Theories of Development 247 



tion or agglomeration of the two languages may result 

 by a process similar to that which has formed our 

 modern English. 



Language must, therefore, necessarily grow in pro- 

 portion as the environment becomes more and more 

 complex. The environment of each of us becomes 

 complex in proportion as we fix attention upon all 

 the phases of this environment, and our ideas in- 

 crease in number according as we come in contact 

 with more and more things. Seeing the "centro- 

 some" in the egg of Ascaris megalocephala, made 

 necessary the invention of the new word centra- 

 some to designate the new idea gained. The idea 

 came first; and created a need for a name, which 

 was promptly invented. Special experiences with dif- 

 ferent phases of nature cause special needs to arise 

 for means of labeling, classifying, identifying, and 

 communicating those experiences, and this results 

 in technical or scientific language. Our ideas must 

 correspond to our experiences ; and hence our language 

 must acquire that special characteristic also. Thus a 

 sailor has his language; a railroad man his; no less 

 technical than that of the man of science. If we 

 assume species to arise from experience, then we 

 should not be surprised to find among human beings 

 different species, having their own specific language; 

 and, as there are varieties of living things, so there 

 must be varieties (dialects) also in language. We 

 may say, therefore, that language grows, changes, 

 but only because the living being whose product it is, 

 grows and changes. Now this growth and change 

 is due to a more varied and complex experience. It 

 is this, consequently, which leads to that specializa- 

 tion and differentiation, suggesting species and varie- 

 ties, on the one hand, and specialized human charac- 

 teristics and human activities on the other. Lan- 

 guage is not something floating around in the air, 



