# Have all human populations developed a spoken language? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719 "2018-09-22T02:39:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/21 "2018-09-24T16:47:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And I personally just thought the goal was silence and discipline in maintaining silence and keeping a sense of prayer/reflection, not an outright ban on communication. I think that is consistent with what **Nava** and I posted. The goal is to foster contemplation, not to shut up in and of itself (on the contrary, as noted above). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/22 "2018-09-24T17:35:27Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I think that is consistent with what **Nava** and I posted. The goal is to foster contemplation, not to shut up in and of itself (on the contrary, as noted above). Ah, gotcha. I get what you are saying. So, yeah, it would be cheating if monks were sitting around and just having idle conversations all day via sign language. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/23 "2018-09-24T18:08:40Z")
I’m going to guess that language is about as essential a piece of human development as toolmaking. In fact, it is used to pass on knowledge and allow individuals to collaborate in hunting. Any subgroup that did not have that would be at a severe disadvantage compared to rivals; and likely would have been driven to extinction. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/24 "2018-09-24T18:26:34Z")
Every human population has a spoken language and every spoken language has a fully realized system of grammar. There is no such thing as a primitive or undeveloped language. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/25 "2018-09-24T18:29:39Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Every human population has a spoken language and every spoken language has a fully realized system of grammar. There is no such thing as a primitive or undeveloped language. Have you spoken with a teenager lately? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/26 "2018-09-24T19:39:18Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Every human population has a spoken language and every spoken language has a fully realized system of grammar. There is no such thing as a primitive or undeveloped language. [Pidgin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin) languages are considered underdeveloped (while creoles are reasonably developed). OTOH, Pidgins are 2nd languages. Once they become a first language they should have developed into a creole by then. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/27 "2018-09-24T20:36:32Z")
And even if there’s no such thing as a primitive language _now_, there presumably was once, back in the murky depths of prehistory. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/28 "2018-09-25T00:53:59Z")
Feral children do not, in isolation, create languages: > **[First-Language Acquisition: Wild and Isolated Children](https://medium.com/@_mufarrohah/first-language-acquisition-wild-and-isolated-children-3c2404ab1356)** > > It becomes interesting thing to know whether children would be able to acquire the languages through experiencing it or they just speak the… That said, I don’t think that we aware of any case of two infants becoming isolated together, so the question of whether they would develop a language together is unanswered. That a child, without another person to communicate with, would not create a rudimentary language does not seem that mysterious. While the answer would be intriguing, I’m fine with this one going untested for as long as possible. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/29 "2018-09-25T01:39:01Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > …Spanish Sign Language is an evolution of the Sign Language used by Cister monks who have a vow of silence - of silence, not of non-communication. The first School for the Deaf in Spain was a Cister monastery, one of whose monks had the idea of accepting deaf novices, making it clear that like any other novice they didn’t have to take vows or to stay… Fascinating! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/30 "2018-09-25T01:41:15Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > [Pidgin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin) languages are considered underdeveloped (while creoles are reasonably developed. Correct on the pidgin; not correct on the creole (they’re as “developed” as any other language). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/31 "2018-09-25T12:14:42Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Correct on the pidgin; not correct on the creole (they’re as “developed” as any other language). ??? So you corrected my “error” by merely restating what I said. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/32 "2018-09-25T13:38:27Z")
Did anyone ask the Sentinelese? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/33 "2018-09-25T13:46:04Z")
They yelled something back but our brave reporters didn’t get close enough to try and ask about grammar specifics. Since they did yell, it is understood that they have at least the local equivalent of “stay the fuck out!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/34 "2018-09-25T14:28:51Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Correct on the pidgin; not correct on the creole (they’re as “developed” as any other language). > [@ftg](#): > > ??? So you corrected my “error” by merely restating what I said. :dubious: The difference is between “as developed as any other language” and “reasonably developed”. The former is not simply a restatement of the latter. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/35 "2018-09-25T15:10:18Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > They yelled something back but our brave reporters didn’t get close enough to try and ask about grammar specifics. Since they did yell, it is understood that they have at least the local equivalent of “stay the fuck out!” America is full of places whose names translate to things like, “Who are you people?” and “Why are you pointing at that mountain?” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719/36 "2018-09-25T16:23:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The difference is between “as developed as any other language” and “reasonably developed”. The former is not simply a restatement of the latter. I’m reasonably sure it is. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-all-human-populations-developed-a-spoken-language/821719.md?page=1)