@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Education, Faculty of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Thew, Carol"@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-03-18T18:30:36Z"@en, "1979"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Doctor of Education - EdD"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """Although mothers and siblings are prevalent sources of language for the learning child in Western cultures, their respective roles in influencing the rate or the course of language development have not been differentiated. Register analyses of siblings' speech have failed to discriminate between the linguistic input provided by siblings and by mothers. Using a speech act analysis of transcripts based on 19 hours of audiotapes and videotapes in a 2x2x2x2 mixed model design, this study discerned 28 significant differences (all p≤0.025) between mothers and firstborn female siblings (4-5 years old) as. conversational partners with 19 secondborn boys and 19 secondborn girls (2-3 years old) in playtime and puzzle sessions. The findings support the hypotheses that the mother-child interactions concentrate on language teaching and the demonstration of language learning, solidarity functions, and positive feedback, and that the sibling interactions are marked by a greater frequency of disagreements, prohibitions, indirect directives, and referential failure. Contrary to the stated hypotheses, mothers issued more orders and more negative corrections of truth value and behavior than the firstborn sisters. The findings indicate that there exist significant contrasts between mothers and firstborn female siblings as language socializers. The contrasts identified have considerable credence as major sources of variance in linguistic achievement. The study concludes that firstborn female preschool siblings are not as good as mothers in setting up optimal language-learning conditions for younger siblings."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/22097?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "9? THE ROLE OF MOTHERS AND FIRSTBORN FEMALE SIBLINGS IN TEACHING AND ENCOURAGING LANGUAGE SKILLS B.A., U n i v e r s i t y o f A l b e r t a M,Ed., U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION i n THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ( i n t h e Departments o f E n g l i s h E d u c a t i o n and L i n g u i s t i c s ) C a r o l L a r s o n We a c c e p t t h i s t h e s i s as c o n f o r m i n g t o t h e r e q u i r e d s t a n d a r d THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August 1 9 7 9 (c) C a r o l L a r s o n Thew, 1 979 In presenting th i s thesis in pa r t i a l fu l f i lment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the Univers ity of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library shal l make i t f ree ly avai lable for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of th i s thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It i s understood that copying or publ icat ion of th i s thesis for f inanc ia l gain shal l not be allowed without my written permission. Departments of E n g l i s h E d u c a t i o n and L i n g u i s t i c s The Univers ity of B r i t i s h Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date \" L . H- } 1413 ABSTRACT A l t h o u g h mothers and s i b l i n g s a r e p r e v a l e n t s o u r c e s of language f o r t h e l e a r n i n g c h i l d i n Western c u l t u r e s , t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e r o l e s i n i n f l u e n c i n g t h e r a t e or t h e c o u r s e of language development have n o t been d i f f e r e n t i a t e d . R e g i s t e r a n a l y s e s of s i b l i n g s ' speech have f a i l e d t o d i s c r i m i n a t e be-tween t h e l i n g u i s t i c i n p u t p r o v i d e d by s i b l i n g s and by mothers. U s i n g a speech a c t a n a l y s i s o f t r a n s c r i p t s based on 19 h o u r s of a u d i o t a p e s and v i d e o t a p e s i n a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 mixed model d e s i g n , t h i s s t u d y d i s c e r n e d 28 s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s ( a l l p - 0 . 0 2 5 ) between mothers and f i r s t b o r n female s i b l i n g s (^-5 y e a r s o l d ) as. c o n v e r s a t i o n a l p a r t n e r s w i t h 1 9 seeondborn boys and 19 seeondborn g i r l s ( 2 - 3 y e a r s o l d ) i n p l a y t i m e and p u z z l e s e s s i o n s . The f i n d i n g s s u pport th e h y p o t h e s e s t h a t t h e mother-c h i l d i n t e r a c t i o n s c o n c e n t r a t e on language t e a c h i n g and t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n of language l e a r n i n g , s o l i d a r i t y f u n c t i o n s , and p o s i t i v e f e edback, and t h a t t h e s i b l i n g i n t e r a c t i o n s a r e marked by a g r e a t e r f r e q u e n c y of d i s a g r e e m e n t s , p r o h i b i t i o n s , i n d i r e c t d i r e c t i v e s , and r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e . C o n t r a r y t o t h e s t a t e d h y p o t h e s e s , mothers i s s u e d more o r d e r s and more n e g a t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s of t r u t h v a l u e and b e h a v i o r t h a n t h e f i r s t b o r n s i s t e r s . The f i n d i n g s i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e r e e x i s t s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r a s t s between mothers and f i r s t b o r n f e m a l e s i b l i n g s as language s o c i a l i z e r s . The c o n t r a s t s i d e n t i f i e d have c o n s i d e r -a b l e c r e d e n c e as major s o u r c e s o f v a r i a n c e i n l i n g u i s t i c achievement. The s t u d y c o n c l u d e s t h a t f i r s t b o r n f emale p r e -s c h o o l s i b l i n g s a r e n o t as good as mothers i n s e t t i n g up o p t i m a l l a n g u a g e - l e a r n i n g c o n d i t i o n s f o r younger s i b l i n g s . TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i i LIST OF TABLES v i i LIST OF FIGURES i x ACKNOWLEDGEMENT x INTRODUCTION 1 C h a p t e r I THE PROBLEM AND RELEVANT LITERATURE 6 The Problem 6 S i b l i n g - S t r u c t u r e V a r i a b l e s and Performance on Language Measures 7 Hypotheses 9 Review o f t h e L i t e r a t u r e on M o t h e r - C h i l d and S i b l i n g I n t e r a c t i o n s 9 M o t h e r s ' Speech A d j u s t m e n t s , . 9 S i b l i n g I n t e r a c t i o n s 10 P r e s c h o o l e r s ' C o d e - S w i t c h i n g A b i l i t i e s . . 12 The Problem R e s t a t e d 13 C r i t i q u e of R e g i s t e r A n a l y s e s . . . . . . . 13 S y n o p s i s ,. 14 R e q u i s i t e D a t a and A n a l y s e s 15 T h e o r e t i c a l C o n s i d e r a t i o n s and Problems . . 16 The S p e c i f i c Problem 21 G e n e r a l Hypotheses 21 Summary 22 I I THE CHOSEN APPROACH 24 TESTING THE HYPOTHESES: FUNCTIONAL CONTINGENCY ANALYSES AND MEASURES . 24 Language T e a c h i n g ( C l a r i f i c a t i o n ) 25 C o n c e p t u a l A n a l y s i s 25 Language T e a c h i n g : O p e r a t i o n a l D e f i n i t i o n s 30 D i s c u s s i o n o f t h e Language-Teaching Measures 37 Tone of L i n g u i s t i c Feedback 4 l O p t i o n s 41 A f f e c t i v e Feedback: O p e r a t i o n a l D e f i n i t i o n s 42 D i s c u s s i o n o f t h e Tone o f Feedback Measures 44 Power R e l a t i o n s h i p s 45 C o n s i d e r a t i o n s . . 45 Power Measures: O p e r a t i o n a l D e f i n i t i o n s . . 47 D o m i n a t i n g Speech A c t s 47 S o l i d a r i t y Speech A c t s 47 D i s c u s s i o n of the D o m i n a t i n g and S o l i d a r i t y Measures 51 i v Overt D e m o n s t r a t i o n o f Language L e a r n i n g . . 53 C l a i m s 53 Language L e a r n i n g : O p e r a t i o n a l D e f i n i t i o n s 54 D i s c u s s i o n o f L e a r n i n g - D e m o n s t r a t i n g Measures 60 R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e 62 Summary 63 TESTING THE HYPOTHESES: DESIGN, VARIABLES, AND SPECIFIC HYPOTHESES 64 DESIGN 64 DEPENDENT VARIABLES 68 SPECIFIC HYPOTHESES AND THEIR RATIONALE . . . ?0 Independent V a r i a b l e s 70 Sex o f Secondborn 70 E x p e r i m e n t a l Order: S i b l i n g I n t e r a c t i o n F i r s t o r Second .74 I n t e r a c t i o n between Independent V a r i a b l e s 75 C o v a r i a t e s 75 D i s a d v a n t a g e s i n U s i n g C o v a r i a t e s i n a Repeated-Measures D e s i g n 75 Advantage o f U s i n g C o v a r i a t e s i n a Repeated-Measures D e s i g n 77 Hypotheses 77 T r i a l V a r i a b l e s 79 P a r t n e r 79 T e a c h i n g . 79 Tone o f L i n g u i s t i c Feedback 79 Dominance 80 S o l i d a r i t y 80 R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e 80 L e a r n i n g D e m o n s t r a t i n g . . . . 81 R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e 81 Task 81 Hypotheses R e l a t i n g t o I n t e r a c t i o n E f f e c t s . 82 Summary 83 D i s c l a i m e r s 84 A s s u m p t i o n s 8 5 I I I METHODOLOGY: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS . . . . 87 DATA COLLECTION . 