ABSTRACT
Most modern quasi-scientific theories as to the origin of language are based on one or another variant of the onomatopoeic process. A kinesthetic origin is favored by the yo-he-ho theory (language arises as a series of reflex grunts accompanying physical exertion, like the ey ukhnem of the Volga boatmen); and by the ta-ta theory (language arises as the vocal organs try to imitate movements performed by other parts of the body). It is only natural that in their desire to cast light upon the origin of language, experimenters should have studied the growth of the speech process in the human child. Carried on with normal children in normal environments, such studies are thoroughly inconclusive from the standpoint of the origin of language. Both from a practical and from a philosophical standpoint, the paramount importance which some schools of linguistics bestow upon the spoken form of language is largely unwarranted.
