Twentieth century psychoanalyst Erich Fromm defined humans as, “the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve” (Fromm, 1947). This “problem” has been constantly defined or reinterpreted from biological, philosophical, evolutional, and sociological perspectives. However, the key factor linking these varying viewpoints together is the presence of a linguistic system that allows us to even form these differing perspectives. This essay will suggest that the complexity that exists within our language- our syntax, grammar, design, symbolism, and semantics- divides and elevates the human species from non-human animals (NHA).
Human language is perhaps one of the most distinctive behavioural adaptations on the planet as it has differentiated itself from the idea of simple communication between organisms to a prerequisite for the development of human culture. There is a biological basis to the complexity of human language- the Forkhead box protein P2 gene (FOXP2) in humans contributes to the ability of fine control of the larynx and mouth needed for articulate speech production (Enard et. al, 2002). FOXP2 has been shown to regulate language-like behaviours in birds, mice, and chimpanzees. These vocalizations aid in providing a communicative structure to social groups, such as identifying members, facilitating group movement, or signaling danger, but lack in grammatical or syntactic complexity. When human and chimpanzee lineages diverged 4.6-6.2 million years ago, the substitution of two amino acid changes in humans, from those in NHA, appear to contribute to the human ability of normal spoken language (Enard et. al, 2002).
Linguist Noam Chomsky, built upon this idea of a contributing genetic factor to human language suggesting “that our language is the result of the unfolding of a genetically determined program” which begins with an innate ability to understand grammatical structures, coined as “Universal Grammar” (Deacon, 1997). Chomsky suggests that “language acquisition devices” in developing brains aid children in navigating sub