87 SAMPLING METHOD AND SAMPLE 87 PROCEDURES 101 Overview o f Research P r o c e d u r e s 101 D e c i s i o n s Based on P i l o t S t u d i e s 1 02 Some L i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e Study 104 S u c c e s s i n T a p i n g 105 F i n a l S e l e c t i o n o f the Sample 106 DATA ANALYSIS 107 T r a n s c r i p t i o n P r o c e d u r e s . 1 07 C o d i n g P r o c e d u r e s . 110 C o d i n g R e l i a b i l i t y and V a l i d i t y I l l Other Measurement Problems and Their Solutions 114 v IV THE RESULTS AND THEIR INTERPRETATION 117 P r e l i m i n a r i e s 117 A n a l y s i s o f C o v a r i a n c e R e s u l t s f o r F i r s t b o r n and Mother Dependent Measures 118 A n a l y s i s of V a r i a n c e R e s u l t s f o r F i r s t b o r n and Mother Dependent Measures 122 Language-Teaching Measures 122 A f f e c t i v e l y - T o n e d Feedback 127 N e g a t i v e l y - T o n e d Feedback Measures . . . 1 27 P o s i t i v e l y - T o n e d Feedback Measures . . . 130 D o m i n a t i n g Measures 134 S o l i d a r i t y Measures . 137 R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e Measure . 138 A n a l y s i s o f C o v a r i a n c e R e s u l t s f o r Second-b o r n Measures 140 A n a l y s i s o f V a r i a n c e R e s u l t s f o r Seeondborn Measures 143 L e a r n i n g - D e m o n s t r a t i n g Measures 143 R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e Measure . 149 Summary of t h e R e s u l t s o f the A n a l y s i s o f C o v a r i a n c e and V a r i a n c e 150 D i s c u s s i o n 153 F u r t h e r A n a l y s i s 162 D e s c r i p t i o n s o f V e r b a l I n t e r a c t i o n s . . . 162 I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r L e a r n i n g Paradigms . . . 178 The T r a n s c r i p t s 180 Summary . 183 CONCLUSION 184 LITERATURE CITED 188 APPENDIX I T y p i c a l N o t i c e Sent t o P r e s c h o o l D i r e c t o r s 199 APPENDIX I I F a m i l y Data Sheet •. 200 APPENDIX I I I Data C o l l e c t i o n 201 APPENDIX IV I n t e l l i g i b i l i t y of t h e Tapes . . . 206 v i LIST OF TABLES Tab l e 1 Language-Teaching Speech A c t s : P o s s i b l e R o l e s i n A c q u i s i t i o n . . . . 38 2 The 2 x 2 Between-Groups and 2 x 2 W i t h i n - G r o u p s D e s i g n and t h e D i s t r i b u t i o n o f S u b j e c t s 65 3 C e l l Means and S t a n d a r d D e v i a t i o n s f o r t h e F i v e C o v a r i a t e s 89 4 Summary o f A n a l y s i s o f C o v a r i a n c e R e s u l t s f o r One Measure o f F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s . . . 120 5 C e l l Means f o r One Measure of F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s A d j u s t e d f o r t h e I n f l u e n c e o f a C o v a r i a t e 121 6 Summary o f A n a l y s i s o f V a r i a n c e f o r S i x Language-T e a c h i n g Measures o f F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s 123 7 C e l l Means f o r S i x Language-Teaching Measures o f F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s 124 8 Summary o f A n a l y s i s o f V a r i a n c e f o r Nine A f f e c t i v e l y - T o n e d Feedback Measures o f F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s . . . 128 9 C e l l Means f o r Four Negative-Feedback Measures o f F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s 129 10 C e l l Means f o r F i v e P o s i t i v e - F e e d b a c k Measures o f F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s 131 11 Summary o f A n a l y s i s o f V a r i a n c e f o r D o m i n a t i n g and S o l i d a r i t y Measures and a R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e Measure o f F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s . . . 135 12 C e l l Means f o r D o m i n a t i n g and S o l i d a r i t y Measures of F i r s t b o r n and Mother B e h a v i o r s . . . . . . . 136 13 C e l l Means f o r F i r s t b o r n s ' and Mothers' E g o c e n t r i c D e f i n i t i o n s 1 39 14 Summary o f A n a l y s i s o f C o v a r i a n c e R e s u l t s f o r Two Measures o f Secondborn B e h a v i o r 141 v i i 15 C e l l Means f o r Two Measures of Seeondborn B e h a v i o r s A d j u s t e d f o r t h e I n f l u e n c e o f C o v a r i a t e s 142 16 Summary o f A n a l y s i s o f V a r i a n c e f o r S i x Measures of Seeondborn B e h a v i o r s 144 17 C e l l Means f o r F i v e Measures o f Seeondborn B e h a v i o r s 145 18 Summary T a b l e o f the S i g n i f i c a n t I n t e r a c t i o n E f f e c t s 154 19 Summary T a b l e o f t h e E x p l a n a t i o n s f o r F o u r V a r i o u s F i r s t - O r d e r I n t e r a c t i o n E f f e c t s . . . . 160 20 Summary T a b l e o f the E x p l a n a t i o n s f o r 10 S i g n i f i c a n t P a r t n e r x Task I n t e r a c t i o n E f f e c t s . l 6 l 21 Rank Order o f t h e Means o f 21 M a t e r n a l Measures Based on F i v e - M i n u t e P l a y S e s s i o n s 165 22 Rank Order o f t h e Means o f 21 M a t e r n a l Measures Based on F i v e - M i n u t e P u z z l e S e s s i o n s 166 23 Mean Number o f M a t e r n a l Acts- a c c o r d i n g t o C a t e g o r i e s and P e r c e n t a g e o f T o t a l Mean Number of A c t s t h a t the C a t e g o r i e s Represent . . 167 24 Rank Order o f the Means o f 21 F i r s t b o r n Measures Based on F i v e - M i n u t e P l a y S e s s i o n s 1 69 25 Rank Order o f t h e Means o f 21 F i r s t b o r n Measures Based on F i v e - M i n u t e P u z z l e S e s s i o n s 170 26 Mean Number o f F i r s t b o r n A c t s a c c o r d i n g t o C a t e g o r i e s and P e r c e n t a g e o f T o t a l Mean Number of A c t s t h a t the C a t e g o r i e s R e p r e s e n t 172 27 Rank Order of t h e Means o f E i g h t Seeondborn Measures w i t h Mothers and P e r c e n t a g e o f T o t a l Mean Number of A c t s t h a t t h e E i g h t Measures R e p r e s e n t . . . 174 28 Rank Order o f t h e Means o f E i g h t Seeondborn Measures w i t h F i r s t b o r n and P e r c e n t a g e o f T o t a l Mean Number o f A c t s t h a t t h e E i g h t Measures R e p r e s e n t . 1 75 v i i i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Frequency of Secondborn according to Age i n Months and Sex 91 2. Frequency of F i r s t b o r n according to Age i n Months . . . . . . . 91 3 . D i s t r i b u t i o n of Secondborn and F i r s t b o r n Dyads according to the Two S i b l i n g s ' Ages . . . 92 4. Frequency of Age-Spacing D i f f e r e n c e s Measured i n Months 94 5. Number of Fathers i n the Seven P o s s i b l e Socioeconomic Score D e c i l e s . 97 6. Frequency of Mothers Completing 12-20 Years of Schooling 99 ix: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Many i n d i v i d u a l s and departments have c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h i s i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y p r o j e c t . F i r s t o f a l l , I must e x p r e s s my a p p r e c i a t i o n t o the members o f the E n g l i s h E d u c a t i o n d e p a r t -ment who p r o v i d e d w h o l e - h e a r t e d s u p p o r t over many, many y e a r s and t o t h e members o f t h e r e s e a r c h committee who showed so much i n t e r e s t and c o o p e r a t i o n . S p e c i a l t h a n k s a r e extended t o Dr. B e r n a r d A. Mohan, c h a i r p e r s o n , f o r h i s s u p e r v i s i o n o f the r e s e a r c h and h i s t h e o r e t i c a l a i d i n d e l i n e a t i n g t h e hypo-t h e s e s and measures; t o Dr. Seong-Soo Lee, C o o r d i n a t o r o f t h e E d u c a t i o n R e s e a r c h S e r v i c e C e n t r e , f o r h i s i n t e n s i v e c o n s u l t a -t i o n on m a t t e r s o f d e s i g n and s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s ; f o r Dr. Ruth E. M c C o n n e l l , f o r h e r l o n g - t e r m s u p p o r t and f o r h e r courage i n e s t a b l i s h i n g the d o c t o r a l program i n E n g l i s h Educa-t i o n ; t o Dr. R.J. Gregg of t h e Department o f L i n g u i s t i c s f o r h i s a c t i v e f o s t e r i n g o f i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y programs; t o Dr. D e n i s Rodgers f o r h i s p o s i t i v e r e a c t i o n s t o t h e r e s e a r c h p r o -p o s a l and t h e s i s which r e s u l t e d i n i m p o r t a n t changes; and t o Dr. S a l l y Rogow f o r h e r e n t h u s i a s t i c r e a c t i o n s t o t h e p r o j e c t and f o r h e r a s s i s t a n c e i n c l a r i f y i n g many i s s u e s . D ata c o l l e c t i o n and a n a l y s i s would have been i m p o s s i b l e w i t h o u t s p e c i a l f a c i l i t i e s , equipment, and teams of knowledge-a b l e p e o p l e . The E d u c a t i o n C l i n i c was a v e r y c h e e r f u l and e f f i c i e n t p l a c e t o do v i d e o t a p i n g ; c r e d i t f o r i t s f r i e n d l y , p r o f e s s i o n a l atmosphere must go t o Dr. O.A. O l d r i d g e , d i r e c t o r , and I r e n e M a r t i n , s e c r e t a r y . The Audio V i s u a l Department o f the F a c u l t y o f E d u c a t i o n p r o v i d e d e x p e r t i s e and equipment. x I a n F r a n k s , head, and Dor o t h y T a l b o t a r e thank e d f o r t h e i r h