Did house-elves evolve to become slaves?

Our next Quibble of the Week was submitted by frequent essay writer Abbii, and her next piece is yet another quibble about the enslavement of house-elves.

In her essay, Abbii wonders just why it is that these creatures became servants worldwide, and after theorizing several ways in which house-elves could have evolved to become what they are, she comes to the conclusion that humanity may have actively constrained house-elf identity over the centuries.

Remarking the odd way in which the creatures use the english language, (regarding themselves and other elves in the third person), Abbii draws some startling conclusions about house-elf identity. She writes, "..they may be forbidden to speak of themselves in first-person, since that use would indicate that they have a sense of self, of individuality, of identity that does not relate to their masters...is this symptomatic of and identity and society crushed by its overbearing masters?"

Abbii goes on to note in her quibble that there is no evidence in the series of elvish art, of house-elves having any cultural myths or legends, or even having their own language other than languages spoken by humans. So, given all of this evidence, how much of the house-elves enslavement do you think was the product of evolution; and how much of it was caused by Man?