Thank you to everyone who responded to my question regarding Broca's and Wernicke's areas. I shared the comments with my students which then started new discussions.
Nina > Stephen wrote: >>And finally, Fromkin says there's a Scottish version starring >>James IV (1437-1513). His experiment turned out pretty well this >>time, because the children were observed to "spak very guid Ebrew"! > > According to a BBC history webpage, Sir Walter Scott was also a wee bit > sceptical about the reportedly "successful" outcome of James's experiment: > > A Bizarre Island Experiment > > Inchkeith Island, in the midst of the Firth of Forth, was the setting for > one of the most bizarre scientific experiments in Scottish history. In > 1493, according to the historian Robert Lyndsay of Pitscottie, King James > IV - a enthusiastic promoter of the latest intellectual Renaissance ideas > - directed an experiment to discover what the primitive or original > language of mankind was. > > James had a deaf and dumb woman transported to the solitary island of > Inchkeith with two infant children. She was to nurse the infants until > they came to the age of speech. It was hoped that when the children learnt > to speak, free from normal human communication, they would reveal the > original tongue - the language of the gods. > > The whole story may well be a tall tale. It wouldn't be the first, a > similar one is told about the court of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor in > the 13th Century. However, both courts were centres of intellectual > activity. > > Lyndsay of Pitscottie reported, > "Some say they spoke good Hebrew; for my part I know not, but from > report." > > The novelist Sir Walter Scott, recounting Lyndsay�s tale, added: �It is > more likely they would scream like their dumb nurse, or bleat like the > goats and sheep on the island.� > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/renaissance/oddities_renaissance.shtml > > > > There's an interesting extract on the subject of critical periods for > language acquisition from Matt Ridley's book *Nature via Nurture* at: > http://www.brianmicklethwait.com/education/archives/001472.htm > > Allen Esterson > > ------------------------------ >>Fri, 11 Feb 2005 >>Author: "Stephen Black" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Subject: Re: Broca, Wernicke and Original Language >> On 11 Feb 2005, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> >> > The discussion about Broca, Wernicke and language reminded me of a >> joke I >> > often tell the students when I am presenting on aphasia. Forgive me if >> you >> > have already heard it. >> > >> > There once was a King who was obsessed with discovering the original >> > language. He pondered the question, "What language would a person >> speak who > > had grown up to adulthood and never heard another person >> utter a word?". So, > > he decided to take an infant and have it >> raised up in the mountains by a >> > shepard who was mute. This he did. After 20 years in the mountains, he >> had >> > the person brought before the court. Everyone in the kingdom was very >> > interested in the final outcome of the experiment. The king commanded >> the >> > man to speak. He said, "Baaaaah...". (Like a sheep). It never >> fails to >> > get a laugh. >> >> Yes, I've heard it, but not in this form, which appears to have been >> altered to get a laugh (a justifiable reason, in my opinion). >> >> The original version was related by the 5th century BCE historian >> Herodotus (Book 2, Paragraph 3) who said it was the Egyptian Pharaoh >> Psammetichus (7th century BCE) who posed this question. In this case, >> it was a pair of infants, the minder was a servant, and he was >> ordered "on pain of death" not to speak to them. The usual ending of >> the story is that their first word was "bekos" (not Baaaah!), meaning >> "bread" in the Phrygian language, and so the Pharaoh concluded that >> this was the most ancient of all languages. >> >> There are various sources for this. I've put together similar stories >> in Fromkin et al (1974) and Reich (1986) for the above. Rymer (1992) >> has a longer account. Some versions imply that the story is true, >> but it sounds legendary to me (how reliable is Herodotus, anyway?). >> But true or legendary, it's an interesting description of a very, >> very early empirical investigation, resembling an experiment. >> >> Fromkin (among others) also says that the Holy Roman Emperor >> Frederick II carried out the same stunt (suggesting legend again) but >> this time the children all died without speaking. I even have a sad >> but charming quote I collected elsewhere (but lost the source). The >> children died "for they could not live without the clapping of the >> hands and the cheerful faces of their wet nurses". The Frederick >> story (where that quote possibly comes from) has been cited by one >> source as coming from "The Chronicle of Salimbene, 13th c Italian >> Franciscan (translated by G. Coulton"). >> >> And finally, Fromkin says there's a Scottish version starring James >> IV (1437-1513). His experiment turned out pretty well this time, >> because the children were observed to "spak very guid Ebrew"! >> >> Stephen >> >> >> Fromkin, V. et al (1974). The development of language in Genie: a >> case of language acquisition beyond the "critical period". Brain and >> Language, 1, 81-107. >> >> Reich, P. (1986). Language Development. Prentice >> >> Rymer, R. (1992). Annals of science: a silent childhood. New Yorker, >> April 13. [undoubtedly also in his book which expanded on this >> essay]. >> >> ___________________________________________________ >> Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 >> Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 >> Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 >> Canada >> >> Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy >> TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at >> http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm >> _______________________________________________ > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Dr. Nina L. Tarner 325 Math/Psychology Building Department of Psychology UMBC Baltimore, MD. 21250 410-455-3704 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
