ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book state the problem of the origin of language is not of a linguistic order always provokes surprise. Linguists study both spoken and written languages; they follow up the history of these languages with the aid of the oldest accessible documents. The most general definition of language that can be given is that it is a system of signs. Visual language is probably quite as old as auditory language. One natural use of visual language is well known, namely the language of gesture, employed by certain savage peoples side by side with auditory language. Psychologically the original linguistic act consists in giving to a sign a symbolic value. This psychological process distinguishes the language of man from that of animals. In language, however, there are certain elements more stationary and less subject to arbitrary human will than political institutions.
