A bow-wow theory is any of the theories by various scholars, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Johann Gottfried Herder, on the speculative origins of human language.[1]

The philologist Max Müller introduced the term "bow-wow theory" as a sarcastic term, as he disapproved of the idea.

According to bow-wow theories, the first human languages developed from onomatopoeia, that is, imitations of natural sounds.[2] The term "bow-wow theory" was introduced in English-language literature by the German philologist Max Müller, who was critical of this idea.[3]

Bow-wow theories have been widely discredited as an explanation for the origin of language. However, some contemporary theories suggest that general imitative abilities may have played an important role in the evolution of language.[4]

In the humorous typology of what he considered to be fanciful theories on the origin of languages, Max Müller contrasted bow-wow theory with pooh-pooh theory, which holds that the original language consisted of interjections; and with ding-dong theory, which posits that humans were originally a kind of improved bell capable of making all sounds.[5]

However, Müller was at one time attracted to ho-hiss theory, which held that grunts were also the origin of singing.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Moran, John; Gode, Alexander (1986). On the origin of language. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-73012-3.
  2. ^ Thorndike, E. L. (2 July 1943). "The origin of language" (PDF). Science. New series. 98 (2531): 1–6. Bibcode:1943Sci....98....1T. doi:10.1126/science.98.2531.1. PMID 17747316.
  3. ^ Sprinker, Michael (1980) [January–March 1980]. "Gerard Manley Hopkins on the origin of language". Journal of the History of Ideas. 41 (1): 113–128. doi:10.2307/2709105. JSTOR 2709105.
  4. ^ Malle, Bertram F. (2002). "The relation between language and theory of mind in development and evolution". The Evolution of Language out of Pre-language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. ISSN 0167-7373.
  5. ^ "La science du langage d'après Max Müller". Revue des questions scientifiques. 50: 544. 1901..
  6. ^ Schrempp, Gregory (1983). "The Re-Education of Friedrich Max Muller: Intellectual Appropriation and Epistemological Antinomy in Mid-Victorian Evolutionary Thought". Man. 18 (1): 90–110. doi:10.2307/2801766. ISSN 0025-1496. JSTOR 2801766.
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