Overview

This volume provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the contribution of multiparty intergenerational talk in a variety of cultures to the development of children's communicative capacities. The book focuses on the complexity of the cultural and interactional contexts in which pragmatic learning occurs and re-examines certain assumptions implicit in research on language socialization to date, such as primacy of dyadic interactions in the early ages and the presupposition of a monolingual social matrix. One of the aims of the book is to demonstrate the degree of cultural diversity in paths of pragmatic development. Individual chapters present empirically grounded analyses of talk with children of all ages, in different participation structures and in a variety of cultures. In pursuing this theme the volume is meant to further enrich cross-cultural perspectives on language socialization by providing in each of its chapters an empirically grounded analysis of the development of one specific dimension of discursive skill. The discourse dimensions represented in the volume include narratives, explanations, the language of control in intergenerational and intragenerational talk, the language of humour and affect, and bilingual conversations. The volume offers a rich spectrum of cultural variety in pragmatic development including studies of American, Greek, Japanese, Mayan, Norwegian and Swedish children and families.

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9780805836608

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Reviews

Readable, well edited, and relevant, the papers demonstrate what can be learned about children's language acquisition by investigating the mixed-age, multiparty linguistic environments that play a large role in linguistic and social development. This informative and exciting collection is highly recommended for institutions with graduate programs in child language acquisition. -CHOICE ...Talking to Adults represents an important contribution to the field of language development. The range of cultures and contexts for interaction discussed sheds light on study of input to children. The dialogues presented throughout the book provide colourful examples of the topics considered. -Child Language Teaching and Therapy ...this volume achieves its aim to increase awareness among readers of the importance of rethinking and broadening the 'social context' employed until now by most empirical research in the field of language socialization. It is thought-provoking and interesting reading for all people working in the area of language and social development in the child, but also for novices in the field. -Language in Society ...it provides a strong descriptive basis for further, more focused study of effects on children. Another contribution of the volume is its very rich variety of language vignettes, which are a wealth of resouces for students of child language. -Contemporary Psychology APA REVIEW OF BOOKS

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Shoshana Blum-Kulka, Catherine E. Snow

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