Hey, mun, did you know...?

[factualreality]

The word 'mun' actually originated from the expression 'mun's the word'!

You see, the art of roleplaying is one that dates back far before the invention of written language, and was originally done by sitting across from one another in a secluded area.  Sometimes there were spectators, but often, it was a private encounter between two individuals.  A challenge, really, to see how easily one could respond to the other.  The idea was to collaborate in terms of creating a story, partially involving spontaneous improvisation but occasionally making special nonverbal signals to one another indicating where they intended for the story to go next.  Over time, this came to be the beginnings of what is known today as 'sign language'.

Now, if you had a mun who was experienced enough and knew what they were doing--and, more importantly, were willing to work with their partner--then the words produced a very entertaining tale.  Back and forth.  Because while the sign language was special in and of itself, it was the words which carried the most weight, because those words were the story itself.  

Thus, mun's the word!

[He finished with a flourish, looking quite proud of himself.  And confident in his tale.]

Comments

[god_of_hellfire]

[John isn't even sure what he just heard, but he's pretty sure that's wrong.]

Are you serious?

[factualreality]

Very serious.

[Spoken with an even tone. Not so much as a flinch to his bright smile. Looking not only pleased with himself, but so confident that it was clear he believed what he was saying. Probably.]

[colorful_distractions]

You know there's multiple sign languages, right? 'The sign language' implies a singular and even if you're using the definition solely to apply to pre-written languages, there's a lot out there.

[But it's said with no malice. More than anything, she's curious how deep this well of knowledge goes, and it's endearing, seeing how enthusiastic he is.]

[factualreality]

[A challenger appears! Fear not, because he's been caught in far worse lies than this one, and is able to smoothly counter her argument without so much as a batted eyelash:]

Of course! But I'm talking about the original sign language. A language made up exclusively by and for those who partook in these ritualistic challenges.

The various languages that developed later on would evolve into those communicated with today.

[colorful_distractions]

But how can you be sure it's the original given we don't have records? For all you know that 'original' was a spin off of a dialect of the true original sign language and we simply don't know it. Especially taking human migration into account, the idea a singular source language for sign language exists is a little absurd, when you remember oral traditions in Africa and Aboriginal Australia are both equally old.

[factualreality]

[Nodnod. His face twisted into a moment of serious thought. Yes. Yes, this was all good. Details he had yet to take into account that must now be factored into his lie bit of trivia.]

[Folding his arms across his chest, Takashi furrowed his brow a moment before his usual smile reappeared. Up went the finger once more, as confident as always.]

You are absolutely correct! Allow me to amend myself.

The first known sign language, and perhaps the most well known to historians, which is--as you yourself so eloquently reminded me--known to us through oral tradition. We know it is the first--or at least, we know what we know--because such histories have been compared chronologically.

[colorful_distractions]

Ooo, someone able to admit when they made an omission or mistake. You're a rarity, aren't you? [She grins, genuine and dorky. People who can't concede a point in an argument are the worst, at least in her opinion, so this sent her opinion of him upwards immediately.]

So I suppose the next question is which continent you believe sign language originated from first. Certainly we've got the most evidence from North America, but only because white people came into contact with them and wrote it down. It seems unlikely Africa and Australia were inhabited for so many thousands of years beforehand without developing one of their own, if not many.

[factualreality]

[His head tilted to one side a bit. Having someone inquire so deeply without actually getting into the concept of storytelling was...a bit of a new experience. And while the initial query had been fine, this was starting to get a little away from his original point.]

It's not a matter of what I believe. When you're imparting information like this to your audience, you need to just stick with the facts. It's not meant to be a personal story.

[colorful_distractions]

But in regards to some topics, there's evidence supporting multiple options. We don't know for sure what continent sign languages first originated on, so there's an argument to be made for whichever you personally put more faith in. So you're within your rights to pick and support a side, scientifically and factually speaking.