Self-Knowledge • Growth & Maturity
Learning to Speak… Again
It’s well known that between the ages of approximately one and five, the offspring of Homo sapiens slowly and at times lopsidedly do something called ‘learn to speak’. They acquire some key words – lunch, cat, mummy, fart – assemble some basic grammar and are, by the time they are the size of a chair, well on the way to one of the key markers of human competence.
Except for one thing; shortly after they learn to speak, children also learn – as it were – not to speak. At first, they aren’t very good at not speaking, which is why – for a precious time – they’re very funny indeed, as well as occasionally rather excruciating. They use their newfound linguistic skill to come out with utterances like ‘Granny smells’, ‘Jane looks a bit like a giraffe’ and ‘Can you put a poo back in your bottom once it’s come out?’......Start your 7-day free trial to keep reading and access 2,000+ articles, courses, and tools with a subscription to The School of Life App. Follow this link to find out more.
Except for one thing; shortly after they learn to speak, children also learn – as it were – not to speak. At first, they aren’t very good at not speaking, which is why – for a precious time – they’re very funny indeed, as well as occasionally rather excruciating. They use their newfound linguistic skill to come out with utterances like ‘Granny smells’, ‘Jane looks a bit like a giraffe’ and ‘Can you put a poo back in your bottom once it’s come out?’......Start your 7-day free trial to keep reading and access 2,000+ articles, courses, and tools with a subscription to The School of Life App. Follow this link to find out more.
