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From: srt@CS.UCLA.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Why can't my cat talk?
Message-ID: <8986@shemp.UCLA.EDU>
Date: Wed, 4-Nov-87 00:10:37 EST
Article-I.D.: shemp.8986
Posted: Wed Nov  4 00:10:37 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Nov-87 12:08:09 EST
References: <11967@decwrl.DEC.COM> <1697@cognos.UUCP> <849@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU> <938@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
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Reply-To: srt@CS.UCLA.EDU (Scott Turner)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
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In article <938@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> zwicky@ptero.cis.ohio-state.edu (Elizabeth D. Zwicky) writes:
>...The data for this comes primarily
>not from children abandoned in the wild, but from children abused and
>deprived by human beings. The most famous of these was Genie...

You should be careful drawing conclusions about normal human linguistic
behavior from examples like Genie and aphasiacs.  Genie is an interesting
case, but her language isolation to puberty is probably the least of her
problems.  She's a psychological mess due to her upbringing, and it isn't
clear whether her problems with learning manners (say) has to do with her
language isolation or her other mental problems.  Hypotheses drawn from
degenerate cases like Genie need to be carefully tested in the normal adult
population before they can be given any serious consideration.
 
    Scott R. Turner
    UCLA Computer Science     "Because no one else wanted me."
    Domain: srt@cs.ucla.edu
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