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<div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Essay by Jean-Jacques Rousseau</div> <p> <i><b>Essay on the Origin of Languages</b></i> (<a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a>: <i lang="fr">Essai sur l'origine des langues</i>) is an essay by <a href="/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau" title="Jean-Jacques Rousseau">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a> published posthumously in 1781.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Rousseau had meant to publish the essay in a short volume which was also to include essays <i>On Theatrical Imitation</i> and <i>The Levite of Ephraim.</i> In the preface to this would-be volume, Rousseau wrote that the <i>Essay</i> was originally meant to be included in the <i><a href="/wiki/Discourse_on_Inequality" title="Discourse on Inequality">Discourse on Inequality</a></i>, but was omitted because it "was too long and out of place".<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The essay was mentioned in Rousseau's 1762 book, <i><a href="/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education" title="Emile, or On Education">Emile, or On Education</a></i>. </p><p>In this text, Rousseau lays out a narrative of the <a href="/wiki/Origin_of_language" title="Origin of language">beginnings of language</a>, using a similar literary form as the Second Discourse. Rousseau writes that language (as well as the human race) developed in southern warm climates and then migrated northwards to colder climates. In its inception, language was musical and had emotional power as opposed to rational persuasion. The colder climates of the north, however, stripped language of its passionate characteristic, distorting it to the present rational form. In the later chapters, this relation is also discussed in terms of music, in ways that resonate with observations that Rousseau makes in his 1753 <i>Letter on French Music</i>. </p><p>Chapter Nine of the <i>Essay</i> is an explication of the development of humankind, eventually inventing language. As this format closely adheres to that of the Second Discourse, some have discussed whether one account ought to be read as more authoritative than the other. As the text was initially written in 1754, and was sent to the publisher in 1763, it appears safe to argue that the tensions between the <i>Essay</i> and the Second Discourse were intentional. </p><p>The third chapter of <a href="/wiki/Jacques_Derrida" title="Jacques Derrida">Jacques Derrida</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Of_Grammatology" title="Of Grammatology">Of Grammatology</a></i> critiques and analyzes Rousseau's essay. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Essay_on_the_Origin_of_Languages&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 20em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Animal_communication" title="Animal communication">Animal communication</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Biolinguistics" title="Biolinguistics">Biolinguistics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Evolutionary_anthropology" title="Evolutionary anthropology">Evolutionary anthropology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Historical_linguistics" title="Historical linguistics">Historical linguistics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_evolution" title="Human evolution">Human evolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Language_acquisition" title="Language acquisition">Language acquisition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Linguistic_anthropology" title="Linguistic anthropology">Linguistic anthropology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Linguistic_universal" title="Linguistic universal">Linguistic universals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neurobiological_origins_of_language" title="Neurobiological origins of language">Neurobiological origins of language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Origins_of_society" title="Origins of society">Origins of society</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Origin_of_speech" title="Origin of speech">Origin of speech</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Physical_anthropology" class="mw-redirect" title="Physical anthropology">Physical anthropology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proto-language" title="Proto-language">Proto-language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proto-Human_language" title="Proto-Human language">Proto-Human language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Recent_African_origin_of_modern_humans" title="Recent African origin of modern humans">Recent African origin of modern humans</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Signalling_theory" title="Signalling theory">Signalling theory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sociocultural_evolution" title="Sociocultural evolution">Sociocultural evolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Symbolic_culture" title="Symbolic culture">Symbolic culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Universal_grammar" title="Universal grammar">Universal grammar</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Essay_on_the_Origin_of_Languages&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/stream/1782collectionco08rous#page/354/mode/2up">Collection complete des oeuvres de J.J. Rousseau, citoyen de Geneve : Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1712-1778</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Victor Gourevitch, <i>Rousseau: The Discourses and other early political writings</i>, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 393–4.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sources">Sources</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Essay_on_the_Origin_of_Languages&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Gourevitch, Victor. <i>Rousseau: The Discourses and other early political writings</i>. Cambridge University Press 1997</li> <li>Moran, John H., Gode, Alexander <i>On the Origin of Language</i>. University of Chicago Press 1986</li> <li>Derrida, Jacques. Spivak, Gayatri. <i>Of Grammatology</i>. Johns Hopkins Press 1998</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist 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D'Alembert on Spectacles">Letter to M. D'Alembert on Spectacles</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Julie,_or_the_New_Heloise" class="mw-redirect" title="Julie, or the New Heloise">Julie, or the New Heloise</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education" title="Emile, or On Education">Emile, or On Education</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Social_Contract" title="The Social Contract">The Social Contract</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Constitutional_Project_for_Corsica" title="Constitutional Project for Corsica">Constitutional Project for Corsica</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Pygmalion_(Rousseau)" title="Pygmalion (Rousseau)">Pygmalion</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Confessions_(Rousseau)" title="Confessions (Rousseau)">Confessions</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Considerations_on_the_Government_of_Poland" title="Considerations on the Government of Poland">Considerations on the Government of Poland</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Letters_on_the_Elements_of_Botany" title="Letters on the Elements of Botany">Letters on the Elements of Botany</a></i></li> <li><i><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Essay on the Origin of Languages</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Dialogues:_Rousseau,_Judge_of_Jean-Jacques" title="Dialogues: Rousseau, Judge of Jean-Jacques">Dialogues: Rousseau, Judge of Jean-Jacques</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Reveries_of_a_Solitary_Walker" class="mw-redirect" title="Reveries of a Solitary Walker">Reveries of a Solitary Walker</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Concepts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Amour_de_soi" title="Amour de soi">Amour de soi</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Amour-propre" title="Amour-propre">Amour-propre</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/General_will" title="General will">General will</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div 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