Why Did Humans Prioritize Speech Over Other Communication Methods?

Verbal communication has structure, and standardization physically it's rare that speech is obstructed, but other friends of communication like body language, sign language, facial expression are more easily obstructed and so are more intermittent and more lax in standards, eg you facial expressions can be covered, your hands can be full and prohibit hand and arm signs, your body could have a reaction or problem that causes confusion of body language But you can speak in the dark, around corners, at distance, while working, while moving(don't have to turn away from visual focus) And speech uses a more isolated protected set of body parts, so they can be isolated from unwanted signal noise, eg if you try to sign with your hands there's loads of things that could mess with your signs and communication, but your lungs voicebox tongue ears, etc are compact and internal, less likely to be impeded Also speech body parts especially in previous eras is less susceptible than body language eg it's more likely that you'd lose a finger or an arm or have a birth defect than that you'd have a physical speech impediment And survivor bias, physical impediment of speech relates to many viral functions, breathing, digesting, hearing, mental, eg a caveman with a hole in his hand had a bad day, a caveman with a hole in his chest, neck or head is pushing up daisies Because of this speech can be standardized and so can be more easily shared across mediums (spoken, written, ) cultures, times, etc, and so can amass great numbers of users, Non verbal can have great primal biological impact across times cultures etc, but not very comprehensive communication, eg an angry expression can be used in 90% of cultures across the globe for millennia, but the details and specifics and modality of usefulness is different than speech, even if a rather similar set of signs or expressions are prevalently used, they are less likely to be utilized as structured language and more likely left to unstructured messaging I've worked in many environments where it's too loud to hear people talking, where hand gestures can communicate ideas better and faster, and more clearly, and so I'll often find myself being misinterpreted by others, because they look for certain sets of words expressions tones etc that work in classrooms, offices, cities, etc, but I'm used to communicating in warehouse, factories, construction sites, machine shops, assembly lines, lumber site, farm, domestic problems etc My eyes are flitting around looking for hazards, people that need help, designs to analyze, things to repair My ears are checking for sound construction, smooth operation, errors, hazards etc Feet check for level, integrity, condition, hazards (sharp glass, nails, metal, thorns, tripping, slippery, give, brittle, etc), contaminants (mud, oil spilled, water, dog poop, etc) Hands check for burrs and slivers, Arms check for smooth operation, and structural integrity, and weight abnormalities (if too heavy might be water damage, if too light might be rotted or missing parts) My friends look for my posture facial expression and listen to my tone and words, but my posture is preparing to help someone stack chairs, my face is reacting to my thoughts about quantum physics and my voice hasn't been used in 6 hours cause I was working alone so the first 3 words are inaudible and my tone is all over the place waking up, scratchy, and bouncing around with me trying to compensate into balanced sounding voice But I'll see that the forklift needs that cart moved before anyone else, and I'll communicate with clarity and competency about a complex machine function I've never seen before, I just have no idea what spongebob reference you making or what dabbing is

i think vocalization has been a generally preferred communication method among creatures that travel great distances but still maintain strong social groups. Vocalization allows for very fast communication, even when the target is not near you and can't see you, so it's ideal for travel and resource seeking. Humans also have equally complex non-verbal communication that was likely very useful during group hunting. Being able to communication basic locations of interest and general positive/negative associations without making noise is very useful, and as our social dynamics become more complex, so did our forms of communication. Communication forms like writing and sign language are more recent developments in our history, and arose as solutions to relatively specific needs. As such, they have not developed as quickly or spread as widely as the more basic forms of social interaction.

Yeah I always wish sign language was more accessible and available 😭