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The meanings of two-word utterances in the speech of young children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Christine J. Howe
Christine J. Howe
Affiliation:
University of Strathclyde
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Abstract

Recent attempts to classify the meanings of two-word utterances expressed by young children have assumed that children always intend ONE of the meanings adults might express. This paper challenges that assumption for two reasons. Firstly, it is by no means self-evidently true. Indeed, since children and adults conceptualize the world differently, they may also differ in what they choose to say about the world. Secondly, it has supported research strategies which are at best unjustified and at worst ambiguous. In fact, research based on the assumption that children always intend a meaning adults might express has provided interesting insights into the interpretations adults place upon children's utterances but said next to nothing about the meaning of these utterances. This paper concludes by suggesting an alternative approach to the latter problem.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , February 1976 , pp. 29 - 47
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

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References

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