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
When a letter which could be pronounced correctly preceded another, the
first was retained, but, if both were represented by substitutes, the
second was retained. If, however, the second was one which the child
made silent, then she pronounced the first. Thus, _tr_ = _t_, _kr_ = _w_
(for _r_), _kl_ = _t_ (for _k_, _l_ being one of her silent letters).
With these results should be compared those presented in regard to
German children, in the paper of Fritz Schultze (p. 239 above) (which
likewise are not of universal application).
The accent was for the most part placed on the last syllable. Only one
case of the invention of a new word could be established. When the child
was about eighteen months old, a fly flew all about her plate when she
was eating, and she exclaimed, "The old fly went wiggely-waggely." But
at this time the child had already learned to speak; she knew,
therefore, that perceptions are expressed by words. Notwithstanding, the
original invention remains remarkable, unless there may be found in it a
reminiscence of some expression out of nursery-talk (cf., p. 238). Until
the eighteenth month, "no" signified both "yes" and "no."
At the end of two years subordinate propositions were correctly
employed. This was the case also with a German girl in Jena, who, for
instance, said, "The ball which Puck has" (P. Fuerbringer). In the case
of my boy such sentences did not make their appearance till much later.
I had hoped to find trustworthy observations in several other works
besides those mentioned. Their titles led one to expect statements
concerning the acquirement of speech by little children; thus, "Das
Kind, Tagebuch eines Vaters" ("The Child, A Father's Diary"), by H.
Semmig (second edition, Leipsic, 1876), and the book of B. Perez,
already named (p. 239). But inasmuch as for the former of these writers
the first cry of the newly-born is a "triumphal song of everlasting
life," and for the second author "the glance" is associated with "the
magnetic effluvia of the will," I must leave both of these works out of
consideration. The second contains many statements concerning the doings
and sayings of little children in France; but these can not easily be
turned to account.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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