If the world were based on sound instead of linear language

Eb above high C would be "hello"

Um... nomadic hunter-gatherers. No language, no civilization.

Bartiones would thus be friendless

(x-post)

Bartiones = Baritones

OK so what if it were BASED on sound rather than linear print as we know it?

read Walter Ong! Orality and Literacy

guh
bllrrrrrgggg
*gurgle*

Humans were communicating, presumably verbally, prior to the advent of written language. In other words, language is already based on sound, and not linear print.

language was based on sound, but our conception of the world shifted with the invention and incorporation of writing (so argues ong, and i'd agree). Without writing people would never have had the audacity to claim objectivity, abstract thought in the terms of lists and numbers, etc wouldn't have been possible. words, concepts, things, existed in relations not abstract categories. But literacy also allowed us the ability for introspection, for a more um, what's the code word these days.. a meta-awareness of ourselves, culture, etc. SO they say, but i wonder what would've happened if most intellectual knowledge had been based on a form of analysis that didn't abstract and categorize, but then, according to ong, we'd still be stuck in a strange society that was conservative but not traditional which would rewrite its own history whenever it became redundant or whenever something (or someone) was intended to be forgotten. Why? because, there is no writing. I don't know what would be worse, because, then, maybe after the 60s (at the latest) Kant could have been written out of history and we could be free of his continuing menace. :)

I agree with all. Except that would we really be stuck in one place? We have always figured a way to "evolve" no matter what stood in our way. I guess writing ultimately is the way we organize. Graphic design would be a lot different if we had no written language. What the hell would that look like?

I think a better question would be:

What would our civilization be like if humans lost the ability to comprehend and create stories.

Higher primates already have language and tool use abilities. What they don't have is the ability to turn everything they see into a story, and use stories as a tool to predict future events. Thumbs, the ability to predict future outcomes, and the ability to create a narrative with evidence of past events are what puts us on the top of the food chain.

As Kenan rightly said above, no civilization.

But where does that put Dolphins? What are their language structures like? Does their social organization come from the fact that they never developed articulated limbs and therefore never were as able to manipulate their environment as well as primates?

Oh, dolphins are so 80s. Stuck between Bjork and Byrne.

Somewhat banal at this point, but hasn't anyone thought of languages where tone carries meaning rather than locutional nuances (eg. Chinese)?

don't forget sign language, which has extra-linear syntax features owning to it employing facial expressions, gestures and division of the 3D space around the speaker simultaneously.

Well language is more than just the words. Sound creates an experience whether it is musical or just from the tone(s) of the language that is spoken. Even with abstract non-sensical compositions like those of Kurt Schwitters one draws feeling of an experience after hearing them. So it is possible to "communicate meaning" with out meaningful words.