"Children who interact mainly with other children their own age have been known to develop their own languages ‘from scratch’ with no instruction from adults -- languages sufficient to enable them to communicate (with each other) and reason at a high level. This sometimes happens with twins in spite of their parents’ efforts to teach them the language of the home." -x- "From scratch" necessarily means no interaction whatsoever from adults wherein they can convey any sense whatsoever of any instruction for any response whatsoever. If there is any "model" of interaction whatsoever given from adults, especially with rewards or punishments attached AS PERCEIVED BY THE CHILD, NOT THE ADULT, then adults, in one manner or other, voluntarily or involuntarily, are instructing the children in "proper" response for the child to gain whatever the child wants or rejects. And " in spite of their parents’ efforts to teach them the language of the home", consciously and deliberately, does not take into account the usual and additional methods of teaching which, in the common household, means delivering contradictory verbal versus nonverbal 'messages' to the child. Few people seem to take into account how the child sees all of their experience of adults - especially those things they 'cannot' "understand" but are done openly and necessarily must convey - something - to the child. -x- What does this have to do with Peirce? I do not know directly. But, obviously, especially if he knew about Freud and the "speaking cure", it would have deeply interested him if brought to his attention. Does anyone have suggestions?
On Wednesday, June 4, 2014 10:12 AM, Søren Brier <[email protected]> wrote: Hej Per Jeg fik slet ikke hørt hvordan Japan rejsen gik? Jeg håber at være rask nok til at komme tirsdag. Tillykke med at så mange har meldt sig til. Er det her rigtig, som jeg samlede op på Peirce-listen? It’s apparently true that “A child absolutely left on its own will never have language beyond Umberto Eco's "Latratus canis". But it’s not necessarily true that “It is someone already knowledgeable in communicative human language that must teach them.” Children who interact mainly with other children their own age have been known to develop their own languages ‘from scratch’ with no instruction from adults -- languages sufficient to enable them to communicate (with each other) and reason at a high level. This sometimes happens with twins in spite of their parents’ efforts to teach them the language of the home. The origin of language is a very deep and still controversial question, but I think recent research has emphasized the evolutionary continuity between human mentality (including communication and reasoning) and the mentality of other animals. One book I’d recommend on this is The Origins of Meaning (Language in the Light of Evolution) by James R. Hurford (2007) KENDER DU DEN?. It’s one of Stjernfelt’s sources in his new book, and it brings together logic, linguistics, psychology and evolutionary biology in a remarkable way that strikes me as quite Peircean although he doesn’t mention Peirce. (Sorry, folks, there’s that word again … ) Venlig hilsen Søren Brier Professor mso, IBC. CBS http://cybersemiotics.dk/ ----------------------------- PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to [email protected] . To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message not to PEIRCE-L but to [email protected] with the line "UNSubscribe PEIRCE-L" in the BODY of the message. More at http://www.cspeirce.com/peirce-l/peirce-l.htm .
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