Abstract: The effect of conversational functioning on early language acquisition and use requires thorough developmental and discursive approaches able to take into account children's behaviors that present some but not necessarily all of the characteristics of the mature competence under study, and to preserve the "sequentiality" of conversation. Results of a longitudinal study show that conversational functioning has the effect of furthering on topic conversation by both the mother and the child. Moreover, when the child produces a third turn contribution to reciprocal sequences, she is much more likely to modify her production than if she were repeating her preceding production without the mother's corrective uptake in between the two successive utterances. These immediate effects of conversation have also longer-term effects. On the one hand, productions involved in exchanges at earlier sessions are recognized, at later sessions, as the words to which they have been linked to. On the other, reciprocal sequences are related to faster lexical acquisition. Moreover, discursive exchanges in which children are led, through the unfolding of conversation, to successively utter words that can be meaningfully related one to the other, precede and foster multiword speech. All these kinds of conversational sequences create events that the partners may have not foreseen beforehand and it is such "unforeseen" novelties that constitute the crucial original contribution of conversations to early language progress.
Abstract: The effect of conversational functioning on early language acquisition and use requires thorough developmental and discursive approaches able to take into account children's behaviors that present some but not necessarily all of the characteristics of the mature competence under study, and to preserve the "sequentiality" of conversation. Results of a longitudinal study show that conversational functioning has the effect of furthering on topic conversation by both the mother and the child. Moreover, when the child produces a third turn contribution to reciprocal sequences, she is much more likely to modify her production than if she were repeating her preceding production without the mother's corrective uptake in between the two successive utterances. These immediate effects of conversation have also longer-term effects. On the one hand, productions involved in exchanges at earlier sessions are recognized, at later sessions, as the words to which they have been linked to. On the other, reciprocal sequences are related to faster lexical acquisition. Moreover, discursive exchanges in which children are led, through the unfolding of conversation, to successively utter words that can be meaningfully related one to the other, precede and foster multiword speech. All these kinds of conversational sequences create events that the partners may have not foreseen beforehand and it is such "unforeseen" novelties that constitute the crucial original contribution of conversations to early language progress.
Abstract: The notion of expressive options is a universal characteristic of language as well as a fundamental acquisition for language learners. Having expressive options implies to consider different formulations as somehow related one to another, be it under commonality of meaning, of communicative function, or simply of referentiality. Previously constructed signifier-signified and form-function relations change in status by being embedded into an array of co-possible alternatives, as the meaning of individual items is colored, limited or enriched by that of other individual items belonging to the same system. This paper considers the notion of expressive option from the point of view of its emergence, by looking for possible antecedents and early manifestations of this capacity, and models the directions in which they develop. It proposes that the emergence of this ability is related to children's cognitive development and, in particular, to the mechanisms that allow the subject to entertain different possibilities at the same time. Results show that the first alternative expressions consist of successively-centered perspectives. Then, when alternative expressions start to be anticipated simultaneously and mentally considered as co-possibilities, at this early stage two kinds of outcomes may result: 1. Simultaneously anticipated alternatives are viewed as a set of options among which to choose one expression considered better adapted to the situation at hand (the "alternative expressive options" outcome); 2. Simultaneously anticipated alternatives combine to enrich the expression of one given communicative intention, and are coordinated into a higher level structural unit (the "combined options" outcome) preparing the child to multiword speech. This higher level unit can then become a new possibility in a set of alternative expressive options.
Abstract: The notion of expressive options is a universal characteristic of language as well as a fundamental acquisition for language learners. Having expressive options implies to consider different formulations as somehow related one to another, be it under commonality of meaning, of communicative function, or simply of referentiality. Previously constructed signifier-signified and form-function relations change in status by being embedded into an array of co-possible alternatives, as the meaning of individual items is colored, limited or enriched by that of other individual items belonging to the same system. This paper considers the notion of expressive option from the point of view of its emergence, by looking for possible antecedents and early manifestations of this capacity, and models the directions in which they develop. It proposes that the emergence of this ability is related to children's cognitive development and, in particular, to the mechanisms that allow the subject to entertain different possibilities at the same time. Results show that the first alternative expressions consist of successively-centered perspectives. Then, when alternative expressions start to be anticipated simultaneously and mentally considered as co-possibilities, at this early stage two kinds of outcomes may result: 1. Simultaneously anticipated alternatives are viewed as a set of options among which to choose one expression considered better adapted to the situation at hand (the "alternative expressive options" outcome); 2. Simultaneously anticipated alternatives combine to enrich the expression of one given communicative intention, and are coordinated into a higher level structural unit (the "combined options" outcome) preparing the child to multiword speech. This higher level unit can then become a new possibility in a set of alternative expressive options.
