In the essay, "From Mimism to Music in the Child" (1935), Jousse, the French linguistic anthropologist, * describes the process whereby instinctive learning takes place and develops into cognitive motor skills in the Child; * traces the connections between the stages of learning and the skills acquired by the Child. These skills include gestural mimic imitation, drawing, listening, speaking, and musical expression; * makes specific recommendations about the process of teaching the Child; * relates the stages in the early learning processes in the Child to the development globally and universally of the anthropos; * demonstrates the relationship between Man and his fellows, both as individuals and as expression of cultural distinction, and between Man and the universe; * comments on the distinction between human and animal learning capacities; * explains the roles of key features in human expression; *explains aspects of cultural and linguistic change; * comments on cultural and linguistic change. In this research-essay, I am * attempting to clarify, in various degrees, all of the above: the learning issues receive more attention than do the rest; * attempting to identify the similarities and differences between the thinking and views on learning of Jousse with those particularly of Rudolf Laban, and incidentally of Montessori and Lenneberg; * demonstrating an 'Oral-Style text'. The Introduction to this research-essay summarises the thinking of Jousse and Laban. The Body of the study: * provides biographical information about Jousse and Laban; * explains the difficulties and problems encountered with the text of the essay "From Mimism to Music in the Child"; * comments on the nature and operation of Oral-Style texts and their cognitive and affective influence upon the reader; * contextualises and interprets the text of the essay, "From Mimism and Music in the Child". The Conclusion adds comments, and suggests areas for further study and investigation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1995.