Pragmatics - child language Flashcards
Name types of skills which children learn
conversational management( topic and turn taking)
implicature and inference
politeness and cooperation
What does pragmatics try and identify and describe
identify and describe features typical of speech and to explain the use that is made of the by speakers in specific situations
what is an example of suprasegmentals
volume
Name spontaneous speech features / non-fluency features
pauses fillers false starts and repetition
name semantic /pragmatic features
tag questions,
hedges
Deixis
Topic Drift
Multiple coordination
why do children not use discourse markers
they expect others to listen
why do children not use fillers such as ‘em’ ‘uh’
Children expect their turns to be respected
Why do children pause more than adults
as they have to think about what word to use or equivalent to as their vocabulary is very limited
Why do children repeat more than adults
because of a limited vocabulary / and also passive voice and subordination are later acquired as children don’t understand the adult variation
why do children not use hedging devices
they dont understand how hedges work
Why does topic shift happen more in children
as the topic becomes irrelevant , this would usually result in conversation failure due to the topic not being related to the previous topic (Grice’s Maxim of Relevance)
why do children not use tag questions and use deixis more
deixis= little vocab talk about things that are present
tag questions= support is expected
define cooperative principle
linguists believe that when we speak we are trying to establish relationships with our interlocutor. Grice argues tat conversation is Governed by the cooperative principle in order to establish comity
is the comity learned ?
yes
What are minimal responses
supportive noises and nods when talking to someone to show that we are listening to them and supporting them
if minimal responses are not given , what will happen
this will lead to uncooperating, as it is deemed as rude and strange.
children learn turn taking as they get older True /false?
false- it is learned from a very early age in acquisition so do use minimal responses
What do children use minimal responses for
disinterest or not listening
When do children learn to turn take
before they can speak (pre-linguistic phase) through protoconversation
what other ways do we show power or support
through turn taking
what is protoconversation
when speakers learn to take turns through maintaining eye contact
in the turn taking process, what do adults treat children’s conversation as
meaningful andwill obey turn taking and cooperate with them
Summarise Sacks’s turn taking rules
1-3 = no gap no overlap
4- the current speaker can nominate the next speaker and nominate themselves
5- take turn at TRP
When a child fails to turn take when speaking to an adult what will happen , and why?
the adult will take the turn for them , as turn taking rules apply less strictly to children, or they will shift to a topic where the child is more willing to cooperate
what are adults more likely to be in conversations with a child?
cooperative and less likely to interrupt
If a child interrupts an adult , what will happen?
the adult will cede their turn to the child
as the child gets older dos turn taking rules become more strict
yes
What is an adjacency pair
are predictable pairs of exchanges where the first part of the pair determines what the second one is going to be . The first part obligates you to give a second part.
Provide examples of adjacency pairs
Greeting/Greeting
Question /answer
Accusation / admittance or denial
Offer/ acceptance or refusal
Children and adjacency pairs:
children need to learned as they are complex constructions with rules
what rules must be learned about adjacency pairs with children
1- if interlocator initiates adjacency pair, must complete
2- must complete with an appropriate second pair part
3- if you initiate , you must allow completing
when speaking to very young children , adults will allow them to break adjacency pair rules by…
completing the pair or abandoning it all together. As the child becomes older the adults become more insistent on completing the pair.
What is topic
what the conversation is about
What is topic drift
gradual change in the thing you talk about, the more formal the conversation is this is less likely to happen
What is topic control and talking topically?
control- which speaker is dominants by choosing the topic under circumstances
a basic rule whereby speakers must talk about a topic related to the other one
What is topic loop?
returning to a previous topic , topic loop is done by higher status speakers
Briefly describe children and topic
- adults choose topic which child is interested in allowing them to control topic (CHILD DIRECTED )
- if child selects topic= cooperate with it
- if child rejects topic , adult offers another topic until one is chosen of interest
- child-initiated topic loops are cooperated with
Grice identified which rules to show cooperation
Grices Maxims : maxim of manner, quality, quantity and relevance
what happens if Grices maxims are not followed
conversation fails as speaker gets embarrassed or annoyed or confused
What is the maxim of quality? relate this to children
must be true or believable
child: adult ignores utterence and treat it as if it is correct or tru so conversation does not fail
what is the maxim of quantity? relate this to children
neither say too much or too little
child: adults respect child’s long turns . If the utterances are short the adult will use questionings or topic shift to encourage to speak
What is the maxim of relevance? relate this to children
what u say needs to be relevant
child= adult will treat the irrelevant utterance as a relevant utterance and shift onto this topic/ or ignore and topic loop to previous topic
what is the maxim of manner? relate this to children
conversation must be easy to understand (Perspicacious)
child: adult treats the utterance as meaningful by giving minimal responses or attempt to clarify what it means
If a child fails to understand the adult what will happen (MAXIM OF MANNER_GRICE)
the adult will rephrase or recast as much as necessary
What is implicature
where the meaning of the utterance isn’t explicit but the speaker makes it up themselves by interpretation.
Helps us maintain grices maxims
Implicatures help us understand the utterance otherwise what would happen in conversation
break grices rules
Can children understand implicature
not at an early age . Speech tends to be explicit and direct, but as they get older they learn implicature
what does face theory claim
we change our behaviour in conversation to treat interlocutors how they wish to be treated. Face needs to be respected; it is a sense of self-image and status
What is positive face
self-image
What is negative face
self-determination
When we speak to new people, what do we need to figure out in speech
face of others
what does face protecting others signify
respect
What is a positive face threatening act
an act which challenges self image that belittles or insults you
What is a negative face threatening act
an act which challenges and constrains your ability
face and vulnerable speech acts
apologies or confessions can lead to being face vulnerable which can lead to a FFA.
When is face learned in children
from an early age , but they struggle to judge it , meaning that they say things that an adult would not say
In order to avoid Face threats there are three rules which are used identified by Lackoff (Maxims)
-dont impose
-make the listener feel good
-give options
Why do children learn language
it fulfills purpose
What did Michael Halliday purpose
he was an early researcher into child language who purposed a list of 7 pragmatic function categories that he believed young children use
What was Halliday’s theory known as
Halliday’s Taxonomy
What is instrumental as a function (Halliday’s Taxonomy)
fulfil needs
What is regulatory as a function (Halliday’s Taxonomy)
influence behaviours of others
What is interactional as a function (Halliday’s Taxonomy)
develop and maintain social relationships
What is personal as a function (Halliday’s Taxonomy)
express feelings opinions and individual identity
What is representational as a function (Halliday’s Taxonomy)
convey facts and info
What is imaginative as a function (Halliday’s Taxonomy)
tell stories and create an imaginary world
What is heuristic as a function (Halliday’s Taxonomy)
learn more about the world
What did dore do
offered a separate theory and way of classifying children’s speech
What is labelling as a function (DORE)
naming a person object or thing
What is repeating as a function (DORE)
repeating an adult word or utterance
What is answering as a function (DORE)
responding to an utterance of another speaker
What is requesting action (DORE)
asking something to be done
What is calling as a function (DORE)
getting attention by shouting
What is protesting (DORE)
objecting to requests from others
What is practicing as a function (DORE)
using language that is not addressed to anyone that is present
