I am aware of the fact that humans did understand each other a little bit before the invention of language, but how did they explain complex words? Was the creation of languages like a buildup of words so they start with very simple words and gradually build up so that the rest of the tribe or country or whatever would understand the meaning of the new word easier? Or was it like one big language created at once and everyone just kind of figured out the meaning of the words over time?
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Well, first consider how do you explain words to babies? Sure, some simple nouns and verbs can be explained by pointing to an example. But how do explain what the meaning of the word “of”? Or “the” or “and”? You just use the words and they figure it out from context.
And language developed gradually over a long period of time. Animals today can communicate with sounds that mean simple things like “Danger!” or “Come mate with me!”. Some species have more complex calls that are more specific. I’ve read that dolphins even have unique names for individuals. Human language probably developed from something like that, that gradually got more sophisticated over thousands and thousands of years.
[Relevant wiki article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_language)
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