glengordon01@...> wrote:
>
> Eva:
> >I can think of a language. Babies "say" exclusively /a/ in the
> >beginning. They say other vowels as well, but I think that
> >happens later. I have not read anything serious on the
subject,
> >just my observations on my niece.
>
> Cute, Eva. But I'm sure you know that we just say "baby
> language". It's a misnomer. It doesn't constitute a real
language.
What I am sure you don't know is babies have a vocal apparatus
able to do things most of us have long forgotten to do. With his
extremely small "resonators" (bones) a baby can give out a
mighty cry which, in order to turn so, involves full use of a human
body's potental to produce sound (believe me, you are very far
from this achievement). Just to inform you (because you are
looking at things from the perspective of your ignorance, as
usual), those high pitches a baby can give out are still a part of
your actual range, but you have forgotten how to make use of
them (here you have up-bringing and society, etc. play a big role).
In addition to that, people who look at things a little less
superficially would see babies as an example of how our
speaking skills develop gradually to reach the level of complexity
they show in adulthood. I do not see why this could not be seen
from a historical perspective as well. While we do develop
articulation, we forget the natural sound-producing mechanisms
which both babies and animals (see below) make use of. A
person who has a problem with speaking (or singing, it is all the
same), is often asked to imitate an animal or a small child in an
attempt to find the true color of his voice or in trying to overcome
his problems with tone quality or problems like overstraining the
vocal strings, etc. This is applied in speaking technique
exercises with actors and singers (my godmother does both
professionally, I have done it as a hobby for friends who are
professional actors). I have also applied this in my pratice as a
teacher.
> Even my terrier dog pronounced /a/ once. He went to open
> his mouth to yawn and to my surprise it came out as a pure
> open vowel that any father would be proud of!
This only confirms the point that /a/ is the most neutral of
sounds. Apart from the things listed above, your dog can do one
more thing better which is very important in speaking - it has not
forgotten to breathe properly and to bark using its diaphragm in a
way that the whole neighborhood can hear. Believe me, to do
this, it is making use of just a few muscles which don't even
need to be strained so much (as the vocal strings would need
to) to give such an effect. Or else you would quickly have a
voiceless dog. This optimal use of our natural givens is
something many humans forget about and need to restore
artificially with age.
I don't know about your latest interest in Sprachwissenschaft, but
I think some genuine interest in nature, natural processes plus
Sprechwissenschaft may be very useful for "wooden
philosophers" of your kind (excuse the Bulgarian-ism, but I just
find the expression suits you wonderfully). It has already been
said that those who have the most of ignorance also have the
most of confidence (especially one whose expression is not
constructive argument, but braging, demagoguery and verbal
abuse).
Eva