RUSSIAN TWINS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 180, 1 August 1935, Page 22

RUSSIAN TWINS.

MENTALITY STUDY. A SCIENTIFIC TEST. REMARKABLE COLONYMOSCOW, June 25. A unique series of experiments in psychology, made possible by the discovery of identical twin boys, who speak a primitive spontaneous language of their own, has begun here in the MedicoBiological Research Institute. It is expected to yield hitherto unobtainable data on the origin and development of speech and of the part speech plays in creating mentality and emotional life.

The mere discovery of these twins is of scientific importance, for they are the first recorded identical twins having "autonomic speech"—that is, speech which is spontaneous, not imitative. Single children of autonomic speech have been known and studied since the time of Darwin, but identical twins multiply the possibilities of study. After several weeks under observation at* the institute, they were separated for the first time to-day. One was retained at the institute, where ha will be taught Russian; the other was sent back to his parents in an extremely ignorant workers' family, where he will get no training. After six months they will be compared.

The twins, five years old, are Yura and Alexia Holmowsky. They are not inherently defective mentally, but are retarded linguistically, so that their speech and consequently their mental development are about those of two-year-olds.

They understand Russian when it is spoken to them, but do not speak it except for isolated words or corruptions of words. They use words based on Russian exactly" as they do their own autonomic words: without a trace of grammar. Each individual word doee not have a lixed meaning, but can be used to denote a wide variety of things, acts or emotions, the meaning varying with the situation and particularised by gesticulation. Emotionally Like Apes. Emotionally the children are about on a level with the higher apes, and their speech is a pre-human tongue nearer animal than human. For instance, their word "peepeet," which obviously is based on the Russian word for "drink," means not only drink but "cup of tea," "teapot," "spoon" and "water running from faucet." Another word, '"X-tsi'," which is wholly autonomic, means "candy," "apples," "nuts" and "toys." especially toys that the twins particularly like.

"Kitika," which is the Russian equivalent of pussy, denotes any small furred animal, fur itself or anything soft to touch. The autonomic word "ce-ee"

means "Come here" or "Let's play" or "Give me that." "Top-top-top" means "high" or "much." Dr. A. R. Luria, who is in charge of the study of the twins under the general direction of Dr. S. G. Levit, the head of the institute, explained to-day that because of their lack of developed speech they were almost as incapable as animals of abstract thinking. Speech not only is a product of mentality, but produces it. It is by means of speech that men generalise. By using the twin who is being returned to his family as a control, the development of the twin who will be trained is expected to throw much light on the development through speech of mentality and character. Eight Pairs Under -Study. The Holmowsky twiss are the most recent addition to the unique colony of identical twins now being studied here. There are eight pairs —believed to be the largest number under study anywhere. Most of them live in the pleasant Nursery and Kindergarten Institute. One twin of each pair ie being used as a control.

The study already has produced interesting and important findings, not only ae to the best methods of educating children, but as to the effects of various medical treatments. For instance, when a pair of identical twins was found t:> be suffering from rickete o ie w:ie subjected to the ultra-violet ray treatment that is bo. much in use. The child so treated showed marked improvement, but after some months he was in poorer physical condition than his brother, whe had not been so treated.

This is taken to indicate that ultraviolet ray treatment, although immediately effective, is harmful rather than helpful in the long run. The institute has records of 1500 pairs of twins in Moscow alone, and hae arranged to be informed of every twin birth.