Abstract: Studying when children start to make use of language in a more informative way is important for comprehending how they practice the pragmatic competence. Thus, the objective is to verify the uses of informative language in utterances of explanation/justification. To accomplish this objective, the explanation phenomenon is theoretically delimited and some examples with French children are presented. The examples are based on data of their pragamatic development obtained in interactional situation.
Abstract: Studying when children start to make use of language in a more informative way is important for comprehending how they practice the pragmatic competence. Thus, the objective is to verify the uses of informative language in utterances of explanation/justification. To accomplish this objective, the explanation phenomenon is theoretically delimited and some examples with French children are presented. The examples are based on data of their pragamatic development obtained in interactional situation.
Abstract: The pragmatic functioning of six 7 to 9 year-old moderately retarded autistic children is compared to that of nine control children (2 to 8 years old) selected according to comparable ranges of verbal measures. Each child was video recorded at home during naturally-occurring play and meal times. The present study focuses on conflicting situations and on children's abilities a) to offer justifications; b) to take into account the justifications offered by their interlocutors; and c) to adapt their productions according to the online unfolding of the conversational exchange in these oppositional contexts. Results show the existence of resemblances and differences in the pragmatic functioning of autistic and normally developing children. Findings will be discussed for their theoretical and methodological implications in the advancement of our understanding of autistic children's communicative competencies, and of their implicit knowledge of the mind, as well as for the potential use of the analytical tools for innovative evaluation and intervention
Abstract: The pragmatic functioning of six 7 to 9 year-old moderately retarded autistic children is compared to that of nine control children (2 to 8 years old) selected according to comparable ranges of verbal measures. Each child was video recorded at home during naturally-occurring play and meal times. The present study focuses on conflicting situations and on children's abilities a) to offer justifications; b) to take into account the justifications offered by their interlocutors; and c) to adapt their productions according to the online unfolding of the conversational exchange in these oppositional contexts. Results show the existence of resemblances and differences in the pragmatic functioning of autistic and normally developing children. Findings will be discussed for their theoretical and methodological implications in the advancement of our understanding of autistic children's communicative competencies, and of their implicit knowledge of the mind, as well as for the potential use of the analytical tools for innovative evaluation and intervention
Abstract: This paper considers whether the child's early vocabulary shows signs of being organized into word categories. Two main kinds of evidence are looked for: i. differential production of fillers (referred to here more neutrally as Prefixed Additional Elements); ii. relevant phonomorphological variation for verb-words, and only in them. Results of analyses of natural speech production provided by the longitudinal studies of two French acquiring children followed between the ages of 1;3 and 2;3, show that there is a first period in which words seem to constitute one, formally undifferentiated, set. Differentiation between noun-words and verb-words appears progressively, as evidenced by the differential occurrence of PAEs in prenominal and in preverbal positions, and in the appearance of phonomorphologically relevant variations only in words that are verbs in the language. Looking at connected aspects of language, other phenomena are observed to occur at the same time, in particular, a significant increase in the production of multiword speech, that becomes the dominant way of expression
Abstract: This paper considers whether the child's early vocabulary shows signs of being organized into word categories. Two main kinds of evidence are looked for: i. differential production of fillers (referred to here more neutrally as Prefixed Additional Elements); ii. relevant phonomorphological variation for verb-words, and only in them. Results of analyses of natural speech production provided by the longitudinal studies of two French acquiring children followed between the ages of 1;3 and 2;3, show that there is a first period in which words seem to constitute one, formally undifferentiated, set. Differentiation between noun-words and verb-words appears progressively, as evidenced by the differential occurrence of PAEs in prenominal and in preverbal positions, and in the appearance of phonomorphologically relevant variations only in words that are verbs in the language. Looking at connected aspects of language, other phenomena are observed to occur at the same time, in particular, a significant increase in the production of multiword speech, that becomes the dominant way of expression