e l p i n s c h e d u l i n g t h e t a p i n g s ; P a u l D a r q u i n d i d a t h o r o u g h l y p r o f e s s i o n a l job as cameraman. As r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n t s , J u d i M a k i and S a l l y C l i n t o n a r e thank e d f o r t h e i r p a t i e n c e and c o r d i a l i t y i n k e e p i n g the s e s s i o n s r u n n i n g smoothly. J i l l H u t c h i n s d i d t h e l i o n ' s share o f t h e t r a n s c r i p t i o n s ; h e r f o r t i t u d e and a c c u r a c y were commendable. S h e e l a J h a , B a r r y James Warne, and H e a t h e r Robinson a r e thanked f o r t h e i r check-i n g o f the t a l l i e s and c o u n t i n g o f u t t e r a n c e s . I am g r a t e f u l t o F rank Ho, computer programmer o f the E d u c a t i o n R esearch S e r v i c e C e n t r e , f o r h i s f a s t and a c c u r a t e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s of the d a t a , and to t h e many computing c e n t r e c o n s u l t a n t s who p r o v i d e d a d v i c e . The f a m i l i e s , many o f whom t r a v e l e d c o n s i d e r a b l e d i s -t a n c e s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n the t a p i n g s , a r e thanked f o r t h e i r c o o p e r a t i o n . We a p p l a u d t h e p r e s c h o o l d i r e c t o r s t h r o u g h o u t Vancouver and Richmond f o r h e l p i n g us t o r e a c h t h e n e c e s s a r y number o f f a m i l i e s . F i n a l l y , I would l i k e t o acknowledge t h e s u p p o r t o f my own f a m i l y , George and C o r a l Thew, as t h e y p a t i e n t l y a w a i t e d t h e c o m p l e t i o n o f t h i s l a r g e s t u d y . T h i s r e s e a r c h was conducted w h i l e t h e a u t h o r was t h e r e c i p i e n t o f Canada C o u n c i l D o c t o r a l F e l l o w s h i p s and U n i v e r -s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a Graduate F e l l o w s h i p s ; i t was s u p p o r t e d , i n p a r t , by a D i s c r e t i o n a r y Grant from t h e E d u c a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e o f B r i t i s h Columbia. x i INTRODUCTION t F o r o ver a decade, i n v e s t i g a t o r s c o n cerned w i t h t h e r o l e o f i n p u t and d i a l o g u e i n language a c q u i s i t i o n have been c a t a l o g u i n g the f e a t u r e s o f the l i n g u i s t i c environments o f young c h i l d r e n . H a v i n g e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t t h e speech d i r e c t e d towards t h e young from a v a r i e t y o f s o u r c e s c o n s t i t u t e s a s i m p l i f i e d r e g i s t e r , t h e y now aim t o d i s c o v e r t h e f e a t u r e s of t h e r e g i s t e r w hich a r e t h e most i m p o r t a n t i n a d v a n c i n g c h i l d r e n ' s communicative competence, competence f o r a p p r o p r i a t e use o f language i n t h e r e a l w o r l d . T h e i r aim i s t o d e t e c t q u a l i t a t i v e d i f f e r e n c e s among the l i n g u i s t i c e x p e r i e n c e s p r o -v i d e d by many s o u r c e s - - f a m i l y members and o u t s i d e r s - - a n d t o i d e n t i f y s p e c i f i c t e c h n i q u e s o f language t e a c h i n g , an i s s u e t h a t remains c o n t r o v e r s i a l . T h e i r i n t e n t i s t o d evelop a t h e o r y which a c c o u n t s f o r the phenomena and p r o d u c t s of f i r s t -language a c q u i s i t i o n . Contemporary t h i n k e r s (Mahoney & S e e l y 1976) c l a i m t h a t a t h e o r y o f language development must t r y t o r e s o l v e t h e p a r t s p l a y e d by c o g n i t i v e , l i n g u i s t i c , and s o c i a l f a c t o r s . I f t h e f a c t o r s a r e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t , i t i s no l o n g e r s u f f i c i e n t t o f o c u s e x c l u s i v e l y on c h i l d r e n ' s c o g n i t i v e p r e d i s p o s i t i o n s o r t o s t u d y c h i l d r e n ' s p h o n o l o g i c a l , s y n t a c t i c , and semantic systems as autonomous e n t i t i e s . To a v o i d d i s t o r t i n g the a c t u a l 1 p a t t e r n s o f language development, t h e o r i s t s must i n t e g r a t e knowledge about c o g n i t i v e p r o c e s s e s and d e v e l o p i n g l i n g u i s t i c systems w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e l i n g u i s t i c and s o c i a l m i l i e u i n which c h i l d r e n s e r v e t h e i r l i n g u i s t i c a p p r e n t i c e -s h i p s . By means of a f o c u s on t h e l i n g u i s t i c s u r r o u n d i n g s , the i n f l u e n c e s o f s e v e r a l f a c t o r s on language development have been e s t i m a t e d . D e s c r i p t i o n s o f c h i l d r e n ' s exposure t o language p r o v i d e p o r t r a i t s o f the d a t a from which c h i l d r e n must fathom t h e ways a p a r t i c u l a r language works. F o r r e -s e a r c h e r s , t h e 'exposure' d a t a p r o v i d e t h e means whereby hypotheses about t h e r e l a t i o n s between t h e l i n g u i s t i c i n p u t t o c h i l d r e n and t h e i r o u t p u t can be t e s t e d ; the d a t a p r o v i d e the means whereby s t r o n g c l a i m s about c h i l d r e n ' s i n n a t e endow-ment f o r language ' m a t u r a t i o n ' can be u p h e l d o r muted; t h e y p r o v i d e e v i d e n c e whereby s t a t e m e n t s about c h i l d r e n ' s c o g n i t i v e c a p a c i t i e s and l i m i t a t i o n s can be a f f i r m e d o r q u a l i f i e d . I n f o r m a t i o n about t h e l i n g u i s t i c environment i s n e c e s s a r y to account f o r t h e l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s i n g e n e r a l and t o e x p l a i n i n d i v i d u a l d i f f e r e n c e s i n l i n g u i s t i c achievement. But s u r r o u n d i n g s a r e s o c i a l as w e l l as l i n g u i s t i c i n n a t u r e . A f t e r a l l , p e o p l e t a l k w i t h c h i l d r e n and p r o v i d e t h e language d a t a . The r o l e s p l a y e d by mothers, f a t h e r s , s i b l i n g s k i n , f r i e n d s , c a r e t a k e r s , t e a c h e r s , and s t r a n g e r s , i n c h i l d r e n language development have y e t t o be e x p l i c a t e d b u t a r e of v i t a l i m p o r t a n c e , because s o c i a l a g e n t s d i s p l a y more t h a n 3 g r a m m a t i c a l o r u n g r a m m a t i c a l s e n t e n c e s : t h e y model th e use of speech a p p r o p r i a t e f o r d e f i n e d s o c i a l r o l e s , e v e n t s , t o p i c s , and s e t t i n g s . How p e o p l e v i e w t h e i r own s o c i a l r o l e s a f f e c t s t h e t h e o r i e s t h a t t h e y h o l d about th e speech w h i c h i s s u i t -a b l e f o r c h i l d r e n ; how t h e y f u l f i l l t h e i r r o l e s a f f e c t s t h e l i n g u i s t i c e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t t h e y p r o v i d e . S o c i o l i n g u i s t s and e t h n o g r a p h e r s o f s p e a k i n g (Gumperz & Hymes 1 964 ) a r e t o be c r e d i t e d w i t h e x t e n d i n g t h e c o n c e r n s of language a c q u i s i t i o n r e s e a r c h beyond th e m a s t e r y o f grammar towards t h e s t u d y o f communicative competence. Hymes ( 1 9 7 2 : 277) r e s t a t e s t h e g o a l o f a t h e o r y o f communicative competence i n t h i s way: We have t h e n to a c c o u n t f o r t h e f a c t t h a t a normal c h i l d a c q u i r e s knowledge of s e n t e n c e s , not o n l y as g r a m m a t i c a l , b u t a l s o as a p p r o p r i -a t e . He or she a c q u i r e s competence as t o when t o speak, when n o t , and as t o what to t a l k about w i t h whom, when, where, i n what manner. Hymes c l a i m s t h a t c h i l d r e n i n t e r n a l i z e r u l e s o f use a l o n g w i t h t h e r u l e s o f grammar. But t h e i n t e r a c t i o n of s o c i a l l i f e and language i s e x c e e d i n g l y i n t r i c a t e and how c h i l d r e n a s s i m i l a t e t a c i t c u l t u r a l and l i n g u i s t i c knowledge r e m a i n s a mystery. A p p a r e n t l y , c h i l d r e n d e velop a t h e o r y o f s p e a k i n g a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e i r community by e x p e r i e n c i n g a f i n i t e s e t o f speech a c t s i n d i v i s i b l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e s o c i o c u l t u r a l f e a t u r e s o f t h a t community. E x p l a i n i n g how c h i l d r e n become c o m m u n i c a t i v e l y com-p e t e n t i s a d i f f i c u l t v e n t u r e and may n e v e r be s a t i s f a c t o r i l y a c c o m p l i s h e d . N e v e r t h e l e s s , advances i n t h e t h e o r i e s of 4 s e v e r a l d i s c i p l i n e s and i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y a r e a s now p r o v i d e c o n c e p t u a l t o o l s and methods of a n a l y s i s ( b e h a v i o r a l , l i n g u i s -t i c , s t a t i s t i c a l ) w hich p e r m i t s o p h i s t i c a t e d approaches and i n t e g r a t i o n s o f knowledge. W h i l e t h e r e i s a p l a c e f o r r e s e a r c h w hich d e l i m i t s a problem s t r i c t l y , w h i c h c o n