Notions of sign, meaning, and significance are considered from a psychological-semiotic position in relation to the initial stage in the development of speech. Theoretical review concerning stages in the development of speech, genetical roots of speech, thinking, and of the sing phenomenon enables the author to put forward the following hypotheses: 1) semantic syntax appears within the pre-word communication; 2) in the pre-word ontogenesis there appear and function different sensual, emotional-expressive, cognitive, object, and communicative meanings; 3) speech and thinking possess common genetical roots in the operations with objects; 4) there develops a system of protosigns at the "primitive" pre-word stage which precedes the speech and prepares its appearance.