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Psittacism is speech or writing that appears mechanical or repetitive in the manner of a
/ref> More generally it is a
America, Europe, and the Soviet Union
'. – which in turn derives from the Greek ψιττακός – in an analogy with the ability of some parrots to speak human words but without any knowledge of their meaning. Parrots, in turn, may be used as symbols of psittacism. In Flaubert's story '' Un cœur simple'' the parrot may have been used in this manner. Ben Stoltzfus wrote in ''The French Review'':
Psittacism is speech or writing that appears mechanical or repetitive in the manner of a parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
.''Psittacism and Dead Language'' Education Week January 22, 1997/ref> More generally it is a
pejorative
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
description of the use of words which appear to have been used without regard to their meaning.
The word is derived from the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
term for parrots ''psittaci''Laqueur, Walter. America, Europe, and the Soviet Union
'. – which in turn derives from the Greek ψιττακός – in an analogy with the ability of some parrots to speak human words but without any knowledge of their meaning. Parrots, in turn, may be used as symbols of psittacism. In Flaubert's story '' Un cœur simple'' the parrot may have been used in this manner. Ben Stoltzfus wrote in ''The French Review'':
Thus, Loulou is a parrot, and at the same time a symbol of psittacism, that malady of so many of Flaubert's characters who either parrot banalities without thought or meaning, or are the victims of this psittacism.Stoltzfus, Ben
Point of View in "Un Coeur simple"
''The French Review'', Vol. 35, No. 1. (Oct., 1961), pp. 19-25.
References
{{reflist Narrative techniques Language disorders Language varieties and styles