With regard to the independent application of all the words repeated, in part correctly, in part with distortions, a multiplicity of meanings is especially noteworthy in the separate expressions used by the child. The primitive word atta, used with uncommon frequency, has now among others the following significations: "I want to go; he is gone; she is not here; not yet here; no longer here; there is nothing in it; there is no one there; it is empty; it is nowhere; out there; go out." To the question "Where have you been?" the child answers, on coming home, atta, and when he has drunk all there was in the glass, he likewise says atta. The concept common to all the interpretations adduced, "gone," seems to be the most comprehensive of all that are at the child's disposal. If we choose to regard a word like this atta as having the force of a whole sentence, we may note many such primitive sentences in this month. Thus, mann means, on one occasion, "A man has come," then almost every masculine figure is named mann; auff, accompanied with the offering of a key, signifies the wish for the opening of a box, and is cried with animation after vain attempts to open a watch. The concepts "male being" and "open" are thus not only clear, but are already named with the right words. The distinguishing of men from women appears for months past very strikingly in this, that the former only are greeted by reaching out the hand. The manifold meaning of a single word used as a sentence is shown particularly in the cry of papa, with gestures and looks corresponding to the different meanings of it. This one word, when called out to his father, means (1) "Come play with me"; (2) "Please lift me up"; (3) "Please give me that"; (4) "Help me get up on the chair"; (5) "I can't," etc.
The greatest progress, however, is indicated by the combination of two words into a sentence. The first sentence of this sort, spoken on the seven hundred and seventh day of his life at the sight of the house that was his home, was haim, mimi, i. e., "I would like to go home and drink milk." The second was papa, mimi, and others were similar. Contrasted with these first efforts at the framing of sentences, the earlier meaningless monologues play only a subordinate part; they become, as if they were the remains of the period of infancy, gradually rudimentary: thus, pipapapaï, breit, baraï. A more important fact for the recognition of progress in speaking is that the words are often confounded, e. g., watja and buotö (for butter). In gestures also and in all sorts of performances there are bad cases of confusion almost every day; e. g., the child tries to put on his shoes, holding them with the heel-end to his toes, and takes hold of the can out of which he pours the milk into his cup by the lip instead of the handle. He often affirms in place of denying. His joy is, however, regularly expressed by loud laughing and very high tones; his grief by an extraordinarily deep depression of the angles of the mouth and by weeping. Quickly as this expression of countenance may pass over into a cheerful one—often on a sudden, in consequence of some new impression—no confusion of these two mimetic movements takes place.
In the first month of the third year of life the progress is extraordinary, and it is only in regard to the articulatory mechanism that no important new actions are to be recorded. The child does not pronounce a perfect "u," or only by chance. Generally the lips are not enough protruded, so that "u" becomes "ou"; "Uhr" and "Ohr" often sound almost the same. The "i" also is frequently mixed with other vowel-sounds, particularly with "e." Probably the corners of the mouth are not drawn back sufficiently. With these exceptions the vowels of the German language now offer hardly any difficulties. Of the consonants, the "sch" and "cht" are often imperfect or wanting. "Waschtisch" is regularly pronounced waztiz, and "Gute Nacht" gna.
The sound-imitations of every kind are more manifold, eager, and skillful than ever before. Once the child even made a serious attempt to reproduce ten words spoken in close succession, but did not succeed. The attempt proves all the same that the word-imitation is now far beyond the lower echo-speech; yet he likes to repeat the last words and syllables of sentences heard by him even in the following months. Here belongs his saying so when any object is brought to the place appointed for it. When the reproduction is defective, the child shows himself to be now much more amenable to correction. He has become more teachable. At the beginning of the month he used to say, when he wanted to sit, ette then etse, afterward itse; but he does not yet in the present month say "setzen" or "sitzen." Hitherto he could repeat correctly at the utmost two words said for him. Now he repeats three, and once even four, imperfectly: papa, beene, delle, means "Papa, Birne, Teller," and is uttered glibly; but "Papa, Birne, Teller, bitte," or "Papa, Butter, bitte," is not yet repeated correctly, but pata, butte, betti, and the like; only very seldom, in spite of almost daily trial, papa, beene, delle, bittee.
