Throw Back Tech: Speech

It’s kind of strange really when you think about it. Our ability to talk is actually a by product of several other functions. In fact the very function of speech is almost entirely accidental. It begins with the contraction of the diaphragm in order to draw air into our lungs, the purpose, to bring oxygen into our blood stream. Next we exhale, the purpose to expel used up gas from our blood back into the atmosphere. This air once released travels over the larynx causing several chords to vibrate which causes sound to be produced. However the actual purpose of the larynx is to stop the wrong stuff from going into the lung channels (i.e. prevent drowning). Now this sound would be nothing without the tongue (designed so we can taste and determine the benefit of food) which moves and makes all the vowels and constants that we use possible. Finally this air and now shaped sound exits past our lips an produces distinguishable sounds that we now refer to as speech.

While I can’t say exactly how our ability to speak in complex sounds was first discovered it probably went a little something like this. One day George was standing next to a warm fire, holding his stick and his rock. Now George was fairly new to fire and he was standing a bit to close to the fire on this particular day and his clothes caught on fire. Suddenly George began hoping around as his clothes started burning shouting out in pain “owt, owt, owt”. Well as luck would have it, other members of George’s village where there that day and they put the poor man out, and after that whenever another one of their number caught fire they would shout “owt, owt, owt” and thus was born the first word.

Since the time of the first word our languages have grown, spread, changed and still we have yet to make a word for every experience, item, or creature in our world. Indeed some would say that we have made more useless words than useful words. I don’t know about you, but I love the fact I can speak. I can hold my kid and whisper in her ear that she is a wonderful person. I can shout across my yard at my dog to tell her to quit chasing a cat. I can tell a funny joke to a friend and most of all I can tell those I care about that I love them. While I admit being able to speak has brought its share of bad into the world, it has brought a lot of good as well. And without words I couldn’t bring you this great song by Pink Floyd “Speak to Me”