Final answer:
The Indus Script consists of signs suggesting it represents a language, supported by research comparing its entropy to known languages. Deciphering it could unveil cultural, social, and economic aspects of the Indus Valley Civilization. Language origin matters in India due to its historical and social significance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Indus Script is a subject of intense curiosity among historians because it is yet to be deciphered. The script contains about four hundred phonograms, which are signs that represent the sounds of syllables, suggesting that it is indeed a language. A significant comparison was made by a researcher named Rao, who analyzed the conditional entropy of the Indus valley script. His findings indicated that the script's degree of randomness was akin to that of natural languages, including Old Tamil, which points strongly to the possibility of the Indus script representing language. Historical evidence suggests that the primary use of this writing was for commerce, as many artifacts bear the script in the form of seals.
Importance of Deciphering the Indus Script
If deciphered, the Indus script could provide historians with extensive insights into the day-to-day life, social structures, economic practices, and possibly the ancestral origins of the Indus valley civilization. Moreover, it may clarify the linguistic and cultural links with contemporary Dravidian languages and shed light on the region's interactions with neighboring civilizations.
The origin of language is a contentious subject in India due to its implications on cultural and historical narratives, especially in relation to the Dravidian and Indo-European language families. Understanding the links between ancient scripts and modern languages could profoundly impact the perception of historical social hierarchies and regional ancestries. The application of computer technology in analyzing linguistic patterns offers promising methodologies for not only deciphering ancient scripts like the Indus script but also for advancing our knowledge of the past in a multitude of other aspects.