Abstract: Children learning languages like English, French, Italian and Spanish, are reported to start producing verbs in single forms. Only later the occurrence of first formal contrasts, consisting of at least two phonomorphologically relevant (PMR) forms for the same verb type is noted (e.g., Tomasello, 1992; Gathercole et al 1999).This paper tries to understand whether single-form verbal morphology and the first PMR formal variations are related to the verb form profiles produced in child-directed speech (CDS). Preliminary results indicate that the great majority of verb types in CDS occur in one form only, something on which the first single-form morphology period could be based. They also point out that children's first PMR variations occur more in verbs that mothers produce in more than one form than in verbs occurring in one form only. This kind of relation between acquisitional and CDS data suggests a construction process based on analysis of both general (dominance of single-form verbal morphology) and specific (morphological variation of certain verb types) characteristics of the input.Moreover it argues that the emergence of formal contrasts in children\'s production of verbs is related to the beginnings of a grammatically-oriented reorganization where formal differences start to be part of children\'s \"understanding\" of words.To test this hypothesis we will also perform developmental analyses of the production of fillers (e.g., Peters & Menn, 1993) as a means to check whether other signs of this incipient reorganization appear at around the same period. Would the emergence of PMR variation on verb types co-occur with the appearance of protomorphological characteristics of fillers as, for example, their differential production according to the grammatical category of the word they precede (Veneziano & Sinclair 2000)?The paper analyzes longitudinal data of four French-speaking mother-child dyads, videorecorded in their home environment at two weeks intervals between the ages of 15 and 30 months. The data are transcribed according to the CHILDES format and transcriptions are linked to the videorecordings using CLAN software. Programs for the analyses of children\'s and caregivers\' productions have been specifically developed for the purposes of this study. Results will be discussed in relation to the hypotheses presented above and within a constructivist approach to early language acquisition.
Abstract: Children learning languages like English, French, Italian and Spanish, are reported to start producing verbs in single forms. Only later the occurrence of first formal contrasts, consisting of at least two phonomorphologically relevant (PMR) forms for the same verb type is noted (e.g., Tomasello, 1992; Gathercole et al 1999).This paper tries to understand whether single-form verbal morphology and the first PMR formal variations are related to the verb form profiles produced in child-directed speech (CDS). Preliminary results indicate that the great majority of verb types in CDS occur in one form only, something on which the first single-form morphology period could be based. They also point out that children's first PMR variations occur more in verbs that mothers produce in more than one form than in verbs occurring in one form only. This kind of relation between acquisitional and CDS data suggests a construction process based on analysis of both general (dominance of single-form verbal morphology) and specific (morphological variation of certain verb types) characteristics of the input.Moreover it argues that the emergence of formal contrasts in children\'s production of verbs is related to the beginnings of a grammatically-oriented reorganization where formal differences start to be part of children\'s \"understanding\" of words.To test this hypothesis we will also perform developmental analyses of the production of fillers (e.g., Peters & Menn, 1993) as a means to check whether other signs of this incipient reorganization appear at around the same period. Would the emergence of PMR variation on verb types co-occur with the appearance of protomorphological characteristics of fillers as, for example, their differential production according to the grammatical category of the word they precede (Veneziano & Sinclair 2000)?The paper analyzes longitudinal data of four French-speaking mother-child dyads, videorecorded in their home environment at two weeks intervals between the ages of 15 and 30 months. The data are transcribed according to the CHILDES format and transcriptions are linked to the videorecordings using CLAN software. Programs for the analyses of children\'s and caregivers\' productions have been specifically developed for the purposes of this study. Results will be discussed in relation to the hypotheses presented above and within a constructivist approach to early language acquisition.
Notes: In S. Dinucci Fernandes (Org.), Acquisição da Linguagem: Conceito, Definição et Explicação na Criança.P. (39-68). São Paulo, Bresil: Cultura Academica Editora, UNESP
Notes: In S. Dinucci Fernandes (Org.), Acquisição da Linguagem: Conceito, Definição et Explicação na Criança.P. (39-68). São Paulo, Bresil: Cultura Academica Editora, UNESP