Evidence of the progress of the memory, the understanding, and the articulation, is furnished in the answers the child gave when I asked him, as I touched various objects, "What is that?" He replied:
| Autse, | for | Auge (eye) | Hai, | for | Haar (hair). |
| Nana, | " | Nase (nose) | Ulter, | " | Schulter (shoulder). |
| Ba, | " | Backe (back). | Aam, | " | Arm (arm). |
| Baat, | " | Bart (beard). | Ann, | " | Hand (hand). |
| Oë, Oa, | " | Ohr (ear). | Wiër, | " | Finger (finger). |
| Opf, | " | Kopf (head) | Daima, | " | Daumen (thumb). |
| Tenn, | " | Kinn (chin). | Anu, | " | Handschuh (glove). |
| Täne, | " | Zähne (teeth). | Baïn, | " | Bein (leg). |
But not one word has the child himself invented. When a new expression appears it may be surely traced to what has been heard, as uppe, oppee, appee, appei, to "Suppe." The name alone by which he calls on his nurse, wolá, seemed hard to explain. If any one says, "Call Mary," the child invariably calls wolá. It is probable, as he used to call it wolja, that the appellation has its origin in the often-heard "ja wohl."
The correct use of single words, picked up, one might say, at random, increases in a surprising manner. Here belong baden, reiputtse, for "Reissuppe," la-ock for "Schlafrock," boter for "Butter," Butterbrod, Uhr, Buch, Billerbooch for "Bilderbuch." In what fashion such words now incorporated into the child's vocabulary are employed is shown by the following examples: Tul (for "Stuhl") means—(1) "I should like to be lifted up on the chair; (2) My chair is gone; (3) I want this chair brought to the table; (4) This chair doesn't stand right." If the chair or other familiar object is broken, then it is still styled putt (for "caput," gone to smash); and if the child has himself broken anything he scolds his own hand, and says oi or oui, in place of "pfui" (fie)! He wants to write to his grandmother, and asks for Papier, a daitipf (for "Bleistift," pencil), and says raiwe (for "schreiben," write).
That misunderstandings occur in such beginnings of speech seems a matter of course. All that I observed, however, were from the child's standpoint rational. Some one says, "Schlag das Buch auf" (Open the book, but meaning literally "Strike upon the book"), and the child strikes upon the book with his hands without opening it. He does the same when one says, "Schlag auf das Buch" (Strike upon the book). Or we say, "Will you come? one, two!" and the child, without being able to count, answers, "Three, four." He has merely had the sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, said over to him frequently. But, on the whole, his understanding of words heard, particularly of commands, has considerably advanced; and how far the reasoning faculty has developed is now easily seen in his independent designations for concepts. For example, since his delight at gifts of all sorts on his birthday, he says burtsa (for Geburtstag, birthday) when he is delighted by anything whatever. Another instance of childish induction was the following: The child's hand being slightly hurt, he was told to blow on his hand and it would be better. He did blow on his hand. In the afternoon he hit his head against something, and he began at once to blow of his own accord, supposing that the blowing would have a soothing effect, even when it did not reach the injured part.
In the forming of sentences considerable progress is to be recorded. Yet only once has the child joined more than four words in a sentence, and rarely three. His sentences consisting of two words, which express a fact of the present or of the immediate past, are often, perhaps generally, quite unintelligible to strangers. Thus, danna kuha signifies "Aunt has given me cake"; Kaffee naïn, "There is no coffee here"; and mama etsee or etse is intelligible only by means of the accompanying gesture as the expression of the wish, "Mamma, sit by me." Helle pumme signifies the wish to help (helfen) in pumping, and is uttered at the sight of persons pumping water.