How the languages of the world emerged is largely a mystery. Considering that it might have taken millennia, it is intriguing to see how deaf people can create novel sign languages spontaneously.

Observations have shown that when deaf strangers are brought together in a community, they come up with their own sign language in a considerably short amount of time.

The most famous example of this is Nicaraguan Sign Language, which emerged in the 1980s.

Interestingly, children played an important role in the development of these novel languages.

However, how exactly this happened has not been documented, as Manuel Bohn describes: “We know relatively little about how social interaction becomes language. This is where our new study comes in.”

Read more: archaeology news network