FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149  
150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   >>   >|  
"whip, stick, match, pen." Objects of this sort are surely distinguished by the child, for, upon receiving orders, he gets, picks up, brings, lays down, gives these things each by itself. This understanding of spoken words is the more surprising, as his repetition of them continues still to be of a very rudimentary character. With the exception of some interjections, especially _j[=a][)e]_ as a joyous sound and of crowing sounds, also screaming sounds, which, however, have become more rare, the child has but few expressions of his own with a recognizable meaning; _ndae_, _ndae_, _da_ is demonstrative "da" ("there") at new impressions. _Att_, _att_, _att_, is unintelligible, perhaps indicative of movement. _Attah_ means "we are off" (upon setting out) and "I want to go" ("ich will fort"); _tatass_, _tatass_ is unintelligible, possibly a sound-imitation. When traveling by rail the child tried several times to imitate the hissing of the steam of the locomotive. In the twenty-second month again there are several observations to record, which show the progress in understanding, the strengthening of the memory, and the greater facility in articulation. The child executes the orders given him with surprising accuracy, although the words spoken have not previously been impressed on him separately. Here, indeed, it is essential to consider the looks and gestures of those who give the orders; but the child also does what I request of him without looking at me. Instances of confusion among the words known to him are also perceptibly more rare. Once I asked him very distinctly, "Where's the moon?" (Mond), and for answer the child pointed to his mouth (Mund). But the error was not repeated. The strength of the word-memory appears particularly in this, that all the objects learned are more quickly pointed out on request than they were previously, and the facility of articulation is perceived in the multiplying of consonants in the monologues and in the frequent spontaneous utterance of _pss_, _ps_, _ptsch_ (once), and _pth_ (Engl.). The child says, without any occasion, _pa-ptl-dae_, _pt_, and gives a loud greeting from a distance with _h[=aa]-oe_, with _ada_, and _ana_. It seemed to me remarkable that the boy began several times without the least incitement to _sing_ tolerably well. When I expressed my approval of it, he sprang about, overjoyed. At one time he sang, holding his finger on his tongue, first _rollo_, _ro
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149  
150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
orders
 

memory

 

tatass

 

request

 

pointed

 
sounds
 
surprising
 

previously

 
facility
 

understanding


unintelligible

 

articulation

 
spoken
 

objects

 
learned
 

appears

 
quickly
 
strength
 

perceptibly

 

Instances


confusion

 

distinctly

 

answer

 

repeated

 

tolerably

 

expressed

 

incitement

 

remarkable

 

approval

 

sprang


tongue

 
finger
 

holding

 

overjoyed

 

utterance

 
consonants
 

multiplying

 
monologues
 

frequent

 
spontaneous

distance
 

greeting

 
occasion
 
perceived
 

record

 

interjections

 
exception
 

rudimentary

 
character
 

joyous