Just as humanity has a common point of origin in Africa, so also does language. The branches of the human tree grow out of a common root, including an originating language. Language, in essence, is a fundamental unity in diversity: even the same language often has myriad dialects. What does this mean for the future? Will a world language come to be utilized by everyone on Earth?
When did humans first start to speak? How language evolved in Africa - The transformation of Homo Sapiens (modern humans) from a “non-speaking” to a “speaking” species happened at about the same time as our hunter-gatherer ancestors migrated out of Africa.
How Click Sounds Work in the Zulu Language - Sakhile Dube, who grew up in the southeast province of KwaZulu-Natal, teaches the click sounds found in the languages of the Nguni people native to South Africa. Explaining how each of these sounds equate to certain letters in the English alphabet, he demonstrates how they are used with different names and words.
How Languages Evolve - This 4-minute TED-Ed animated video, explores what happens in human history when communal groups subdivide and strike out on their own. This sort of geographic and temporal separation brings about linguistic evolution, with vocabulary and pronunciation changing in response to speakers’ surroundings and needs.
The Whistled Language of Oaxaca, Mexico - This 27-minute video documentary explores the unique whistled language of the Chinantec people of the mountainous region of northern Oaxaca.
What Ancient Languages May Have Sounded Like - This 10-minute video features ancient people, created using artificial intelligence, dressed in the clothing from different eras, who recite ancient texts in the most likely pronunciation. While it is hard to be certain how these languages were spoken, the clips help the languages of these distant cultures feel much more real.
What English Sounds Like In 65 Different Accents - This 14-minute video gives only a portion of the more than 160 recognized English dialects around the world. Keep this video in mind as you think about what a possible world language of the future might be like.
Going Global: Language of the Future? - These 10 languages are increasingly global in their usage. Will one of them become a universal auxiliary language, used by all or most humans in the future?
As the world increasingly becomes one community, deeply interconnected at all levels, it seems a good bet that a single language will become a universal go-to for people needing to communicate. But universal usage does not mean uniformity. With that thought, check out this 5-minute video, demonstrating 25 different Chinese dialects; or this 7-minute video illustrating different Arabic dialects; or this 6-minute video showcasing different dialects of Spanish.