The Mind of the Child, Part II: The Development of the Intellect, International Education; Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX.Preyer, William T.
Science
The Mind of the Child, Part II: The Development of the Intellect, International Education; Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX.
Preyer, William T.
Child development; Child psychology
To put into written form the syllables invented by the child
independently, and to get at a sure denotation of objects by them, is
exceedingly difficult, particularly when the syllables are merely
whispered as the objects are touched, which frequently occurs. At the
sight of things rolled noisily, especially of things whirling in a
circle, the child would utter _rodi_, _otto_, _rojo_, and like sounds,
in general, very indistinctly. Only _one_ new concept could with
certainty be proved to be associated with a particular sound. With
_d[=a]_ and _nd[=a]_, frequently uttered on the sudden appearance of a
new object in the field of vision, in a lively manner, loudly and with a
peculiarly demonstrative accent--also with _t[=a]_ and _nt[=a]_--the
child associates, beyond a doubt, existence, coming, appearing, shooting
forth, emerging, in contrast with the very often softly spoken,
whispered _atta_, _f-tu_, _tuff_, which signifies "away" or "gone." If I
cover my head and let the child uncover it, he laughs after taking off
the handkerchief, and says loudly _da_; if I leave the room, he says
_atta_ or _haetta_, or _ft_ or _t-ta_, generally softly; the last of
these, or else _hata_, he says if he would like to be taken out himself.
In the eighty-seventh week we went away on a journey, and on the
railway-train the child, with an expression of terror or of anxious
astonishment, again and again said _attah_, but without manifesting the
desire for a change of place for himself, even by stretching out his
arms.
Two words only--_papa_ for father, and _baet_ or _bit_ for "bitte," are,
besides, rightly applied of the child's own accord. The prolonged
screaming, from wantonness, of _n[=a]n[=a]n[=a]n[=a]_, _nom-nom_,
_h[=a]h[=a]_, _l[=a]l[=a]_, chiefly when running about, has no definite
meaning. The child exercises himself a good deal in loud outcry, as if
he wanted to test the power of his voice. These exercises evidently
give him great pleasure. Still the highest crowing tones are no longer
quite so high and piercing as they were formerly. The vocal cords have
become larger, and can no longer produce such high tones. The screaming
sounds of discontent, which continue to be repeated sometimes till
hoarseness appears, but rarely in the night, have, on the contrary, as
is the case with the shrill sounds of pain, scarcely changed their
character, _hae-e_, _hae-ae-ae-[)e]_, _[)e]_. They are strongest in the
bath, during the pouring on of cold water.
The child, when left to himself, keeps up all the time his loud readings
("Lesestudien"). He "reads" in a monotonous way maps, letters,
newspapers, drawings, spreading them out in the direction he likes, and
lies down on them with his face close to them, or holding the sheet with
his hands close to his face, and, as before, utters especially
vowel-sounds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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