s i d e r s a few v a r i a b l e s , and w h i c h u s e s c a r e f u l , f i n e - g r a i n e d a n a l y s e s , com-p r e h e n s i v e m u l t i v a r i a t e approaches t o r e s e a r c h problems e v e n t u -a l l y have t o be a t t e m p t e d t o o b t a i n c l e a r , a c c u r a t e , g l o b a l r e s o l u t i o n s and e x p l a n a t i o n s . The purpose o f t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n i s t o d i s c e r n q u a l i t a t i v e d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e l i n g u i s t i c environments e x p e r i -enced by c h i l d r e n under t h e age of t h r e e y e a r s . I t r e l a t e s d i f f e r e n c e s i n l i n g u i s t i c environments t o language s o u r c e s , b i r t h o r d e r , gender, age, and s o c i a l c l a s s v a r i a b l e s . I t e x p l o r e s t h e r o l e s of two t y p e s of language s o u r c e s — m o t h e r s and f i r s t b o r n f emale s i b l i n g s - - i n t e a c h i n g and e n c o u r a g i n g t h e language s k i l l s development o f younger s i b l i n g s . C h a p t e r I i d e n t i f i e s t h e r e s e a r c h problem and c i t e s r e l e v a n t l i t e r a t u r e . C h a pter I I e l a b o r a t e s upon t h e chosen approach t o the problem. I t d e f i n e s and j u s t i f i e s t h e s e l e c t e d measures; i t e x p l a i n s t h e r e s e a r c h d e s i g n , t h e v a r i a b l e s and t h e hypo-t h e s e s . As r e f e r e n c e s t o p r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h a r e i n t e r s p e r s e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e c h a p t e r , t h e r e v i e w of the l i t e r a t u r e c o n t i n u e s . C h a p t e r I I I r e p o r t s the methods of d a t a c o l l e c t i o n and a n a l y s i s . I t d e s c r i b e s t h e s a m p l i n g p r o c e d u r e and t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f the sample, and s u r v e y s t h e r e s e a r c h p r o -5 cedures. I t n o t e s t h e i n f o r m a t i o n g a i n e d \"by two p i l o t s t u d i e s and some l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e s t u d y . The d a t a a n a l y s i s s e c t i o n d i s c u s s e s t h e t r a n s c r i p t i o n and c o d i n g p r o c e d u r e s , the problems of c o d i n g r e l i a b i l i t y and v a l i d i t y , and o t h e r measurement i s s u e s and t h e i r s o l u t i o n s . C h a p t e r IV p r e s e n t s t h e e m p i r i c a l r e s u l t s , d i s c u s s e s t h e f i n d i n g s , and employs d e s c r i p t i v e s t a t i s t i c s t o i l l u s t r a t e t he d i f f e r e n c e s between s i b l i n g and m o t h e r - c h i l d v e r b a l t r a n s a c t i o n s . The c o n c l u s i o n b r i e f l y d i s c u s s e s t h e i m p o r t o f t h e r e s e a r c h f i n d i n g s , i n d i c a t e s a r e a s f o r f u t u r e r e s e a r c h i n c h i l d language development, and n o t e s t h e l o n g - r a n g e s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e s t u d y f o r t h e c o n c e p t u a l a n a l y s i s of t e a c h i n g . 6 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND RELEVANT LITERATURE The Problem I n Western c u l t u r e s , mothers and s i b l i n g s a r e p r e v a l e n t s o u r c e s o f language f o r t h e l e a r n i n g c h i l d . W h i l e d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n s of mothers' v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h t h e i r m u l t i - a g e d c h i l d r e n a r e a v a i l a b l e (Andersen 1 9 7 7 ) , p r o f i l e s o f s i b l i n g s ' v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n s a r e i n c o m p l e t e . A l t h o u g h P i a g e t ' s o r i g i n a l o b s e r v a t i o n s ( 1 926 ) ' o f c h i l d r e n ' s e g o c e n t r i c and communicative speech have been f o l l o w e d by many e x p e r i m e n t a l and t h e o r e t i c a l s t u d i e s which r e i n t e r p r e t h i s c o n c e p t s o f e g o c e n t r i s m ( c f . Abrahamsen 1 9 7 7 ) . v e r y few s t u d i e s s y s t e m a t i c a l l y observe c h i l d r e n ' s spontaneous speech t o each o t h e r , s i b l i n g o r p e e r . I n p a r t i c u l a r , c h i l d r e n ' s i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h l e a r n e r s d u r i n g t h e p r i m a r y a c q u i s i t i o n s t a g e s - - p r i o r t o age t h r e e - - h a v e n o t been e x p l o r e d c a r e f u l l y and a r e now r e g a r d e d as f r o n t i e r a r e a s f o r r e s e a r c h (Lewis & Rosenblum F r i e n d s h i p and P e e r R e l a t i o n s 1 9 7 5 )• Only t h e u n u s u a l i n t e r a c t i o n s o f a few t w i n s have been s u b j e c t e d t o minute l i n g u i s t i c a n a l y s i s (Keenan 1 9 7 ^ ; S a v i c 1 9 7 9 ) . Thus i t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o compare t h e l i n g u i s t i c en-v i r o n m e n t s c o n t r i b u t e d by mothers and s i b l i n g s o r t o e v a l u a t e 7 t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e r o l e s i n i n f l u e n c i n g t h e r a t e o r the c o u r s e of language development. The s c a r c i t y o f d a t a on s i b l i n g v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n s i s u n f o r t u n a t e , y s i n c e language s o u r c e s appear t o be i m p o r t a n t m e d i a t i n g v a r i a b l e s r e l a t e d i n com-p l i c a t e d ways t o l e v e l s o f l i n g u i s t i c achievement. S i b l i n g - S t r u c t u r e V a r i a b l e s and Performance on Language Measures B e g i n n i n g w i t h G a l t o n (1874) and A d l e r (1927), p s y c h o l o g i s t s have been f a s c i n a t e d by th e i n f l u e n c e of b i r t h o r d e r on p e r s o n a l i t y development, b e h a v i o r , and achievement. They have now produced more t h a n 1000 s t a t i s t i c a l s t u d i e s w hich c o n t a i n n e g a t i v e as w e l l a s p o s i t i v e f i n d i n g s r e g a r d i n g t h e e x i s t e n c e o f b i r t h - o r d e r s e q u e l a e ( F o r e r & S t i l l 1976)• The b i r t h - o r d e r l i t e r a t u r e i d e n t i f i e s o r d i n a l p o s i t i o n s and concom i t a n t f a c t o r s which a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h h i g h e r s c o r e s on measures o f language a b i l i t y f o r b o t h c h i l d r e n and a d u l t s . F a c t o r s which o p e r a t e t o i n c r e a s e c h i l d r e n ' s c o n t a c t w i t h a d u l t s and t o dec r e a s e t h e i r c o n t a c t w i t h s i b l i n g s and p e e r s a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s e v e r a l i n d i c e s m a r k i n g s u p e r i o r m a s t e r y o f t h e l i n g u i s t i c code ( D a v i s 1937; L u r i a & Y u d o v i c h 1959; N e l s o n 1973). Degree of c o n t a c t w i t h the p a r e n t a l o r s i b l i n g g e n e r a t i o n i s a f u n c t i o n o f c h i l d - r e a r i n g p r a c t i c e s -and t h e s i b l i n g s t r u c t u r e of th e f a m i l y , which i s d e t e r m i n e d by t h e number o f c h i l d r e n , t h e i r sex, b i r t h o r d e r s , ages, and d i f f e r e n c e s i n ages. The s i b l i n g s t r u c t u r e , t h e network o f 8 p o s i t i o n s f o r c h i l d r e n i n the f a m i l y , a l s o e s t a b l i s h e s t h e language s o u r c e s t h a t l e a r n e r s encounter. R e t a r d a t i o n i n language development i s l i n k e d w i t h m u l t i p l e b i r t h s . A t l e a s t d u r i n g t h e e a r l y s t a g e s , t h e language of t w i n s i s i m p o v e r i s h e d when compared w i t h t h a t of s i n g l e t o n s o f t h e same age and s o c i a l c l a s s (Day 1 9 3 2 ; D a v i s 1 9 3 7 ; D a l e s 1 9 6 9 ) ; r e t a r d a t i o n i n t h e language o f t r i p l e t s i s g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t o b s e r v e d f o r t w i n s (Howard 1 9 4 6 ) . F a m i l y s i z e appears t o be n e g a t i v e l y r e l a t e d to i n t e l l e c t u a l l e v e l : c h i l d r e n from l a r g e f a m i l i e s t e n d t o make p o o r e r showings on e d u c a t i o n a l measures and i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s ( e s p e c i a l l y t h e v e r b a l t e s t s ) t h a n do c h i l d r e n from s m a l l f a m i l i e s , a l t h o u g h t h i s n e g a t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n i s l e s s pronounced i n the upper s o c i a l c l a s s e s (Belmont & M a r o l l a 1973 ) . M o t h e r - i n f a n t i n t e r a c t i o n s have been-found t o v a r y depending upon t h e b i r t h o r d e r and t h e sex of t h e i n f a n t s (Jacobs & Moss 1 9 7 6 ) . G e n e r a l l y , l a t e r b o r n c h i l d r e n r e c e i v e l e s s d i r e c t p a r e n t a l i n t e r a c t i o n and i n f l u e n c e t h a n o n l y c h i l d r e n and f i r s t b o r n (Lasko 1 9 5 4 ; H i l t o n 1 9 6 7 ; L i n g & L i n g 1 9 7 4 ) . W h i l e a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n o f l a t e r b o r n s have been found among c o l l e g e language majors ( F o r e r & S t i l l 1 9 7 6 : 8 6 ) , o n l y c h i l d r e n and o l d e s t c h i l d r e n a r e more l i k e l y t o d e velop h i g h v e r b a l a b i l i t y , a c h i e v e s c h o l a s t i c a l l y , and become eminent i n p r o f e s s i o n s such as s c i e n c e , p s y c h o l o g y , m e d i c i n e , and c o l l e g e t e a c h i n g ( F o r e r & S t i l l 1 9 7 6 ; S u t t o n - S m i t h & Rosen-b e r g 1 9 7 0 ; G o e r t z e l , G o e r t z e l , & G o e r t z e l 1 9 7 8 ) . 