What was the first language after body language?

Answer 1

This is not at all an easily answered question. It is true that early Man probably used a system of gestures and movements to communicate, but very quickly this system would be mixed in with a rudimentary spoken language, and as time moved on the language grew more and more sophisticated. Remember that certain other primates like orangutans can use a very basic system to express ideas, commands etc. with their mouths and larynges.

This language - or languages would be a more correct term, as by this time Homo sapiens had begun to move outwards from Central Africa and was split into many different groups - would have been based largely upon the stimuli that the tribes found in their environments. For instance, if tribes-people observed the way ducks made a sound like "quack!", they may have invented words to replicate this. But for some ideas people would have to invent totally original sounds because they did not naturally make a particular noise, eg. I, you, sky, house, etc., and it is in these words that the languages of the world start to break away from each other.

Bear in mind, also, that it was not until around 3,500 B.C. (this is an estimation) in Sumeria that actual writing - that is, showing a particular idea or string of ideas with certain symbols - began, so the very first language of Homo sapiens in its African tribes was not so to speak a 'full' language.

If you are looking for an answer that will give you an actual example of the very first languages, my response would be to look at some of the ancient tribal languages of countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya. Some of these will be extinct. You may also wish to know that some scholars have put forward the idea of Proto-Human - a language from which all others originate. This is disputed.