ABSTRACT
This chapter develops a model that dialogues between the fundamental mechanisms of dreamwork—displacement, condensation, overdetermination, and secondary revision—and the mechanisms determining the production of language. It continues the discussion of precognitive and preoperational modes in the development of the child’s conception of language and thought and relates these to the mechanisms of dreamwork, as these are present in adult narration of dreams. Attention is paid to manifestations of speech in dreams, especially word play and homophony, and how these can illuminate the first formulations of language. The chapter illustrates the role of secondary revision, i.e., the post-facto imposition of coherent structures upon the dream content.