9 Hypotheses W h i l e s e v e r a l h y p otheses have \"been p r o p o s e d t o account f o r t he complex r e l a t i o n s h i p s \"between s o c i a l i z a t i o n p r a c t i c e s , s i b l i n g - s t r u c t u r e v a r i a b l e s , and language measures, t h e hypo-t h e s e s o f i n t e r e s t h e r e a r e t h a t mothers a r e b e t t e r language s o u r c e s t h a n s i b l i n g s and t h a t , i n many i n s t a n c e s , t h e l i n g u i s -t i c environment changes a d v e r s e l y w i t h t h e a d d i t i o n o f each c h i l d t o the f a m i l y . So f a r , however, the s p e c i f i c c h a r a c t e r -i s t i c s o f mothers' speech w h i c h enhance l i n g u i s t i c p r o g r e s s have n o t been a s c e r t a i n e d e x p e r i m e n t a l l y . Perhaps mothers a r e b e t t e r s o u r c e s t h a n s i b l i n g s because t h e y p r o v i d e s t a n d a r d models, o r r i c h e r language e x p e r i e n c e s , o r l i n g u i s t i c t u i t i o n . Review o f the L i t e r a t u r e on M o t h e r - C h i l d and S i b l i n g I n t e r a c t i o n s M others' Speech A d j u s t m e n t s To d e t e c t mothers' p r o s o d i c , l e x i c a l , s y n t a c t i c , p r a g -m a t i c , and d i s c o u r s e a d j u s t m e n t s as t h e y t a l k w i t h t h e i r young, e x p e r i m e n t e r s have o b s e r v e d m o t h e r - c h i l d i n t e r c h a n g e s e x t e n s i v e -l y (Snow & F e r g u s o n 1977)• They n o t e t h a t t h e d e s i g n c h a r a c t e r -i s t i c s o f mothers' speech i n c l u d e s a l i e n t p i t c h and i n t o n a t i o n c o n t o u r s , emphatic s t r e s s i n g o f c o n t e n t words, c o n c r e t e n e s s o f v o c a b u l a r y , ease o f seg m e n t a t i o n , s h o r t n e s s o f u t t e r a n c e l e n g t h , r e d u c e d r a t e , redundancy, a h i g h p r o p o r t i o n of i n t e r r o g a t i v e s and i m p e r a t i v e s , and semantic c o n t i n g e n c y t o the l e a r n e r s ' e x p r e s s i o n s ( F a r w e l l 1 9 7 3 ; C r o s s 1 9 7 5 ; Snow 1 9 7 7 ) . They speculate 10 upon the c o n d i t i o n s which e l i c i t t h e s e f e a t u r e s and t h e m e r i t s o f t h e s e f e a t u r e s i n f a c i l i t a t i n g language a c q u i s i t i o n (Ferguson 1 9 6 4 , 1 9 7 7 ; Snow 1 9 7 7 ; Brown 1 9 7 7 ; McTear 1 9 7 8 ) . T h e o r i s t s argue t h a t mothers' speech a d j u s t m e n t s have t h e p o t e n t i a l t o a t t r a c t a t t e n t i o n , f o s t e r \"bonding, encourage t u r n - t a k i n g , and p r e s e n t model language l e s s o n s . A few s t u d i e s use c o r r e l a t i o n s t o a s s e s s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s between m a t e r n a l speech m o d i f i c a t i o n s and c h i l d l i s t e n e r v a r i a b l e s ( C r o s s 1 9 7 5 . 1 9 7 7 ; Newport 1 9 7 7 ; Newport, G l e i t m a n & G l e i t m a n 1 9 7 7 ) . W h i l e s y n t a c t i c p a r a m e t e r s show an uneven p a t t e r n of s e n s i t i v i t y t o l i s t e n e r v a r i a b l e s , d i s c o u r s e p a r a m e t e r s (which i n c l u d e t u t o r -i a l d e v i c e s such as e x p a n s i o n s and p a r a p h r a s e s ) appear t o be s i g n i f i c a n t l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h one o r s e v e r a l l i s t e n e r v a r i a b l e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y measures o f c h i l d r e n ' s language growth, p r o d u c t i v e and r e c e p t i v e ( C r o s s 1977)• S i b l i n g I n t e r a c t i o n s The l i t e r a t u r e on s i b l i n g s f o c u s e s on s o c i a l r a t h e r t h a n v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n s ; i t m a i n l y c o m p r i s e s n o n - o b s e r v a t i o n a l d a t a , such as c l i n i c a l h i s t o r i e s , q u e s t i o n n a i r e s f i l l e d i n by s i b l i n g s , and p a r e n t s ' o r t e a c h e r s ' r e p o r t s and r a t i n g s . E v i d e n c e about s i b l i n g s ' speech c o n s i s t s o f comments about s i b l i n g s ' v e r b a l exchanges made d u r i n g t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f o t h e r t o p i c s . Hence t h e d a t a on s i b l i n g s ' speech a r e much s p a r s e r t h a n t h o s e on m o t h e r - c h i l d ' s speech and a r e of an i n d i r e c t n a t u r e . P s y c h i a t r i s t s have been c o n f r o n t e d w i t h t h e n e g a t i v e e f f e c t s of s i b l i n g r i v a l r y — j e a l o u s y , anger, h o s t i l i t y , b i t t e r -11 n e s s , and q u a r r e l s o m e n e s s — e m a n a t i n g from c l i n i c a l d a t a ( A d l e r 1 9 2 7 ) . S i n c e p s y c h i a t r i s t s d e a l w i t h t h e p a t h o l o g i c a l , t h e i r f i n d i n g s must he tempered w i t h t h o s e of s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s s t u d y i n g the 'normal' i n development and \"behavior. U s i n g q u e s t i o n n a i r e s , n o n d i r e c t i v e i n t e r v i e w s , and f a m i l y l i f e - h i s t o r y documents ( m a i n l y w r i t t e n by female i n f o r m a n t s ) , B o s s a r d and B o l l ( i 9 6 0 ) champion an uncommon p o s i t i o n : t h e y commend s i b l i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s f o r t h e i r s o l i -d a r i t y f u n c t i o n s . S i b l i n g s , t h e y d e c i d e , keep each o t h e r from the u n n a t u r a l environments f u r n i s h e d by p a r e n t s and a d u l t s , who a r e o f t e n u n s u i t a b l e companions f o r c h i l d r e n . S i b l i n g s h e l p to meet needs f o r a f f e c t i o n ; t h e y a c t as c o u n s e l o r s , l e a d e r s , and p r o t e c t o r s . They o c c a s i o n a l l y s e r v e as s u r r o g a t e p a r e n t s , e s p e c i a l l y i n l a r g e f a m i l i e s . A l e s s p o s i t i v e v i e w of s i b l i n g r e l a t i o n s i s put f o r t h by S u t t o n - S m i t h and Rosenberg ( 1 9 7 0 ) . S i b l i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s a p p a r e n t l y u n f o l d as p a r t of a dominance h i e r a r c h y : o l d e r s i b l i n g s e x e r c i s e more power over younger s i b l i n g s t h a n v i c e v e r s a ; u n e q u a l dominance a f f e c t s v e r b a l b e h a v i o r . I n t h e s p e c i f i c case of f i r s t b o r n and seeondborn s i b l i n g s , i n v e n t o r i e s a s s e s s i n g s i b l i n g power were f i l l e d out by m i d d l e - c l a s s c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s ( 1 9 y e a r s o l d ) and c h i l d r e n (Grades 5 and 6 ) . The f i n d i n g s were as f o l l o w s : A l l f i r s t b o r n p e r c e i v e d t h e m s e l v e s and were p e r -c e i v e d by second b o r n as e x e r c i s i n g h i g h e r p o w e r -t h a t i s , t h e y commanded, reprimanded, s c o l d e d , and bossed. R e c i p r o c a l l y , t h e second b o r n p l e a d e d , whined, s u l k e d , and a p p e a l e d f o r h e l p and sympathy from the f i r s t b o r n and o t h e r s . S i m i l a r l y , t h e 12 f i r s t b o r n u sed more p h y s i c a l r e s t r a i n t and p h y s i c a l i a t t a c k , though t h e r e had been more of t h i s a t t h e c h i l d l e v e l , where i t had i n v o l v e d b e a t i n g up, w r e s t l i n g , and h u r t i n g . The f i r s t b o r n a l s o gave more rewards and d e p r i v e d t h e second b o r n of more p r i v i l e g e s . The second b o r n responded by g e t t i n g angry, b e i n g s t u b b o r n , and by h a r a s s i n g , p e s t e r i n g , and b o t h e r i n g the f i r s t b o r n ( S u t t o n - S m i t h & Rosen-b e r g 1970:57). F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e f i r s t b o r n tended t o d e f l a t e t h e younger b o r n w i t h v e r b a l c r i t i c i s m . P r e s c h o o l e r s ' C o d e - S w i t c h i n g A b i l i t i e s One a r e a of s t u d y o b s e r v e s s i b l i n g s ' speech d i r e c t l y : i t l o o k s a t t h e c o d e - s w i t c h i n g a b i l i t i e s of p r e s c h o o l e r s t o a d j u s t amount o f speech, v o c a b u l a r y , and s y n t a x t o t h e age o f the l i s t e n e r (Shatz & 'Gel-man 1973). The c o d e - s w i t c h i n g r e s e a r c h depends upon a s t y l i s t i c a n a l y s i s w h i c h c o u n t s and c o n s i d e r s p a r a m e t e r s of s i m p l i c i t y . I t l o c a t e s s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i -c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e f r e q u e n c i e s o f 4 - y e a r - o l d s ' speech as t h e y accompany d i f f e r e n t - a g e d l i s t e n e r s : a d u l t , p e e r , and 2 - y e a r - o l d s ( e i g h t s i b l i n g s u b j e c t s and many n o n - s i b l i n g sub-j e c t s ) . The speech to t h e 2 - y e a r - o l d s c o n t a i n s s h o r t e r , s i m p l e r u t t e r a n c e s and more a t t e n t i o n a l s . The r e p o r t s of t h e t h r e e S h atz and Gelman s t u d i e s and t h o s e o f Andersen and J o h n -son (1973), Sachs and D e v i n ( 1 9 7 3 . 