* Language is constantly evolving: Words change, evolve, and are borrowed across languages over time. It's a complex web of interconnectedness.
* Many languages are ancient: We don't have definitive records for the origins of many ancient languages, making it difficult to trace word origins back to a single source.
* Words are often polysemous: This means a single word can have multiple meanings, making it hard to trace its origin to a specific concept.
What we CAN say:
* Proto-languages: Linguists have reconstructed hypothetical ancestral languages, like Proto-Indo-European, which are believed to be the ancestors of many modern languages. This helps trace related words across families.
* Etymology: The study of word origins is called etymology. It investigates the history and development of words, helping us understand their evolution and connections.
Example:
The word "hello" in English ultimately derives from the Old English word "hāl," which meant "whole" or "healthy." This is related to the Proto-Germanic word "hailaz," and ultimately to the Proto-Indo-European word "kʷel-," meaning "to be whole."
So, rather than looking for a single origin language for all words, it's more accurate to see language as a dynamic system where words have complex histories and connections.