Psychology of Language and Thought: Essays on the Theory and History of Psycholinguistics

271 Pages·1980·5.868 MB·

by  R. W. Rieber, Harold Vetter (auth.), R. W. Rieber (eds.)

PSYCHOLOGY OF
LANGUAGE
AND THOUGHT
Essays on the Theory and
History of Psycholinguistics
STUDIES IN APPLIED PSYCHOLINGUISTICS
Series Editor:
R.W. Rieber
John Jay College of Criminal Justice,CUNY and
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring
delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon
actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher.
PSYCHOLOGY OF
LANGUAGE
AND THOUGHT
Essays on the Theory and
History of Psycholinguistics
Edited by
R.W. Rieber
john jay College of Criminal justice, CUNY and
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
New York, New York
PLENUM PRESS • NEW YORK AND LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Psychology of language and thought.
(Studies in applied psycholinguistics)
Includes index.
1. Psycholinguistics-History. I. Rieber, R.W. II. Series.
P37.P788 401'.9 79-25969
ISBN 978-1-4684-3646-4 ISBN 978-1-4684-3644-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4684-3644-0
© 1980 Plenum Press, New York
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1980
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
CONTRIBUTORS
John W. Black • Professor Emeritus, Department of Speech and Hearing
Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbia, Ohio
Michael J. Clark • Linacre College, Oxford, England
Peter Ostwald • Langley Porter Institute, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, California
W. Keith Percival • Department of Linguistics, University of Kansas,
Lawrence, Kansas
R. W. Rieber • John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, and Co
lumbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York,
New York
Jules Paul Seigel • Department of English, University of Rhode Island,
Kingston, Rhode Island
James H. Starn· Department of Philosophy and Religion, Upsala Col
lege, East Orange, New Jersey
JohnJ. Sullivan· New York University, New York, New York; University
of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Karl D. Vitti • Department of Romance Languages and Literatures,
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Harold Vetter· University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
Jeffrey Wollock • New College, University of Oxford, Oxford, England
v
PREFACE
The fact that one would contemplate publication of a book such as this
indicates both the maturity and the growth of activity that have taken
place in the field of psycholinguistics over the past few decades. More
over, the fact that psycholinguists and/or scholars of the history of ideas
are interested in the history of their subject clearly demonstrates that
much has been accomplished, and the time is indeed ripe for the reassess
ment of whence we have come. In addition, perhaps this interest in our
historical past suggests that psycholinguistics is at a critical stage in its
development. There are many scholars who believe that this critical stage
manifests itself primarily in a search for a new paradigm. It would seem
only reasonable to suggest that when members of a profession are search
ing for something new, more than likely they will take time to reflect
on the past in the hope that it will facilitate the fulfillment of their
quest.
This book as such reflects a wide-ranging search for historical roots
over a millenium of research in the psychology of language and thought.
Furthermore, it also reflects an attempt to open the context by introducing
the broader perspectives of the history of ideas and the history of science
together with their reassessment of the method of science motivated from
within psychology itself.
We should like'to thank the publishers for their encouragement and
particularly the contributors of this book for their cooperation and pa
tience. It is our hope that this book will provide the reader with a
fresh perspective in his study of psycholinguistics and will help facilitate
an understanding of the transition of language and thought from an earlier
formative period to its present stages of maturation and development.
R. W. RIEBER
New York, N. Y.
January, 1980
vii
CONTENTS
PART I • AN OVERVIEW
Chapter 1 Theoretical and Historical Roots of Psycholinguistic
Research 3
R. W. Rieber and Harold Vetter
PART II • SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
CONTRIBUTIONS
Chapter 2 Cordemoy and "Cartesian Linguistics" 53
Karl D. Vitti
Chapter 3 Condillac's Epistemolinguistic Question 77
James H. Starn
Chapter 4 The Perceptible and the Imperceptible: Diderot's
Speculation on Language in his Letters on the Deaf and
Blind 91
Jules Paul Seigel
PART III. NINETEENTH CENTURY CONTRIBUTIONS
Chapter 5 James Rush and the Theory of Voice and Mind 105
Peter Ostwald and R. W. Rieber
ix
x CONTENTS
Chapter 6 William Thornton and the Practical Applications of New
Writing Systems 121
Jeffrey Wallack
Chapter 7 Jean Itard: A Memoir on Stuttering 153
Michael J. Clark
PART IV· TWENTIETH CENTURY CONTRIBUTIONS
Chapter 8 Hermann Paul's View of the Nature of
Language 187
W. Keith Percival
Chapter 9 Noam Chomsky and Cartesian Linguistics 197
John J. Sullivan
Chapter 10 Edward Wheeler Scripture,Phonetician 225
John W. Black
Chapter 11 An Historical Perspective on .. Linguistic
Relativity" 239
James H. Starn
Index 263
PART I
AN OVERVIEW