Yoda Language Study: New Research Shows Human Ancestors Spoke Like Star Wars Character (VIDEO)

Speak like Yoda, did you?

Two linguists say your ancestors did.

New research published in the the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the "proto-human languages" of 50,000 years ago resembled the speaking patterns of a certain wise, green Star Wars character.

The study focusses on how parts of speech have evolved over time. Most modern languages use a subject-verb-object (SVO) structure. For example, "I like 'Star Wars.'" Many dead languages, however, use a subject-object-verb (SOV) structure, meaning the sentence comes out as "I 'Star Wars' like."

Stanford University's Merritt Ruhlen and Murray Gell-Mann of Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico used these structures and a few others to analyze approximately 2,200 languages, dead and alive, and organize them into a family tree. Their research showed that SOV structures and various other sentence patterns always preceded SVO structures, without exception.

"This language would have been spoken by a small East African population who seemingly invented fully modern language and then spread around the world, replacing everyone else," Ruhlen explained in an interview with the site Life's Little Mysteries.

While the study provides insight regarding linguistic evolution, it does not channel the force to predict what's next. Or as Yoda might say, "Impossible to see the future is."

Comments

[PCFerret]

07:41 AM on 10/18/2011

SVO word-order is interesting, because it is the same as "reverse-Polish notation," used in certain programming languages, like Forth. This notation lends itself to the production of very compact computer interpreters and compilers. This might imply that it also lends itself to efficient brain processing.

[crakrman79]

01:05 PM on 10/17/2011

"While the study provides insight regarding linguistic evolution, it does not channel the force to predict what's next"

Ever see the movie "idiocracy"? That's pretty much where language is heading!

[jacmed]

09:28 AM on 10/16/2011

Like most weird news -- this is very interesting but does it really matter?

[kasel1]

08:10 AM on 10/16/2011

I'm still yawning from this one.

[joe Balaich]

01:35 AM on 10/16/2011

Oh please. Honestly. Yoda's dialect is basically German translated into english. Then in German its English with the German wording.

[RCnDC]

10:43 PM on 10/15/2011

We are now finally seeing Michelle Bachmanns baby photos... Would have loved to of seen a pic with her Mom.. Ohh, that's right, she didn't have one..

[goozled]

02:54 PM on 10/15/2011

Scientist also Discovered Snookies ancestors just 4 Generations ago spoke neanderthal

[crakrman79]

01:05 PM on 10/17/2011

2 generations before that they spoke in differing tones of "moo".

[groucho3710]

01:17 PM on 10/15/2011

English has so many antecedents and has borrowed from so many languages it's hard telling where all our stuff comes from. Actually German does usually follow the SVO pattern, as in, for intsance, "ich liebe dich," or I love you. When the verb is in a form requiring more than one word, such as..what do you call it, the participle form? i.e. "I have loved you for a long time," the form would then have a split verb with part of it at the end (Ich have sie schon lange geliebt). Pardon the rusty old German. I just couldn't keep from commenting. Ever hear the old saying that English is mostly misspelled German and mispronounced French? There's a lot of truth in that.

[joe Balaich]

01:36 AM on 10/16/2011

Thank you! That's exactly what I said right up above. It is exactly how you put it!

[icyrebel]

12:45 PM on 10/15/2011

lets figure this out...... food... you feed ..................... sex.... want now..........somehow i don't think they'd survive the modern woman.........

[Mary Thompson]

12:31 PM on 10/15/2011

Kidding, you are? Possible this could not be? lol

[hmarkwa]

11:44 AM on 10/15/2011

BS this is, think I.

[deepintheheartoftejas]

11:31 AM on 10/15/2011

Wow, Murray Gell-Mann is one of the authors. He's one of the great Renaissance men of science, having done original and important research in many fields. He's the guy who first theorized quarks. He got the Nobel Prize for physics in '69. Later, he made some big contributions to math. Together with Dick Feynman, he's one of the giants in the last half century. I didn't know he was doing linguist work now.

[bilhee]

07:45 AM on 10/15/2011

Which part of the Federal Government paid for this study????

[gingercurls]

09:53 AM on 10/15/2011

It was a college study, I think.

[sieiantn]

06:38 AM on 10/15/2011

I don't agree with the article! This SVO is nonsense! I have found that a number of people talk like SOB's. As a matter of fact, on closer observation, one will note that they actually "become" their linguistic pattern and assimilate all the characteristics of a SOB. So they not only talk in the SOB pattern, they act in the SOB pattern. Hell, just listen to a Republican debate or a Tea Party response if you want proof!

[ARTHURANS34]

04:21 PM on 10/15/2011

this sounds like an sob to me

[sieiantn]

09:03 PM on 10/15/2011

Impossible..That distinction is reserved for the Republicans and their little buddies, the Tea Party!

[grumpy63528]

06:32 AM on 10/15/2011

So, our ancient ancestors said, in the English language, "Do, or do not. There is no 'try'." Yeah...right. Learn how to write an article, I think you should. Hehehehehehehehe.