What first sparked human language — the African savannah two million years ago, or the moment humans began expressing themselves symbolically some 50,000-plus years later? Renewed interest from archaeology and genetics has reopened this question in recent years. The course examines the leading theories, then traces the rise and evolution of today's major language superfamilies, before finishing with a close look at Proto-Nostratic — proposed by some scholars as the common ancestor of our own language family, spoken an estimated 15,000 years ago in the Middle East.
Both options cover the same course content — the difference is how and when you learn.
Self Study
Enrol anytime, start immediately. Lifetime access to all course materials. Book an optional Q&A session with Nigel any time you want something clarified.
$40 / one-off
Register & EnrolPersonal Tuition
Work through this course privately with Nigel via Microsoft Teams. Flexible scheduling, completely bespoke to your pace and goals.
$140 / per student
Book a session Book a bundleWhat you'll learn
Understand the main theories on how and when human language began
Trace the evolution of language from early vocalisations to complex grammar
Understand the relationship between language, genetics and human migration
Know how linguists classify and group the world's major language families
Have a grounding in Proto-Nostratic and its proposed relationship to Indo-European
Course outline
Ape vocalisations up to just before the appearance of Homo sapiens; theories on the origin of spoken language
The appearance of Homo sapiens
The development of language up to the three-word stage — Pirahã and Riau Indonesian as examples of what early language might have been like
Homo sapiens out of Africa
Cycles of creation and decay or erosion in language
A review of common grammatical terminology and the evolution of the parts of speech
Proto-Nostratic and its spread, and the characteristics of Proto-Nostratic
From Proto-Nostratic and Proto-Afroasiatic to Hebrew, and connections to Proto-Indo-European
Who this course is for
You're fascinated by the question of where language came from and want more than a surface-level answer
You're interested in human evolution, genetics or archaeology and want to understand the role of language
You want to understand the big picture of language history before diving into specific ancient languages
You have no prior linguistics background — the course assumes nothing
What students say
"The course met my expectations and more. It was well researched with plenty of detail and lots of resources offered. I found the evidence based information about the origins of language particularly interesting. I certainly learnt a lot."
Your teacher
Nigel spent seven years attending degree-level classes across every branch of the Indo-European language family. He now teaches from Auckland to students worldwide via Microsoft Teams.
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