Tuneful Origins

There is a certain whimsy in the recitation offered by Jean-Jacques Lecercle in The Force of Language of the various speculations about origins.

Indeed, among the theories of the origin of language, one will not only find the 'bow-wow' theory (language as imitative of natural sounds), the 'yo-he-ho' theory, which I favour (language originates in communal work), the 'ding-dong' theory (language is the offspring of musical rhythmic 'ejaculations'), but also the 'come hither' theory, where language comes to humankind as a preliminary to sexual congress.

I vote for music because I am much taken by the argument put forth in The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body by Steven Mithen. Got a song on my mind:

bow-wow
yo-he-ho
ding-dong
come
hither
REPEAT

Catchy, eh?

And so for day 1047
25.10.2009