This doubling of syllables, involuntary and surely contrary to the will of the child, stands in remarkable contrast with the indolence he commonly shows in reproducing anything said, even when the fault is not to be charged to teasing, stubbornness, or inability. The child then finds more gratification in other movements than those of the muscles of speech. The babbling only, abounding in consonants, yields him great pleasure, particularly when it is laughed at, although it remains wholly void of meaning as language. Yet bibi, like bäbä, for "bitte," is correctly used by the child of his own accord.
A new word, and one that gives notice of a considerable advance, is the term used by the child when hungry and thirsty, for "milk" or "food." He says, viz., with indescribable longing in his voice, mimi, more rarely than before mämä and mömöm (page 85). The first appellation was certainly taken from the often-heard "milk" by imitation, and applied to biscuit and other kinds of food. If the child, when he has eaten enough, is asked, "Do you want milk?" he says without direction, neinein; he has thus grasped and turned to use already the signification of the sound. The same is, perhaps, true also of "ja." For previously, when I asked the child as he was eating, "Does it taste good?" he was silent, and I would say, "Say jaja," and this would be correctly repeated. But in the ninety-first week he, of his own accord, answers the question with jaja—"yes, yes." This, too, may rest simply on imitation, without a knowledge of the meaning of the ja, and without an understanding of the question; yet there is progress in the recollection of the connection of the sound "schmeckt's" with jaja, the intermediate links being passed over.
In other cases, too, the strength of the memory for sounds is plainly manifested. To all questions of an earlier period, "Where is the forehead, nose, mouth, chin, beard, hair, cheek, eye, ear, shoulder?" the child now at once pointed correctly in every instance, although he might not have answered them for anybody even once for two weeks. Only the question, "Where is the thumb?" made him hesitate. But when the thumb had been again shown to him (firmly pressed), he knew it, and from that time pointed it out invariably without delay. To the question, "Where is the eye?" he is accustomed to shut both eyes quickly at the same time and to open them again, and then to point to my eye; to the question, "Axel's eye?" he responds by pointing to his own; to the question, "The other eye?" by pointing to the one not touched.
In the understanding of what is spoken astonishing progress has been made—e. g., if I say, "Go, take the hat and lay it on the chair!" the child executes the order without considering more than one or two seconds. He knows the meaning of a great number of words that no one has taught him—e. g., "whip, stick, match, pen." Objects of this sort are surely distinguished by the child, for, upon receiving orders, he gets, picks up, brings, lays down, gives these things each by itself.
This understanding of spoken words is the more surprising, as his repetition of them continues still to be of a very rudimentary character. With the exception of some interjections, especially jāĕ as a joyous sound and of crowing sounds, also screaming sounds, which, however, have become more rare, the child has but few expressions of his own with a recognizable meaning; ndä, ndä, da is demonstrative "da" ("there") at new impressions.
Att, att, att, is unintelligible, perhaps indicative of movement.
Attah means "we are off" (upon setting out) and "I want to go" ("ich will fort"); tatass, tatass is unintelligible, possibly a sound-imitation.
When traveling by rail the child tried several times to imitate the hissing of the steam of the locomotive.
In the twenty-second month again there are several observations to record, which show the progress in understanding, the strengthening of the memory, and the greater facility in articulation. The child executes the orders given him with surprising accuracy, although the words spoken have not previously been impressed on him separately. Here, indeed, it is essential to consider the looks and gestures of those who give the orders; but the child also does what I request of him without looking at me. Instances of confusion among the words known to him are also perceptibly more rare. Once I asked him very distinctly, "Where's the moon?" (Mond), and for answer the child pointed to his mouth (Mund). But the error was not repeated.
The strength of the word-memory appears particularly in this, that all the objects learned are more quickly pointed out on request than they were previously, and the facility of articulation is perceived in the multiplying of consonants in the monologues and in the frequent spontaneous utterance of pss, ps, ptsch (once), and pth (Engl.). The child says, without any occasion, pa-ptl-dä, pt, and gives a loud greeting from a distance with ha͞a-ö, with ada, and ana.