Pragmatic and discourse development Flashcards
importance of pragmatics
- they need to have that web of connections
- don’t have pragmatic awareness adults may have
- to understand pragmatics children must have a comprehension of implicatures (understanding of implied meaning)
implication
what we mean rather than what we say
inference
interpreting what others mean
politeness
- using selected words and phrases to be polite
- one of earliest developments
- please and thank you
- asking not demanding
- not raising voice / taboo
conversational management
knowing when and how long to speak
Topic maintenance
understanding to stay on topic and contributing relevantly to the conversation
Denotation
literal meaning
connotation
associated meaning
locution
literal speech act
‘can I go outside?’
‘it’s raining’
illocution
the implied meaning
‘can I go outside?’
‘no, you can’t
perlocution
the perceived meaning
‘can I go outside?’
‘I am not allowed to go outside’
Paul Grice’s maxims, 1975
- ‘co-operative principle’
- unconsciously will be conversationally cooperative and abide by certain maxims
- children struggle to use maxims / make errors and flout the maxims
maxim of quality
- should tell the truth
- should have evidence for statements made
Maxim of quantity
- contribution should be as much as required
- should be neither too little nor too much
Maxim of relevance
- speakers contributions should relate to purpose of conversation
Maxim of manner
contributions should be clear, avoiding ambiguity
Goffman
- the face theory
G: losing face
to publicly suffer diminished self image (children don’t tend to get embarrassed due to lack of pragmatic development)
G: maintaining face
taking a line when interacting socially
G: taking a line
contribution to a conversation to show engagement
G: positive face
need to be liked, appreciated and approved
G: negative face
desire to feel independent
G: Face threatening act
speech act which has the potential to damage someone’s self esteem
G: Positive politeness strategy
- shows you recognise that your hearer has desire to be respected
- expresses group reciprocity
G: Negative politeness strategy
- recognises the hearer’s face
- recognises you are in some way imposing on them e.g. “I don’t want to bother you but”, “I was wondering if”
M.A.K Halliday, 1975
identified 7 functions of motivation for a child to use language
Halliday functions
HI, I Ran Round In Poo
H - heuristic
I - instrumental
I - interactional
R - regulatory
R - representational
I - imaginative
P - personal
Heuristic
learn about the environment e.g. “Wassat?”
Instrumental
fulfil a need e.g. “I want milk”
Interactional
develop and maintain social relationships e.g. “I love you”
Regulatory
influence the behaviour of others e.g. “pick up”
Representational
convey facts and information e.g. “its hot”
Imaginative
create an imaginary world as seen in play e.g. “me, shopkeeper”
Personal
convey their opinion or personal identity e.g. “me like it”
John Dore
- identified eight functions that might be in child lang
- more focused than Halliday’s approach
John Dore’s 8 functions
L - labelling R - repeating A - answering R - requesting action C - calling G - greeting P - protesting P - practicing
JD: Labelling
naming a person, object or thing
JD: repeating
repeating an adult word / utterance
JD: Answering
responding to an utterance of another speaker
JD: Requesting action
asking for something to be done for them
JD: Greeting
greeting someone / something
JD: calling
getting attention by shouting
JD: Protesting
objecting requests from others
JD: Practicing
Using language when no adult is present
