Origin of language

Can language evolve like species?

Imagine you're trying to teach a friend a secret handshake. You start with simple moves, but your friend keeps mixing them up, making it harder to communicate.

Just like teaching a secret handshake, languages evolve. Simple moves (basic words) get combined and changed over time, creating complex systems (formal grammars).

Example

You start with a wave (simple move), but over time, you add a thumbs-up (another move), creating a new gesture (complex system).

Remember this

Formal grammars evolve, showing how complex language systems develop from simple beginnings.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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