Child etymology
Under Kindesetymologie (also Kinderetymologie ) is understood at least since Clara and William Stern attempts by children to explain the meaning of complex words themselves. This results in both correct and unsuccessful interpretations. Stern and Stern start these efforts at the age of four, but the first evidence can be seen as early as the age of three, as the authors document.
Examples
The following examples (from the book by Stern und Stern) serve to explain the phenomenon mentioned:
- A child's interpretation of the word “tuna” is expressed in the child's question “is he doing what?”. (P. 418)
- For “may flower” the interpretation “because the flowers grow in May” is reported. (P. 418)
literature
- Clara and William Stern: The Language of Children. A psychological and language-theoretical investigation. (Unchanged reprint of the fourth, revised edition, Leipzig 1928.) Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1975, Chapter Children's Etymology , pp. 417–422. ISBN 3-534-07203-0 .
