Child as little linguist

[r.n.campbell]

It took me a while to get this, because I was confused by a memory of
Otto Jespersen's Language: Its Nature Development and Origin (1922)
in which he describes the language of young children as 'the little
language'.

However, the source for 'the little linguist' is even more venerable.
It was used by the London psychologist James Sully, Grote Professor
of Mind & Logic at UCL, as the title of Chapter V of his Studies of
Childhood (Longmans, Green 1903). This chapter is one of the earliest
treatments of the topic of language acquisition, of course.

Robin


>Can anyone help me track down the original reference to the language
>learning child viewed as a "little linguist"?
>
>Thanks in advance for any help.
>
>Matthew Saxton.


--
Dr Robin N Campbell
Dept of Psychology
University of Stirling
STIRLING FK9 4LA
Scotland, UK

telephone: 01786-467649  facsimile: 01786-467641
email: r.n.campbell at stir.ac.uk
http://www.stir.ac.uk/Departments/HumanSciences/Psychology/Staff/rnc1/index.html


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