1976) [who a l l o b s e r v e d n o n - s i b l i n g s ] c o n f i r m a n e c d o t a l comments by S l o b i n ( 1 9 7 5 ) and G l e a s o n (1973) t h a t c h i l d r e n can use a s i m p l i f i e d speech r e g i s t e r when a d d r e s s i n g v e r y young l i s t e n e r s . The Problem R e s t a t e d 13 C r i t i q u e o f R e g i s t e r A n a l y s e s C i t i n g t h e c o d e - s w i t c h i n g r e s e a r c h (based on a v e r y s m a l l sample o f c h i l d r e n from American u p p e r - m i d d l e and m i d d l e c l a s s p r o f e s s i o n a l f a m i l i e s ) , r e v i e w e r s commonly remark t h a t c h i l d r e n s i m p l i f y t h e i r speech i n e s s e n t i a l l y t h e same way as a d u l t s do ( V o r s t e r 1 9 7 5 ; Bloom & Lahey 1 978 ) and c l a i m t h a t t h e s e f i n d i n g s w i t h f o u r - y e a r - o l d s g a i n f u r t h e r i m p o r t a n c e from the f a c t t h a t p a r t i c u l a r l y i n non-Western c u l t u r e s t h e p r i m a r y c a r e t a k e r s o f young c h i l d r e n a r e o f t e n t h e i r o l d e r s i b l i n g s (de V i l l i e r s & de V i l l i e r s 1 9 7 8 : 1 9 3 , 1 9 5 ) . The i m p l i c a t i o n s t o be d e r i v e d from t h e s e remarks and s i m i l a r ones by S l o b i n ( 1 9 6 9 , 1975 ) a r e t h a t t h e p r o f i l e s of mothers' and s i b l i n g s ' l i n g u i s t i c i n p u t a r e v e r y s i m i l a r and t h a t s i b l i n g s i n d i v e r s e c u l t u r e s can be c o u n t e d on t o p r o v i d e s u f f i c i e n t and ' a p p r o p r i a t e ' l i n g u i s t i c d a t a . The a s s u m p t i o n i s t h a t a s i m p l i f i e d exposure t o language i s an adequate exposure. The remarks deserve t o be c h a l l e n g e d . F i r s t o f a l l , s i b l i n g s ' l i n g u i s t i c i n t e r a c t i o n s and c h i l d r e n ' s l i n g u i s t i c m astery have n o t been s t u d i e d s c i e n t i f i -c a l l y i n c r o s s - c u l t u r a l work (Harkness 1 9 7 7 . amongst t h e Kokwet i n Kenya, i s one e x c e p t i o n ) . Second, the d a t a o f t h e code-s w i t c h i n g r e s e a r c h i n v o l v i n g s i b l i n g s were r e c o r d e d when a d u l t s were on t h e scene (Shatz & Gelman 1 9 7 3 : 7 - 8 ) . I f no c o n v e r s a t i o n 14 was o c c u r r i n g d u r i n g t h e t o y e x p l a n a t i o n t a s k i n one of t h e Shatz and Gelman s t u d i e s , the c h i l d r e n were 'prompted' t o c a r r y out t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r s ' i n s t r u c t i o n s . L e f t a l o n e , t h e p r e s c h o o l e r s might have d e c i d e d n o t to p r o v i d e any e x p l a n a t i o n s . T h i r d , s t y l i s t i c a n a l y s e s which count measures of s i m p l i c i t y n o t deemed as good p r e d i c t o r s of l i n g u i s t i c growth do n o t p e r m i t a d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n between the language s o c i a l i z a t i o n engaged i n by d i f f e r e n t f a m i l y members. The use of o n l y l e x i c a l and s y n t a c t i c measures of c h i l d r e n ' s 'provoked' e x p l a n a t i o n s and spontaneous p l a y r e s u l t s i n t h e o m i s s i o n of some i m p o r t a n t q u a l i t a t i v e d i s t i n c t i o n s t h a t c o u l d and t h a t s h o u l d be made. The l i m i t a t i o n s o f s t y l i s t i c a n a l y s e s r e s u l t i n t h e f a i l u r e to account f o r major s o u r c e s of v a r i a n c e i n l i n g u i s t i c achievement. S y n o p s i s To d a t e , t h e n , the l i n g u i s t i c i n f l u e n c e o f s i b l i n g s upon each o t h e r has n o t been i n v e s t i g a t e d t h o r o u g h l y and d i f f e r -ences between mothers and s i b l i n g s as language s o c i a l i z e r s have no t been n o t i c e d . The w i d e s p r e a d c l a i m t h a t \" m o s t . o i f not a l l , o f language development i s based on l e a r n i n g from a d u l t models\" (Moerk 1972:229) cannot be a d j u d i c a t e d , n o r can i t be r e c o n c i l e d w i t h t h e i n f e r e n c e s d e r i v e d from the c o d e - s w i t c h i n g r e s e a r c h on c h i l d r e n ' s s e n s i t i v i t y t o l i s t e n e r v a r i a b l e s . E x c e p t f o r t h e d a t a on the r e l a t i v e e g o c e n t r i s m o f c h i l d - c h i l d speech, t h e r e i s no e v i d e n c e t o account f o r t h e d e d u c t i o n t h a t \" c h i l d r e n who r e c e i v e most of t h e i r l i n g u i s t i c i n p u t from p e e r s 15 a r e a t a r e l a t i v e d i s a d v a n t a g e when compared w i t h c h i l d r e n who l e a r n p r i m a r i l y from a d u l t s \" ( B a t e s 1 9 7 5 s 2 8 1 ) . F u r t h e r m o r e , f o r v a r i o u s m e t h o d o l o g i c a l r e a s o n s , t h e m a j o r i t y o f l o n g i t u d i n a l s t u d i e s o f language development s e l e c t f i r s t b o r n c h i l d r e n (Brown 1 9 7 3 ; Bloom 1 970 ) whose back-ground and d e v e l o p m e n t a l h i s t o r y may be a t y p i c a l . I f f i r s t -b o r n have e n v i r o n m e n t a l advantages and d i s a d v a n t a g e s n o t u n i v e r s a l l y e x p e r i e n c e d by c h i l d r e n i n o t h e r b i r t h o r d e r s , t h e n r e s e a r c h e r s may h o l d ' b i a s e d ' n o t i o n s of t h e phenomena of language development. N e l s o n ( 1 973 ) i n h e r s t u d y of 11 f i r s t -b o r n and seven seeondborn s u r m i s e s as much when she d e t e c t s d i f f e r e n c e s i n l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g i e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h b i r t h o r d e r . R e q u i s i t e Data and A n a l y s e s D a t a u s e f u l t o c o u n t e r a c t t h e emphasis on t h e f i r s t b o r n and to u n d e r s t a n d t h e l i n g u i s t i c consequences of s i b l i n g v e r s u s p a r e n t a l i n t e r a c t i o n s would be samples of t h e speech o f t h e same c h i l d p a i r e d w i t h o l d e r s i b l i n g ( s ) and w i t h t h e mother. However, th e samples would have t o be i n s p e c t e d i n a d i f f e r e n t way. I n l i e u of an a n a l y s i s which emphasizes i n p u t , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o c o n s i d e r how speech i s used f o r communicating. I t i s c r u c i a l t o examine c a t e g o r i e s o f l i n g u i s t i c i n t e r a c t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g the i n t e n t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s u n d e r l y i n g speech, t h e f u n c t i o n s o f speech, and s h o r t - r a n g e c o n v e r s a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e . C l u e s as t o how t o make d i f f e r e n t a n a l y s e s can be d e r i v e d from t h e r e - a n a l y s i s o f t h e c o d e - s w i t c h i n g d a t a i t s e l f ( Shatz & Gelman 1 9 7 7 ; Gelman & Shatz 1 977 ) w h e r e i n t h e a u t h o r s use con-16 temporary p r a g m a t i c t h e o r y t o a s s e s s t h e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e s y n t a c t i c a l l y e l a b o r a t e d s t r u c t u r e s which o c c u r r e d . Even t h e o r i g i n a l P i a g e t i a n f u n c t i o n a l a n a l y s e s ( 1 926 ) p r o v i d e h i n t s on what t o c o n s i d e r , f o r i n s t a n c e , c a t e g o r i e s such as 'adapted i n f o r m a t i o n , q u e s t i o n s and answers, c r i t i c i s m , d e r i s i o n , commands, r e q u e s t s , and t h r e a t s ' . Advances i n t h e p h i l o s o p h y o f language and p r a g m a t i c t h e o r y a r e now d i s c u s s e d \" b r i e f l y . T h e o r e t i c a l C o n s i d e r a t i o n s and Problems To a n a l y z e i n t e n t i o n s , a t t i t u d e s , and f u n c t i o n s ex-p r e s s e d o r i m p l i c a t e d by speech, we must r e f e r t o t h e t h e o r y o f communicative speech a c t s f o r m u l a t e d by p h i l o s o p h e r s of language, e s p e c i a l l y A u s t i n ( 1 9 6 2 ), S e a r l e ( 1 9 6 5 , 1 9 6 9 ) 1 and G r i c e ( 1 9 6 8 , 1 9 7 5 ) - Of p a r t i c u l a r i m p o r t a n c e a r e A u s t i n ' s c o n s t r u c t s o f t h e p e r f o r m a t i v e , the i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t , and t h e p e r l o c u -t i o n a r y a c t ; S e a r l e ' s model o f speech a c t s ; and G r i c e ' s c o o p e r a t i v e p r i n c i p l e and t h e o r y o f c o n v e r s a t i o n a l i m p l i c a t u r e . A u s t i n became i n t e r e s t e d i n u t t e r a n c e s as s o c i a l a c t s , t h i n g s t h a t a r e done by b e i n g s a i d , r a t h e r t h a n as p r o p o s i t i o n s d e s t i n e d f o r l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s . He began by r e a s o n i n g t h a t t h e c r i t i c a l f e a t u r e o f a p e r f o r m a t i v e a c t such as c o n g r a t u l a t i n g , b e t t i n g , o r d e r i n g , p r o m i s i n g , b e q u e a t h i n g , o r c h r i s t e n i n g , r e v o l v e s around t h e s o c i a l a c t t h a t t h e speaker p e r f o r m s by s a y i n g something i n c e r t a i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s . Of l e s s e r immediate i m p o r t a n c e i s t h e t r u t h o r f a l s i t y of the p r o p o s i t i o n e x p r e s s e d by t h e p e r f o r m a t i v e a c t . P e r f o r m a t i v e s p r o v i d e t h e names o f 17 i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t s . Examples o f e x p l i c i t p e r f o r m a t i v e u t t e r a n c e s i n c l u d e \" I g r a n t you t h i s w i s h , \" \" I \"bid you welcome,\" and \" I thank you.