Sabina Spielrein and Her Definition of Language (1911–1931)

Abstract: Many among the first generation of psychoanalysts, Freud, Ferenczi, István Hollós, and Sabina Spielrein expressed a strong interest in linguistics. Of these authors, Spielrein is the one whose oeuvre shows systematic dedication to the subject. This paper will demonstrate the development of her interest in a linguistic approach, which combined psychoanalytic thought, developmental psychology, and a wide knowledge of linguistics. This had occurred by the time of Spielrein’s Geneva period, (1920–1923.). This paper is divided into three main parts. In the first, I will discuss the linguistic themes within her oeuvre, define their main areas, and describe the five key studies that demonstrate Spielrein’s approach to linguistics. The second and third parts of the paper focus on the analysis of these texts. The second chapter traces the signs of linguistic orientation in the first part of her work (1911–1920). The third analyzes three key texts written in Geneva and one in the Soviet Union, in the chronological order they were written. I will try to present the linguistic approach unraveling these complex texts in a way that the reader would be able to sense through the complementary and mutually supportive presence of the three sciences: psychoanalysis, the psychology of cognitive development and linguistics. I have two objectives when analyzing and connecting these texts. One is to show how Spielrein’s knowledge grew continuously and how her own experiences enriched what she had learned from her mentors, Freud, Jung, Bleuler and Piaget. The other is to emphasize that Spielrein managed to synthesize her orientation before 1920, mostly relying on psychoanalytical and Jungian elements, and her growing interest in the psychology of mental development after 1920, into a unique and consistent linguistic approach.