How did humans learn language?

How do humans learn language?

Language is complex. That is the simplest way to describe. It is complex with all of its rules and exceptions, sounds and different combinations of sounds that make weird and wonderful words. Then why do, in a matter of a few years, do humans learn English so easily when as infants?

The answer is extended but in brief it all starts in the womb. When babies are in the womb, they are picking up sounds that are said by the mother. But over the course of the first few years the baby picks up sounds and words said in the environment in which they are staying. The environment is a key to a child’s language. And scientists wanted to test that theory with the Forbidden Experiment.

Wikipedia describes the Forbidden Experiment as “the exceptional deprivation of ordinary human contact it requires.” In short, the Forbidden Experiment is an experiment in which a child is raised in an environment without culture; the child is raised in solitary conditions. Sociolinguists came up with this theory to see if a child could develop a sense of language themselves without any help, but the ethical side of the experiment stopped the sociolinguists from proceeding.

So instead, scientists conducted the Forbidden Experiment on zebra finches to see how they develop their own sense of language, for their call was like a song which the younger male zebra finches copied from their father. But not only copied their fathers, but they also improved the song to make it their own. Their song would attract females. Scientists thought that with the lack of the parental presence, the young zebra finches would not be able to sing. The experiment was successful. When the zebra finches grew up and they tried to attract females with their songs, it came out as a croak instead. Only the most desperate females would mate with the male birds. But then scientists continued the experiment to see if the birds could develop their own songs. And it happened. After 4 generations of the zebra finches being isolated, the scientists let the newer birds back out into the open and their songs were able to pick up the females for mating just as easily as the birds that weren’t isolated. At the end, this experiment had proved that isolated birds were able to create their own songs over the generations as successfully as birds that were not isolated in the first place.

In short, scientists were able to prove that birds were able to develop their own songs. But now the question is, are humans able to? Once the sociolinguists are able to get past the ethical debate, they would try the Forbidden Experiment and that would give the scientists a very good idea of how language is formed.