LARYNX AND PHONATION. 363 



fore, must be distinguished from aphasia, or the loss of power 

 to pronounce them. The patient suffering from aphasia can 

 still write his thoughts, while in amnesia he can only express 

 himself by drawing a representation of the objects which he 

 desires. 



We will remark, in conclusion, that the working of the 

 organs of the voice, in regard to language, is closely con- 

 nected with that of hearing; as speech can only come after 

 hearing, a child learns to talk solely by repeating the sounds 

 which he hears every day. A person who has never heard, 

 is unable to speak, and Bonnafont has proved that any one 

 who has heard and spoken up to the age of three, four, or 

 even five years, and then, by any accident, entirely lost his 

 hearing, will gradually lose the power of speech, until, in a 

 few years, he will be scarcely capable of uttering any articu- 

 late sounds. We may, therefore, say that a person who is 

 deaf and dumb from his birth is dumb only because he is 

 deaf. 1 



1 See J. P. Bonnafont, " Traite The'orique et Pratique des 

 Maladies de 1'Oreille." 2d edition. Paris, 1873, p. 609. 



It must, however, be remarked that persons who are deaf can 

 be taught to articulate words through the medium of sight and 

 mimicry. [Am. ed.J 



