I was watching with the closest attention for the first
appearance of this word. The sentence ran, _Warum nach Hause gehen? ich
will nicht nach Hause_ (Why go home? I don't want to go home). When a
wheel creaked on the carriage, the child asked, _Was macht nur so_ (What
makes that)? Both questions show that at last the instinct of causality,
which manifested itself more than a year before in a kind of activity of
inquiry, in experimenting, and even earlier (in the twelfth week) in
giving attention to things, is expressed _in language_; but the
questioning is often repeated in a senseless way till it reaches the
point of weariness. _Warum wird das Holz gesnitten?_ (for "gesaegt"--Why
is the wood sawed?) _Warum macht der Froedrich die [Blumen] Toepfe rein?_
(Why does Frederick clean the flower-pots?) are examples of childish
questions, which when they receive an answer, and indeed whatever
answer, are followed by fresh questions just as idle (from the
standpoint of adults); but they testify plainly to a far-reaching
independent activity of thought. So with the frequent question, _Wie
macht man das nur?_ (How is that done?)
It is to be said, further, that I found the endeavor impracticable to
ascertain the order of succession in which the child uses the different
interrogative words. It depends wholly on the company about him at what
time first this or that turn of expression or question is repeated and
then used independently.
Pages:
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258