From Cave Art to Email (12/11/2007-5/23/2008) CSU Chico

          It's amazing to stop and think how little people know about language (with the exception of linguists). Where did it come from, how did it evolve? Did we all come from a common "mother language" or did we evolve from different random languages?

   While not all of these questions can be answered, many can and will be answered upon attending the "From Cave Art to Email" exhibit at CSU Chico's Langdon Hall, on the 3rd floor. It is held in the Museum of Anthropology room.

      Among the many attractions in the exhibit are demonstrations of the evolution of language, lost languages, and representations of different accents from around the world.

      One of my favorite displays is an interactive showcase of the evolution of the English language. A  set of headphones plays readings of different literary works in English, starting with Beowulf (8th Century), then to Canterbury Tales (1390), followed by Antony and Cleopatra (1605). The amazing aspect of this is that the first two sound almost remotely English. The last has faint traces, but is still nothing like the language we speak in this day and age.

          Another fun site in the museum is an audio display that plays readings recorded in 1911 of a northern California Native American tribe called Yahi. It is a lost language that was spoken by Ishi, a Yahi Indian that moved to San Francisco and spoke with linguists in Berkeley. The eerie, crackly recordings are much like listening to a song, with an occasional interlude from the linguists Alfred Koeber and Theodore Walterman speaking.

         For a more modern example of linguists at work, there is an example of a language called Manda, which is spoken by Mr. Benson, as is labeled. He is the last speaker that speaks this language at it will be lost with his death. The work that is heard is done by Dr. Sarah Tretchor of CSU Chico. This language is very different than the sounds of the Yahi. It is much less song like and is spoken by Mr. Benson in a very formal sounding muttered tone. Very interesting.

       I highly recommend people take the time to go to this exhibit. It's free, and it’s full of knowledge and experiences that money can't buy.