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Synopsis
Sometime in the late seventh century B.C., it occurred to Psamtik I, the first of the Saitic kings of Egypt, to wonder which might be the original language of the world. Read the first page
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The year before Susan - or 'Genie', as she became known - was finally rescued, the psycholinguist Dr Lenneberg published a paper on Chomsky's theory that no one is able to learn a first language after puberty. Fourteen-year-old Genie could speak no more than a few words of recognisable English when she arrived in the world, and the scientists instantly seized on her as the perfect guinea pig needed to prove or disprove the critical period hypothesis.
Anecdotes of Genie's trips to the seaside, her fascination with balloons and all things plastic, her curious non-verbal friendship with a local shopkeeper and her love of singing allow the reader to see the young girl's personality develop. Diary excerpts written by her principal carer show how drastically her speech and language improved over the years. The scientific content is couched in lucid, accessible language that can be understood by all. It does not drain the life away from the story or detract attention from the girl at the heart of the book.
I had a lump in my throat when I closed this book. The researchers and scientists who were ostensibly there to help Genie - the Genie Team, as they termed themselves - eventually became so crazed with the need to prove their scientific theories and enter the history books that they lost sight of what should have been their main objective: the need to rescue a young girl from non-verbal hell. When research funding was withdrawn, Genie entered a cycle of abusive foster homes. She inevitably regressed back into her world of silence. The tragedy is summed up in the following short exchange between a member of the Team and a hospital cook:
"Do you find that Genie responds well to your intercommunicative advances?" he asked.
"I just gives her love," the cook replied.
This book is a valuable contribution to the psycholinguistic research literature - not because it yields any conclusive evidence to support the Lenneberg hypothesis, but because it emphasises that a person is much more than a case study in a filing cabinet. It is also a haunting testimony to what could have been.
For a more academic treatment try "Genie: aPsycholinguistic Study of a Modern-Day Wild Child", the doctoral thesis of linguist Susan Curtiss. Of all the researchers who worked with Genie, Curtiss is perhaps the only one whose behaviour was beyond reproach. Her account is thorough, warm-hearted and highly engaging.
For a quick introduction to the case, try the transcript of "Secret of the Wild Child", a PBS broadcast.
Brilliant book, but i wouldnt recomend it for people who have no understanding of... Read more
I had already seen the movie, so I already knew the story, when I ordered this book. Read more
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