Author: Scotty Hendricks / Source: Big Think
- A new study suggests that the f and v sounds were made easier to pronounce by the change in our diets the invention of farming made possible.
- The idea isn’t a new one, but is only now being taken seriously.
- Even today, many hunter-gather cultures lack labiodentals in their languages.
The Neolithic Revolution fundamentally changed how humanity went about the business of surviving. With the rise of farming, humans no longer had to travel into inclement climates following the migration of animals, their former pervasive food source. Instead, fields of grain were cultivated, and, in turn, permanent settlements were created — civilization was established.
But while the social and economic effects of this revolution are apparent, other significant effects of switching to farming on our daily lives are more subtle. Among them is a minor change in our anatomy that allows us to make the “f” and “v” sounds.
How a change in diet changed everything
F and V are labiodentals, which means to make their sounds you have to raise your lower lip to your top teeth. This is easy enough with a slight overbite, but if your teeth are closer to being even, as the skulls of our ancient ancestors suggest was once more common, the sounds become harder to make.
Decades ago, the linguist Charles Hockett pointed out that societies with softer foods had more labiodentals in their languages than societies that were still hunting and gathering. He hypothesized that the shift to farming might have allowed for this, as softer foods require smaller lower jaws than hard foods do.
Constantly eating foods that are hard or raw is tough on your teeth. Over time, it can lead to them lining up more edge to edge. Soft diets also put less pressure on your jaw, which can lead to a shorter mandible which itself can contribute to a slight overbite or overjet.
In a society where none of the food is softened by processing, most people are going to end up with no overbite at all by the time they’re adults. In a society with softer, processed…
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