Michael asked: > Just curious as to Freud's English skills. I imagine >he had some since he practiced in England
Freud did not practise in England. He made a trip to England to visit two half-brothers in Manchester when he was nineteen, in the summer of 1875 after achieving his Matura (school leaving/university entrance certificate). When he came to England in 1938 he was too old (and ill) to practise. He was an excellent linguist and was fluent in English, even occasionally slipping English colloquial expressions into his German texts. > And while on this subject, with all those psychologists (William James) > going to Leipzig did the Americans know German? Must be tough > listening to lectures in German. I just checked the Standard Edition and was surprised to find that Freud delivered the Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis at Clark University in 1909 in German. This was probably because he gave the lecture extempore without notes (he wrote them up from memory in 1910 for publication). I suspect that most of the well educated people in the audience in those days had a reasonably good knowledge of German. For a taste of Freud's speaking ability Stephen linked to the following from 1938: http://tinyurl.com/yhgz9ep His thick accent has no bearing on his fluency in English. I recall Arthur Koestler, well after settling in England and having written books in English, saying he thought he had no accent when speaking in English, but on hearing a recording of his voice he realised he had an accent "as thick as pea soup". Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
