Babies are said to listen to sounds from the moment they are born. They learn to associate the sounds they hear with their sources. For instance, they can recognize their mother or father by the sound of their words, before they understand what the words mean. Babies babble as a prelude to word recognition and language acquisition. A baby may not speak their first word until they are 6-8 months old. Although it is an innate skill, learning a language is not a quick process.
Scholars believe that language dates back to around 150,000 years ago. However, linguistic evidence only dates back to approximately 6,000 years ago when writing began. Because of this the true history of language and its relation to sound is unknown and only based on speculation. The sounds of words that represent particular meanings are usually thought to vary indiscriminately across languages. However, since there are some global associations between sound and meaning it poses the question as to what exactly is the relationship of sound to words.
Looking at the nature of sound, Sadhguru explains that language is essentially a conspiracy between two people or a group of people. Sound is the substance of creation, but words or meanings are made up in human minds. He also explores the relationship between sound and light, which are both reverberations, on a fundamental level.
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