Assertion (A): All modern languages have words whose pronunciation echoes natural sounds. Reason (R): Early humans imitated sounds such as 'caw-caw' and 'coo-coo' and used them for the objects even when absent.
Pick an option to check yourself, or open the answer below.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Both A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A
Explanation
Per the key, the 'bow-wow' theory of the origin of language, with onomatopoeia as the evidence.
Note: The bow-wow theory is speculative; the key takes R as explaining A.
More Language and Linguistics questions
- In an English initial cluster of three consonants, the first is always:
- According to Saussure, what is the minimum number of persons needed to complete the speaking-circuit?
- Which Mughal ruler had infants raised in silence, with the result that they produced no speech?
- Who said that Sanskrit is 'more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either'?
- If the glide is distinct enough to be heard, the vowel + glide will be treated as:
- The study of how humans acquire language and use it to speak and understand is called: