I call the inflection point in human history when thinkers gave structure to the words in their heads the Grammatical Revolution.
We easily find the roots of science fiction in mythology because we commonly accept that people - perhaps protohumans - told wondrous tales around the campfire. However, that may not be so. The IndoEuropean languages are no more than eight thousand years old, and perhaps only half that. Estimates for the oldest possible forms of Chinese (protoSinitic) are perhaps half again as old as protoIndoEuropean. It may be easy to accept that the purpose of language is communication with other people because human language evolved from animal calls. Ravens and crows are notorious talkers with large vocabularies, including gestures. However, that is not the primary purpose of language.
The primary purpose of language is to enable thinking. Thinking is private. Alone on an island, you would have no one to talk to. Your survival would depend on the contents of your mind.
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_grammar It has been said (not in Wikipedia) that Lithuanian has retained more proto-IndoEuropean forms than other IE languages. |
And there had to be a "first thinker." I believe that rather than solitary they were a pair of females who invented their own grammar to deliver nuance to their speech. Then they taught it to their children, preferentially to their daughters. Succeeding generations added complex rules in order to better explain their sensory perceptions and mental conceptions. "I see them take your new food to her yonder fire."
Counting only 1-2-Many, the PIE Caucasians all borrowed their word for "seven" from their Semitic neighbors.
