Notes on Affirmation and Negation in Human Speech—Their Linguistic Expression and Biological and Psychological Background

The title of this paper is deliberately descriptive and nontechnical. I am neither a linguist nor a psychologist, but strongly inclined toward both disciplines. In the course of years I have come upon findings in these fields which seem to answer questions never approached by professional men from a combined biological and psychological viewpoint. I shall therefore have to present to the reader crude material that will, I hope, be dealt with properly by more competent individuals. A scientific study of the phenomena of language in my opinion cannot neglect—in certain basic areas—the biological aspect, nor can it dismiss as unimportant inherently psychological elements.

One might expect consent or denial (confirmation or negation) to belong to the earliest expressions used in human speech on the level of primitive social intercourse, both ontogenetically and presumably phylogenetically. We observe refusal (negation) in the youngest infant: closing the mouth denies the intake of food. The possible accompanying vocal sound is m-m-m. On the other hand, affirmation or consent is expressed primarily by an opening of the mouth, indicating readiness to receive food, and this action is possibly accompanied by a sound which will more or less represent a vowel similar to the German or Latin a, e, or