Work · German Idealism & Its Heirs
Treatise on the Origin of Language
Language is a human invention arising from reflection.
Introduction
Herder wrote the treatise in Strasbourg late in 1770 for a prize question of the Berlin Academy on whether humans, left to their natural faculties, could have invented language. It won the prize in 1771 and was published in 1772. Herder rejects both a divine origin, as defended by Johann Peter Süßmilch, and the derivation of language from animal cries. Humans lack the sure instincts of animals but have “Besonnenheit”, a reflective awareness that lets them single out a distinguishing mark: a sheep is recognised by its bleating, and this mark is already a word. The second part asks how nature and society shaped the development of languages.
Read the full text
Free full text, often an older edition or translation
Connections
Criticizes
- Discourse on Inequality1755 · Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Taken up in
- Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition1992 · Charles Taylor
More works by Johann Gottfried Herder
Sources: Wikidata
As of November 2026 · Improve this page · How Agora is made