In an informal discussion of experiences connected with the learning of new languages by adult persons, Stengel explores a new territory which seems to be important for the analysis of the ego. It is to be hoped that his observations will be elaborated more systematically.

The childhood phase of echolalia is absent in adults. The adult 'lacks the primitive mechanism of identification'. The adult superego is on guard to see that words and objects correspond, making them hesitant to go ahead and just talk as children do. The greater the hesitation, the more compulsive the defense mechanisms of the adult. 'The obsessional neurotical character therefore slows down the acquisition of a new language, although it may render eventual success more certain. But even the normally developed