By Paul Jay
What is the meaning of language? How and where did it begin? This highly original and challenging film examines these questions as it explores human evolution and the development of language. The Birth of Language uses a unique combination of extraordinary documentary footage, expert interviews and dramatic re-enactments to unravel the fascinating origins of language, the essential differences between human and animal communication and the relationship between language and thought.
Featuring such renowned experts as anthropologists Jane Goodall and Sherwood Washburn, the film compares the special language ability of humans to the instinctual and involuntary form of communication used by animals. Theories are illustrated by remarkable animal footage including the famous Chantek ape experiment in which an orangutan is taught to communicate with American Sign Language. The varied information presented in The Birth of Language strongly supports Charles Darwin's theories on evolution and natural selection.
Presenting complex social and biological concepts in a logical and accessible format, The Birth of Language explains the mystery that sets the human race apart from all other animals: the ability to think and translate our abstract ideas into concrete realities.
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