\" O p e r a t i o n a l l y , p e r f o r m a t i v e s r e q u i r e a f i r s t p e r s o n s i n g u l a r pronoun a n t e c e d e n t and t a k e t h e p r e s e n t , i n d i c a t i v e tense.\" 1\" S c h o l a r s (Ross 1 970 ) l a t e r argued t h a t p e r f o r m a t i v e s may e x p l i c i t l y o r i m p l i c i t l y u n d e r l i e a s s e r t i o n s (\"I d e c l a r e t o you, t h a t p_,\" or \"That p_ i s t h e case\") and commands (\"I o r d e r you, you do X,\" or \"Do X.\") I n A u s t i n ' s a n a l y s i s , a p e r l o c u t i o n a r y a c t r e f e r s t o the e f f e c t a speaker a c h i e v e s by s a y i n g something. E f f e c t s i n c l u d e c o n v i n c i n g , p e r s u a d i n g , d e t e r r i n g , s u r p r i s i n g , and m i s l e a d i n g . I n h i s t h e o r y of speech a c t s , S e a r l e i d e n t i f i e s t h r e e v a r i e t i e s o f speech a c t s : u t t e r a n c e a c t s , p r o p o s i t i o n a l a c t s , and i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t s . H i s n o t i o n o f i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t de v e l o p s out o f A u s t i n ' s theory-. S e a r l e s u b d i v i d e s t h e i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t i n t o two components: a p r o p o s i t i o n a l c o n t e n t (composed o f , e.g., a r e f e r r i n g e x p r e s s i o n and a p r e d i c a t i n g e x p r e s s i o n ) and an i l l o c u t i o n a r y f o r c e o r f u n c t i o n w i t h which th e p r o p o s i t i o n i s p r e s e n t e d . I l l o c u t i o n a r y f o r c e i n d i c a t o r s i n c l u d e word o r d e r , s t r e s s , i n t o n a t i o n a l c o n t o u r , mood of v e r b , p e r f o r m a t i v e v e r b , and t h e c o n t e x t i t s e l f . I n w r i t t e n language, p u n c t u a t i o n can be a f o r c e i n d i c a t o r . The most c o n s t r a i n e d t e s t f o r a p e r f o r m a t i v e i s whether the v e r b t a k e s t h e e x p r e s s i o n hereby, as i n , \" I h e r e b y g r a n t . \" N o n - i n s t a n c e s of p e r f o r m a t i v e s I n c l u d e \" I t h i n k t h a t \" and \" I want.\" 18 A u s t i n and S e a r l e c o n c l u d e t h a t a h e a r e r must i n f e r a s p e a k e r ' s \" b e l i e f s , knowledge, i n t e n t i o n s , and d e s i r e s i n o r d e r t o c o n s t r u e t h e i l l o c u t i o n a r y f o r c e o f a s p e a k e r ' s u t t e r a n c e . Competent members of a speech community use i n t u i t i v e knowledge of l i n g u i s t i c s t r u c t u r e t o i n f e r a s p e a k e r ' s t h o u g h t s and f e e l i n g s . However, p h i l o s o p h e r s go beyond i n t u i t i o n and attempt t o make e x p l i c i t a l l o f t h e f a c t o r s which e n t e r i n t o t h e competent h e a r e r ' s i n t u i t i o n s . They determine t h a t the f a c t o r s i n v o l v e knowledge of s o c i a l c o n s t r u c t s such as p r o c e d u r e s , r o l e s , r i g h t s , and o b l i g a t i o n s , c o e x i s t i n g w i t h d e d u c t i v e a b i l i t i e s t o r e a d s i t u a t i o n a l c l u e s . S e a r l e , i n d i s c u s s i n g t h e s t r u c t u r e of i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t s , s t a t e s t h a t each i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t i s d e f i n e d by a u nique c o m b i n a t i o n of b e l i e f c o n d i t i o n s s p e c i f i c t o t h e a c t and a l s o by a s e t o f more g e n e r a l c o n d i t i o n s h o l d i n g f o r t h e c o r r e c t performance of many i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t s . The f o r c e of an u t t e r a n c e d e r i v e s from t h a t s e t of n e c e s s a r y and s u f f i c i e n t c o n d i t i o n s r e l a t i n g t o t h e b e l i e f s and a t t i t u d e s o f t h e s p e a k e r and t h e h e a r e r and t o t h e i r m u t u a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e use of l i n g u i s t i c forms f o r communication. I n A u s t i n ' s t erms, the c o n d i t i o n s a r e c a l l e d ' f e l i c i t y c o n d i t i o n s ' . I n g e n e r a l usage, t h e term 'speech a c t ' i s used i n t e r -c h a n g e a b l y w i t h t h e term ' i l l o c u t i o n a r y a c t ' . The terms w i l l a l s o be t r e a t e d as synonyms h e r e . G r i c e goes beyond t h e t h e o r y of speech a c t s i n h i s a ttempt t o advance t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e complex f a c t o r s u n d e r l y i n g s p e a k e r s ' a b i l i t i e s t o produce and comprehend speech 19 (Katz 1972). G r i c e a t t e m p t s t o c o n s t r u c t a t h e o r y of con-v e r s a t i o n a l i m p l i c a t u r e . F o l l o w i n g from h i s \"basic p r i n c i p l e , t h e ' C o o p e r a t i v e P r i n c i p l e ' , G r i c e s p e l l s out t h e o b l i g a -t i o n s w h i c h must be met i n o r d e r f o r a speaker t o c o n t r i b u t e t o a c o n v e r s a t i o n i n an a p p r o p r i a t e way. Four maxims f i l l out h i s n o t i o n s o f a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s : 1. t h e maxim o f q u a n t i t y — o n e ought t o be as i n f o r m a t i v e as r e q u i r e d ; 2. t h e maxim o f q u a l i t y - - o n e ought t o t r y t o make a t r u e c o n t r i b u t i o n ; 3. t h e maxim o f r e l a t i o n — o n e ought t o make a r e l e v a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n ; 4. t h e maxim o f manner—one ought t o be c l e a r and c o n c i s e ; one ought t o a v o i d c r e a t i n g c o n f u s i o n . The maxims s t i p u l a t e t h e n o n - l i n g u i s t i c a s sumptions which c o o p e r a t i v e c o n v e r s a t i o n a l i s t s must s h a r e . G r i c e d i s t i n g u i s h e s between t h e s e t o f i m p l i c a t i o n s d e r i v a b l e from t h e p r o p o s i -t i o n a l meaning ( l i t e r a l / c o n v e n t i o n a l ) i n t h e u t t e r i n g o f a sentence and t h e s e t o f i m p l i c a t u r e s d e r i v a b l e from t h e l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e o f a sentence i n a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h t h e maxims t h a t t h e sp e a k e r i s presumed t o be f o l l o w i n g (Mohan 1974). C o n v e r s a t i o n a l i m p l i c a t u r e s , t h a t i s , c o n v e r s a t i o n a l l y conveyed meanings, make e s s e n t i a l r e f e r e n c e t o c o n v e r s a t i o n a l maxims. When what i s s a i d i s d i s s o n a n t w i t h a c o n v e r s a t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e , what i s i m p l i c a t e d must r e s o l v e t h e d i s s o n a n c e . G r i c e o n l y a d m i t s t h o s e c o n v e r s a t i o n a l i m p l i c a t u r e s w h e r e i n 20 i n t u i t i o n i s r e p l a c e a b l e by argument. Speech a c t t h e o r y and t h e c o o p e r a t i v e p r i n c i p l e form the t h e o r e t i c a l f o u n d a t i o n s f o r t h e r e s e a r c h u n d e r t a k e n h e r e . The speech a c t was chosen as t h e u n i t of a n a l y s i s . The t h e o r e t i c a l s t u d y o f t h e c o n s t r u a l s t h a t s p e a k e r s p l a c e on t h e i r u t t e r a n c e s i n r e a l speech s i t u a t i o n s i s an i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f t h e f i e l d o f ' l i n g u i s t i c p r a g m a t i c s ' . L i n g u i s t i c p r a g m a t i c t h e o r y examines the i n t e n t i o n s o f s p e a k e r s , t h e r e l a t i o n s o f u t t e r a n c e s t o c o n t e x t s , c o n v e r s a -t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e s , and c o n v e r s a t i o n a l l y - c o n v e y e d meanings. . . 