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Theory of Language Evolution

When: 1772
Where: Correspondence
Part of: Publication of Lord Monboddo's Of the Origin and Progress of Language

Monboddo articulated his theory that language evolved from primates, linking tool use, social structures, and language development.

In a letter to James Harris in 1772, Monboddo articulated that his theory of language evolution was part of how man advanced from lower animals. He argued that the development of language was linked to a procession of events: first developing use of tools, then social structures, and finally language.

Sources

James Burnett, Lord Monboddo Wikipedia, revision of 2026-05-29

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