado Boulder; Griffith University

Where did language come from? Nobody really knows, but the theories are fascinating

Sriharu Kapu/Unsplash

Humans are the only species known to use fully symbolic language: a system capable of expressing abstract ideas, imaginary worlds and endless combinations of meaning. But how did we get there?

The origins of language have fascinated philosophers, scientists and storytellers for thousands of years. Despite all our advances in linguistics, archaeology and cognitive science, we still don’t know exactly how language began.

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