Phenomenological Reviews

Series | Book | Chapter

197591

Understanding speech, understanding speakers

Hans Hörmann

pp. 239-270

Abstract

A suitable introduction to the problems of understanding language is the report of the child psychologist Meumann, which we have already mentioned briefly in Chapter 3. The father with his small boy in his arms goes to the window and asks—in German—"Where is the window?" The child points to the window and says, "Da!" (there!). Meumann senior then asks: "Où est la fenêtre?" and then in English, "Where is the window?" Both times the child points to the window and says, "Da!" And when the father finally asks (again in German), "Where is the door?" the child points to the window again and says, "Da!"

Publication details

Published in:

Hörmann Hans (1986) Meaning and context: an introduction to the psychology of language, ed. Innis Robert. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 239-270

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4899-0560-4_10

Full citation:

Hörmann Hans (1986) Understanding speech, understanding speakers, In: Meaning and context, Dordrecht, Springer, 239–270.