Language is possibly the most important and incredible ability that sets humans apart from other species. Whether spoken, written, or signed, language exists in thousands of varieties among modern human cultures, and there are some very language-like communication systems in other animals, too. This episode, we discuss what defines language, what makes it so special, and what we understand about its history and origins among our ancestors.

In the news: orangutan medicine, frog skin, giant sharks, and dinosaur eggs.

Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:05:15 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:34:35 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:14:25 Patron question: 01:58:00

Find Dr. Alex at https://www.bridgetalex.com/ or @bannelia

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0