Language is best defined by our ability to create syntax - the orderly arrangement of verbal ideas. Chimpanzees in the wild use about three dozen vocalizations to convey about the same number of different meanings. They may repeat sounds to convey greater intensity of an idea, but they do not string together three sounds to create a sort of vocabulary. We utilize these sounds in sequences and combinations to create content. The importance of syntax is that it creates a treelike set of rules of reference that enables us to communicate quickly - who did what to whom, where, when, why and how.
Children acquire syntax effortlessly by listening.
Social life perhaps is the key to providing individuals with the chance to mimic and learn useful ways to adapt. Useful discoveries by one individuals can be passed on to others via socializing. Anthropologists recognize primates to be highly sociable creating a vehicle by which to pass on meaningful behaviors that enhance our ability to survive. Language is something that requires both physical and mental capacities to merge. One must remember that there is a process of selection that would operate on our ability to create this breakthrough.