Executive	Summary	of	"Considerations	Concerning	the	First	Formation	of	Languages" In	these	passages	from	"Considerations	Concerning	the	First	Formation	of Languages",	Adam	Smith	proposes	an	account	of	the	development	of	language. He presumes	that	the	first	step	is	assigning	names	to	individuals,	which	he	regards	as unproblematic. His	aim	is	to	show	how	general	terms	(and	subsequently, adjectives)	might	have	developed	from	the	starting	point	of	all	terms	being	proper names	for	objects	(and	similarly	how	ordinary	verbs	might	have	developed	from "impersonal	verbs";	verbs	that	did	not	take	a	separate	subject	term	as	an	argument). A	term	might	first	have	been	used	as	the	name	of	a	particular	river,	and	when	a second	river	was	encountered,	the	resemblance	between	the	first	river	and	the	new one	would	lead	the	speaker	to	apply	the	same	name. Thus,	Smith	writes,	"the proper names of individuals, would each of them insensibly become the common name of a multitude." In other words, Smith's account is that proper names are converted to common names via a process of autonomasia. This portion of the story does not invoke a mental process of abstraction, by Smith's lights. True abstraction only enters the picture after this, in the development of adjectives from general nouns and personal verbs from impersonal verbs. It	is	natural	for	the	contemporary	reader	to	see	Smith's	account	as	something	of	a "just-so"	story.	Rather	than	dismiss	his	account	as	unsupported	speculation,	though, there	is	a	more	charitable	way	to	understand	Smith's	arguments,	provided	we	take account	of	the	context	of	this	discussion. Smith	was	participating	in	a	then-lively debate	relating	to	philosophical	challenges	for	accounts	of	the	origin	of	languages. In	this	context,	the	more	appropriate	question	is	whether	Smith	has	successfully articulated	an	origin	story	that	addresses	these	challenges	than	whether	he	has given	historical	support	for	the	story	on	offer. This	aspect	of	Smith's	discussion	is	highlighted	when	he	explicitly	claims	to	resolve a	worry	from	Rousseau,	regarding	an	apparent	circularity	in	the	origins	of	general terms. On	the	one	hand,	it	seems	that	the	ability	to	generalize	requires	an antecedent	use	of	words. On	the	other	hand,	it	seems	that	the	use	of	words	requires an	antecedent	ability	to	generalize. Smith's	proposed	resolution	is	that	"[w]hat constitutes	a	species	is	merely	a	number	of	objects,	bearing	a	certain	degree	of resemblance	to	one	another,	and	on	that	account	denominated	by	a	single appellation". This	nominalist	response	to	Rousseau's	challenge	denies	that	the	use of	words	requires	an	antecedent	ability	to	generalize. Rather,	the	use	of	words (even	the	use	of	words	to	denote	classes	of	objects),	requires	only	antecedent	use	of the	powers	of	memory	and	comparison. This	is	the	basic	approach	taken	by	Smith. However,	not	all	cases	are	as	simple	for him	to	explain	as	the	use	of,	for	example,	'river'	as	a	general	term. Smith's	account	is not	complete	without	the	more	sophisticated	story	he	offers	concerning	"nouns adjective"	such	as	'green',	prepositions,	such	as	'above',	and	"personal	verbs"	such	as 'venit'	(latin	for	'to	come/arrive'). It	is	far	from	clear	that	Rousseau	would	be satisfied	with	these	responses	to	the	worry,	but	it	is	easy	to	understand	Smith's account	from	these	passages	as	his	attempt	to	resolve	this	worry	by	showing	how the	mental	activity	required	to	develop	general	language	from	the	use	of	particular terms	does	not	run	afoul	of	Rousseau's	circle. Several	scholars	have	investigated	connections	between	Smith's	work	on	language and	his	much	better	known	work	on	economics,	rational	choice,	and	the marketplace. For	more	on	these	themes,	please	consult	the	suggested	readings below. Further	Readings In	this	book: Locke, Rousseau, Condillac, Writings	about	Smith	on	Language: Berry,	C.,	"Adam Smith's Considerations on Language," Journal of the History of Ideas, 35(1): 130-138, (1974). Dascal,	M.,	Adam	Smith's	theory	of	language.	In	K.	Haakonssen	(ed.),	The	Cambridge Companion	to	Adam	Smith.	Cambridge:	Cambridge	University	Press,	pages	79-111 (2006). Levy,	D.	M.,	"Adam Smith's rational choice linguistics," Economic Inquiry 35(3): 672-678, (1997). Otteson,	J.	"Adam Smith's First Market: The Development of Language," History of Philosophy Quarterly 19(1): 65–8, (2002). Schliesser,	E.,	From	Adam	Smith	to	Darwin	(July	27,	2009).	Available	at	SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1440166	or	http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.