A. Bastian relates of the Siamese children that they delight in
repeating difficult sentences and alter their meaning while speaking
rapidly, as Pho Pu Khün Me Pu (The grandfather near the grandmother) is
changed to Pho Ku Khün Me Ku (My father near me, his mother), or Pit
Patu Thöt, Pit Patu Thot (Shut the door, Shut the temple door), Mo Loi
Ma Ha Phe, Phe Loi Pai Ha Mo (The floating pot bumped against the boat,
and _vice versa_), etc.[85] “Negro mothers on the Loango coast,” says
Pechnel-Loesche, “teach their children verses which trip the tongue
when spoken rapidly.”[86]
A similar sport for adults is afforded by the students’ song, Der Abt
von Philippsbronn, in which the syllable “bronn” must be repeated four
times. After the first time there is a “Pst!” sound, after the second a
“Pfiff!” after the third a “Click!” and after the fourth a snore, all
given as rapidly as possible. The accelerated _tempo_ in the country
song in Don Juan and in the wedding feast of the dwarfs in Goethe’s
Hochzeitslied are of the same character.
Other instruments besides the human voice are employed in sound-play.
Even parrots and monkeys have found pleasure in other noises than the
practice of their own voices. The young gorilla, in his exuberance of
spirits, drums on his own breast, or, with even more satisfaction,
on any available hollow object, such as a bowl, a cask, etc. The
child’s first auditory satisfaction derived from any act of his own
is probably the splashing of water; another is the rustling of paper.
Preyer says: “The first sound produced by himself which gave the child
evident satisfaction was the rattling of paper. He often indulged in
this, especially in his nineteenth week.”[87] Strümpell noticed the
same thing at six months, and also that it gave his little daughter
pleasure to pat the table with the palm of her hand[88] (rhythmic
repetition again). The boy observed by Sully was in the beginning of
his eighth month when he one day accidentally dropped a spoon from
the table where he was playing with it. “He immediately repeated the
action, now, no doubt, with the purpose of gaining the agreeable shock
for his ear. After this, when the spoon was put into his hand he
deliberately dropped it. Not only so, like a true artist, he went on
improving on the first effect, raising the spoon higher and higher, so
as to get more sound, and at last using force in dashing and banging
it down.”[89] At nine months Preyer’s child beat twelve times on
the stopper of a large caraffe with increasing force. “On the three
hundred and nineteenth day,” he goes on, “occurred a notable acoustic
experiment which denoted much intellectual progress. He struck the
spoon on his tray just as his other hand accidentally moved it. The
sound was deadened, and the child noticed the difference. He took
the spoon in his other hand and struck the tray, deadening the sound
intentionally, and so on repeatedly. In the evening the experiment
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account