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Friday, April 15, 2011

Compelling evidence that language arose in southern Africa

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/science/15language.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2


Phonetic Clues Hint Language Is Africa-Born
By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: April 14, 2011

A researcher analyzing the sounds in languages spoken around the world has detected an ancient signal that points to southern Africa as the place where modern human language originated.

The finding fits well with the evidence from fossil skulls and DNA that modern humans originated in Africa. It also implies, though does not prove, that modern language originated only once, an issue of considerable controversy among linguists.

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