Human Language Origins

When people start thinking about language, the first question which often occurs to them is this: is language natural to humans? - in the same way that grunting is natural to pigs, and barking comes naturally to dogs. Or is it just something we happen to have learned? - in the same way that dogs may learn to beg, or elephants may learn to waltz, or humans may learn to play the guitar. Clearly, in one sense, children 'learn' whatever language they are exposed to, be it Chinese, Nootka or English. So no one would deny that 'learning' is very important. But the crucial question is whether children are born with 'blank sheets' in their head as far as language is concerned - or whether humans are 'programmed' with an outline knowledge of the structure of languages in general. This question of whether language is partly due to nature or wholly due to learning or nurture is often referred to as the nature-nurture controversy and has been discussed for centuries. For example, it was the topic of one of Plato's dialogues, the Cratylus.