Pragmatics Flashcards
When do children develop politeness features?
They are encouraged from a very young age, so develop as soon as the child starts to engage in conversation and interact with others.
Example politeness features that a caregiver might enforce?
- ‘please’
- asking permission to leave table
- not shouting
- not using taboo language
How could politeness features support the imitation theory?
Because children learn the expected behaviours within any given social context.
Why does an understanding of politeness perhaps take longer to achieve than other facets of speech development?
Because politeness moves beyond words and extends to accepted discourse conventions. For example, ‘how are you’ is meant to just show interest in the other person rather than be taken literally. This shows how subtle politeness features can be.
Children and breaking Grice’s maxims?
E.g. - if a child is distracted by something and breaks the flow of the current topic of conversation
- if they are being addressed by an elderly neighbour and do not answer
Children can usually get away with this, because it is understood that developing these skills is not instant.
Sarcasm research point?
Glenwright-
Although children might identify sarcasm at the age of 6, it is thought that they do not fully understand the intended humour of it until age 10. This is because they need to process the literal meaning, and further consider it before perceiving a mismatch and appreciate the humour.
What are positive impacts of iPads on young children?
- improve technological intelligence
- explore creativity
Why is play important for language development?
Both Vygotsky and Piaget considered the importance of exploration of environment in cognitive development. Vygotsky proposed that social interaction with others was absolutely critical in developing understanding and that play facilitated learning.
What did Susan Ervin Tripp say?
Children can learn from each other and work collaboratively in a way that does not occur in adult-child interactions. Imaginative play is crucial for children to experiment with language in unfamiliar and different ways.
