language-origin theory
speculation about the origin and early development of language in the human species. The numerous early theories on this subject tend to fall into three main categories: (a) those that see language developing from conscious imitation by early humans of nonhuman animal noises and other natural sounds; (b) those that see it emerging from the involuntary sounds produced to express rage, pleasure, hunger, and so on; and (c) nativistic theories that see the language faculty as innate to human beings and postulate an inherent relation between sound and meaning (see phonetic symbolism). Modern research tends to ask whether language is, in fact, a uniquely human capacity and, if so, whether it evolved in response to various selective adaptations. See also species specificity of language.