The paper sets out a new approach to identifying stages of early child development leading up to the acquisition of an integrated sense of self. The model derives from linguistics rather than biology, in particular from the application of concepts of case relationships found in inflected languages. The author postulates a correlation between case relationships and developmental stages, and argues that the gradual demise of inflected language forms may have contributed to our lack of attunement as adults to the psychological processes and experiences of infancy.