Considerations concerning the first formation of languages is published
In 1761 Considerations concerning the First Formation of Languages appeared as a public dissertation. It is a dated philological essay, not the 1759 TMS and not WN. In the causal graph this event strengthens Digital Learning Access, a driver that weakens Learning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries) — an improving welfare path.
Read the full account
In 1761 Considerations concerning the First Formation of Languages appeared as a public dissertation. It is a dated philological essay, not the 1759 TMS and not WN. Adam Smith’s documented role is: He published a dissertation on the origin of languages, later attached to TMS. The philological essay is his; later bundling is editorial. A 1761 philological dissertation is a different instrument. Later editors, printers, and excavators remain named where they appear. Adam Smith's documented role is: He published a dissertation on the origin of languages, later attached to TMS.
Context
The essay was later printed with TMS in some editions. Bundling is not a reason to merge facts. Conjectural history is not a unique linguistic dataset. 1976 collected volumes are not 1761 type. Named others on the file: Periodical printers of 1761, later TMS binders, and subsequent editors share the essay’s survival. The public setting is the file around 1761-01-01. Contribution type is direct. The instrument stays Considerations concerning the first formation of languages is published. The setting of Considerations concerning the first formation of languages is published is the public file around 1761-01-01. Contribution type is direct. Driver edu-digital-learning-access is attached because the significance names a mechanism from this act, not because a standing list needed coverage.
Why it matters
Direct on the 1761 text. Welfare reading improving. The attached mechanism is A dated public essay put a conjectural history of language into the Scottish Enlightenment teaching file. Lag to any modern indicator is not treated as zero. This path is attached because the mechanism is named from this act, not because a driver list needed coverage. The welfare reading on this path is improving.
If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Adam Smith
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.32 · verified
He published a dissertation on the origin of languages, later attached to TMS. The philological essay is his; later bundling is editorial.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactConsiderations concerning the first formation of languages is published
- strengthensDriverDigital Learning Access
- weakensIndicators (3)Learning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries)
impact weight 0.3 · Effect from 1 January 1761 · verified
A dated public essay put a conjectural history of language into the Scottish Enlightenment teaching file.
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.12 (weight 0.3 × strength 0.4)
Observed
70% of 10-year-olds · 70 above the normal line (2022)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 57% of 10-year-olds (2019) and 70% of 10-year-olds (2022).
20192022 Above normal = worse
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.1 (weight 0.3 × strength 0.35)
Observed
472 PISA score points · 28 below the normal line (2022)
Worse than normal7 readings, 2003–2022: fell from 499 PISA score points to 472 PISA score points.
Above normal = better
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.09 (weight 0.3 × strength 0.3)
Observed
11% of primary-school-age children · 11 above the normal line (2023)
Worse than normalAbove normal = worse
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Adam Smith’s Moral and Political PhilosophyStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy · High credibility · verified
- 2.Britannica — Adam SmithEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
Britannica and SEP independently identify the languages dissertation as a distinct Smith text. Official: Britannica — Adam Smith, essay on languages (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adam-Smith (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica). Independent: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Smith, languages dissertation (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/smith-moral-political/ (opens in a new tab); Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). The two URLs are different pages. Where the carrier is a later edition or a received narrative, that limit is stated rather than upgraded to an autograph. Official carrier: Britannica — Adam Smith, essay on languages (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adam-Smith (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica). Independent carrier: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Smith, languages dissertation (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/smith-moral-political/ (opens in a new tab); Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
Established: 1761 languages dissertation. Not established: a unique empirical linguistics series. Established: a sourced public record of Considerations concerning the first formation of languages is published under 1761-01-01.
Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. Mixed effects of Considerations concerning the first formation of languages is published are separate paths.
Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.
The contribution type is direct. That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.
Shared responsibility is part of Considerations concerning the first formation of languages is published. Naming Adam Smith does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 1761-01-01 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorAdam Smith
- contributed toFactConsiderations concerning the first formation of languages is published
- strengthensDriverDigital Learning Access
- weakensIndicatorLearning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries)
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). Considerations concerning the first formation of languages is published. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/asm-languages-1761
https://factrail.ai/facts/asm-languages-1761
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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