陳偉濟

我們的祖先通過視覺、嗅覺、味覺、觸覺和聽覺進行交流。十萬多年前，人類還不能發(fā)出語音。有些科學家認為，人類一切語言都源自我們非洲祖先普遍使用的一種語言。人類語言可能在大約十萬年前開始形成，但關(guān)于語言是如何產(chǎn)生的，科學家們意見不一。有人認為當大腦變得夠大、夠復雜以后，我們的祖先就開始說話了;有的則認為語言是從最早的類人猿的肢體動作和叫聲慢慢演變而成的。盡管在語言形成以前人類就能夠發(fā)出元音，但他們的喉頭還不夠發(fā)達，無法產(chǎn)生和控制復雜的發(fā)音。雖然沒有記載，但科學家認為，當時人類的交流方式與動物相似。也就是說，他們只會發(fā)出諸如咕嚕和叫喚等有限幾種聲音來交換自然環(huán)境信息。他們也用手勢、體態(tài)和面部表情來進行交流。

我們祖先的交流方式

咕嚕和叫喚

早在學會制作工具之前，史前人類就已經(jīng)像如今智力發(fā)達的動物那樣交流。所以，我們祖先交流的形式包括發(fā)出咕嚕聲、粗嘎的喉音和叫喚聲。雖然能夠發(fā)出聲音，但由于喉頭不夠發(fā)達，他們無法構(gòu)建或說出詞語。這些聲音是從小規(guī)模族群中發(fā)展而來的信號，共同生活的成員能夠相互理解。因此，研究人員推斷，穴居人模仿他們聽到的動物叫聲、樹木搖曳和狂風呼嘯等自然界的聲音，表達感覺、情緒和想法。

手勢和其他肢體動作

手勢本就轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝，沒有現(xiàn)代科技的可視化記錄便無法保存。但我們可以猜想，史前時期的人類在社會交往和改造自然環(huán)境的活動中有成套豐富的手勢語言。比如，我們完全可以想象他們表達情感、交流看法的具體手勢和其他肢體動作。我們也能想象集體狩獵、戰(zhàn)斗和傳播應用于動植物及礦物上的變革性技術(shù)時，他們常用的視覺交流形式。雖說如此，我們祖先肢體動作的活動范圍和活動對象本身的特點，很大程度上限制了上述猜想。

洞穴繪畫

據(jù)估計，澳大利亞土著人的巖畫大約有三萬五千年的歷史。在法國和西班牙洞穴發(fā)現(xiàn)的巖畫可能約有三萬年的歷史，在非洲的一些發(fā)現(xiàn)同樣也可以追溯至這一時期。最初的口頭語言出現(xiàn)之后，圖形是我們祖先最早使用的交流工具之一。通過這些圖形，人類始祖發(fā)展出了跨越時空進行交流的能力。全球各地都能找到雕刻或繪畫在巖石上的圖形。

煙火信號

慢慢地，隨著人類大腦和發(fā)音器官的不斷進化，語言變得更為復雜。最早的部落族群隨后出現(xiàn)其他的交流方式，其中包括煙火信號的使用，特別是在間隔距離較遠的部落族群中。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者;單位：廣東科技學院）

The communication from our ancestors was realized through the senses： the sight， the smell， the taste， the touch and the hearing. More than 100，000 years ago， man was physically unable to produce speech sounds. Some scientists think that all human language arose from a common language spoken by our ancestors in Africa. Human language probably began to develop about 100，000 years ago， although scientists disagree on how it arose. Some people think that our ancestors started talking when their brains became big and sophisticated enough. Others think that language evolved slowly， from the gestures and sounds used by our earliest ape ancestors. Although prior to language development， humans could produce vowel sounds， their larynx was not developed enough to generate and control the intricate sounds of speech. Despite the lack of records， scientists assume that their form of communication resembled that of animals. In this sense， they used a limited number of sounds like grunts and shouts to exchange information about the environment. They also communicated with each other through gestures， posture and facial expressions.

The forms of communication of our ancestors

Grunts and screams

Even before they learned to make tools， prehistoric men communicated as do well-developed animals. Thus， the communication of our ancestors included grunts， guttural sounds and shouts. As their larynx was underdeveloped， they were able to make sounds， but they could not construct or utter words. These sounds were mutually understood signs and signs developed by small groups living together. In this way， researchers have come to the conclusion that cave men and women made noises similar to the sounds they heard in nature， such as animal noises， such as noises produced by the swaying trees and the howls of the wind. These were used to communicate feelings， moods and ideas.

Gestures and other body movements

The gestures are by nature ephemeral and could not be preserved until modern technologies allowed their visual recording. However， it can be assumed that human beings from prehistory had rich repertoires of gestures in their social interactions and in their manipulation of the elements of the environment. Thus， it is only possible to imagine the specific gestures and other bodily movements that they did to communicate feelings and attitudes to each other. The same is true of the forms of visual communication that prevailed during collective hunting， war and the transmission of transformative techniques applied to plants， animals， and mineral materials. That said， this presumption is largely restricted by the range of movements that the human body can perform and by the nature of the objects with which our ancestors interacted.

Drawings in the caves

It is estimated that the aboriginal rock paintings of Australia can be about 35，000 years old. Those found in the caves of France and Spain could be about 30，000 years old. Similarly， some discoveries in Africa go back to that time. After the first forms of spoken language， images were one of the first communication tools of our ancestors. Through the images， the first humans developed the ability to communicate over time and over long distances. These images are found all around the planet chiseled， inscribed or painted on rocks.

Signs of smoke and fire

Over time， language became more complex as the human brain and the organs of speech evolved. The first groups then developed other forms of communication. One of these involved the use of smoke and fire signals. This occurred particularly among groups that were at some distance.