2 L i n g u i s t i c p r a g m a t i c s i s a p r o m i s i n g a r e a because i t i n t e -g r a t e s t h e m o t i v e f o r c e s and n o n - l i n g u i s t i c a s sumptions under-l y i n g communication w i t h the development of s y s t e m a t i c means, namely, the c o n v e n t i o n a l l i n g u i s t i c code. However, l i n g u i s t i c p r a g m a t i c t h e o r y i s a new and d i f f i c u l t f i e l d . Numerous t h e o r e t i c a l i s s u e s need to be r e s o l v e d , such as t h e d e m a r c a t i o n between l i n g u i s t i c p r a g -m a t i c s and s e m a n t i c s . I n . e m p i r i c a l r e s e a r c h , s y s t e m a t i c a n a l y s e s o f p r a g -m a t i c c a t e g o r i e s have improved because o f t h e t h e o r e t i c a l achievements. But the e m p i r i c a l work i s f r a u g h t w i t h m e t h o d o l o g i c a l problems because p r a g m a t i c c a t e g o r i e s a r e i n h e r e n t l y m e n t a l i s t i c . A f t e r s t r u g g l i n g w i t h the d e c i s i o n s of what p r a g -m a t i c c a t e g o r i e s deserve t o be examined, i n v e s t i g a t o r s t h e n f a c e the problem of o b t a i n i n g s a t i s f a c t o r y l e v e l s o f i n t e r -r a t e r r e l i a b i l i t i e s i n c o d i n g . When the e m p i r i c a l r e s e a r c h l o o k s a t s e v e r a l p r a g m a t i c v a r i a b l e s , r e l i a b i l i t y becomes a s e r i o u s problem ( c f . Dore 1 9 7 7 )• Sometimes p e r l o c u t i o n a r y e f f e c t s a r e used as t h e grounds t o i n f e r i l l o c u t i o n a r y i n t e n t s . 21 The S p e c i f i c Problem The problem i n v e s t i g a t e d here i s whether language-l e a r n i n g s i t u a t i o n s d i f f e r when mothers or f i r s t b o r n female p r e s c h o o l s i b l i n g s are secondborn boys' and g i r l s ' speech p a r t n e r s . The data i n c l u d e samples of the speech of second-born, f i r s t b o r n , and mothers i n dyadic s i t u a t i o n s . The mode of data a n a l y s i s i s to compare the nature and the frequency of the speech a c t s which take p l a c e between speech p a r t n e r s of a s i m i l a r or d i s s i m i l a r g e n e r a t i o n . The aim i s to uncover q u a l i t a t i v e d i f f e r e n c e s i n l i n g u i s t i c environments, a t t r i b u t a b l e to p a r t i c i p a n t s , which a f f e c t r a t e of a c q u i s i t i o n of l i n g u i s t i c f e a t u r e s and which a f f e c t the q u a l i t y of l e a r n e r s ' l i n g u i s t i c comprehension and performance. F i v e g e n e r a l hypotheses are s t a t e d . General Hypotheses 1. Mothers engage i n language t e a c h i n g ( c l a r i f i c a t i o n ) more f r e q u e n t l y than do f i r s t b o r n p r e s c h o o l g i r l s . 2 . Mothers e s t a b l i s h more p o s i t i v e l e a r n i n g c l i m a t e s than do f i r s t b o r n p r e s c h o o l g i r l s : they produce not o n l y more i n s t a n c e s of ' p o s i t i v e l y - t o n e d ' behavior, but a l s o fewer i n s t a n c e s of 'n e g a t i v e l y - t o n e d ' behavior than the g i r l s do. 3 . Mothers e s t a b l i s h l e s s dominating l e a r n i n g c l i m a t e s than do f i r s t b o r n p r e s c h o o l g i r l s : they produce more s o l i -d a r i t y b e h a v i o r s but fewer c o n t r o l l i n g b ehaviors than g i r l s do. 22 4 . Secondborn boys and g i r l s demonstrate t h e i r l i n g u i s t i c knowledge more f r e q u e n t l y w i t h t h e i r mothers t h a n w i t h t h e i r o l d e r s i s t e r s . 5. R e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e o c c u r s more f r e q u e n t l y w i t h p r e s c h o o l g i r l s t h a n w i t h mothers. S i n c e i t seems i m p o s s i b l e t o d e f i n e e x p l i c i t l y what c o n s t i t u t e s a s e n s i t i v e , s u p e r i o r - i n - q u a l i t y exposure t o language f o r i n d i v i d u a l s a t t h i s s t a g e o f r e s e a r c h , t h e hypo-t h e s e s a r e p h r a s e d i n q u a n t i t a t i v e terms. However, t h e e v e n t u -a l aim i s t o e s t a b l i s h q u a l i t a t i v e d i f f e r e n c e s i n exposure and t o e s t i m a t e t h e r e l a t i v e impact o f m a t e r n a l and s i b l i n g speech on younger s i b l i n g s ' language development. The h y p o t h e s e s d e r i v e p l a u s i b l y from t h e f i n d i n g s on t h e v a l u e of p r i v i l e g e d a c c e s s t o a d u l t s t h r o u g h o u t language a c q u i s i t i o n ; t h e n a t u r e , i n c i d e n c e , and t i m i n g o f m a t e r n a l language t e a c h i n g ; t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f a f f e c t i v e v a r i a b l e s i n f o s t e r i n g m e n t a l h e a l t h and a l l l e a r n i n g ; t h e h i e r a r c h i c a l n a t u r e of s i b l i n g r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e subsequent d o m i n a t i o n and c o u n t e r - r e a c t i o n ; t h e o b l i q u e r e l a t i o n s h i p s between b i r t h o r d e r and l i n g u i s t i c / i n t e l l e c t u a l eminence; and t h e o r i e s o f c h i l d r e n ' s communicative a b i l i t i e s and e g o c e n t r i s m . Summary To i n v e s t i g a t e t h e r o l e s o f mothers and s i b l i n g s i n p r o v i d i n g l a n g u a g e - l e a r n i n g c o n d i t i o n s f o r younger s i b l i n g s , 23 t h i s c h a p t e r p r o p o s e s t h e c o n t r a s t o f samples o f t h e speech of dyads a t t h e speech a c t l e v e l . The p h i l o s o p h y o f language and l i n g u i s t i c p r a g m a t i c t h e o r y p r o v i d e the t h e o r e t i c a l frame-work f o r t h e speech a c t a n a l y s i s . T h i s c h a p t e r l i s t s f i v e g e n e r a l h y p o t h e s e s which p r e d i c t how t h e speech a c t s o f mothers and f i r s t b o r n g i r l s and t h e speech a c t s o f secondborn w i t h mothers and w i t h o l d e r s i s t e r s d i f f e r i n n a t u r e and i n f r e q u e n c y . The n e x t c h a p t e r o u t l i n e s t h e approach which was de-v i s e d t o t e s t t h e hypotheses. I t e l a b o r a t e s upon th e chosen speech a c t measures under t h e r u b r i c s o f language t e a c h i n g , tone o f l i n g u i s t i c f eedback, power, language l e a r n i n g , and r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e . I t d e f i n e s and i l l u s t r a t e s i n d i v i d u a l speech a c t measures and defends t h e i r i n c l u s i o n i n t h e s t u d y . Then th e c h a p t e r e l a b o r a t e s upon th e chosen r e s e a r c h d e s i g n and s p e c i f i e s s u b s t a n t i v e h y p o t h e s e s which r e f e r t o p a r t i c u -l a r c a t e g o r i e s of speech a c t measures. 24 CHAPTER I I THE CHOSEN APPROACH TESTING THE HYPOTHESES: FUNCTIONAL CONTINGENCY ANALYSES AND MEASURES P r a g m a t i c , a f f e c t i v e , and d i s c o u r s e measures a r e among t h e measures s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e l a t e d t o i n d i c e s o f l i n g u i s t i c p r o g r e s s i n m o t h e r - c h i l d speech s t u d i e s , c l a s s r o o m i n t e r a c t i o n r e s e a r c h (Amidon & Hough 1 9 6 ? ) , and second-language l e a r n i n g ( R a r d i n 1 9 7 7 )• They deserve t o be c o n s i d e r e d i n any a n a l y s i s o f l i n g u i s t i c i n t e r a c t i o n . P r a g m a t i c and a f f e c t i v e measures l o o k a t t h e i n t e n t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s -conveyed by speech. By d e f i n i t i o n , d i s c o u r s e measures r e f l e c t t o what e x t e n t u t t e r a n c e s , a r e f u n c t i o n a l l y c o n t i n g e n t t o one a n o t h e r : t h e y , a r e measures o f d i a l o g u e r a t h e r t h a n o f mono-l o g u e . D i s c o u r s e measures c a p t u r e how r e s p o n s i v e speech p a r t n e r s a r e t o each o t h e r . I n t e n t i o n s , a t t i t u d e s , f u n c t i o n s , and c o n t i n g e n c y appear t o be more i m p o r t a n t a n t e c e d e n t s t h a n s y n t a c t i c form f o r subsequent l i n g u i s t i c development. F i v e c a t e g o r i e s r e l a t e t o t h e h y p o t h e s e s t o be t e s t e d and w a r r a n t d i s c u s s i o n : language t e a c h i n g , t one o f l i n g u i s t i c f e edback, power r e l a t i o n s h i p s between p a r t n e r s , o v e r t demonstra-t i o n o f language l e a r n i n g , and r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e . 25 The problem i n v e s t i g a t e d h e r e i s b r o a d l y c o n c e i v e d : the f i v e c a t e g o r i e s employed, w h i l e i n t e r r e l a t e d , c o v e r a v a s t a r e a . R e s e a r c h o f t h e f u t u r e w i l l have t o d e a l w i t h s p e c i f i c s i n a f i n e r way. Each c a t e g o r y i s now d i s c u s s e d . Reasons a r e g i v e n f o r each i n c l u s i o n . Language T e a c h i n g ( C l a r i f i c a t i o n ) C o n c e p t u a l A n a l y s i s T e a c h i n g can be d e f i n e d as ' a c t i v i t y w hich causes someone t o l e a r n by example o r e x p e r i e n c e ' (The American H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y of the E n g l i s h Language 1 969 ) . •. I t can be i n t e n t i o n a l l y c a u s a t i v e o r o n l y i n c i d e n t a l l y so.\"*\" T e a c h i n g can i n v o l v e t h e i n d i c a t i n g , d i s p l a y i n g , q u e s t i o n i n g , o r e x p l a i n i n g o f t h e c o n t e n t or p r o c e d u r e s t o be l e a r n e d . ^The i s s u e of the i n t e n t i o n a l i t y of t e a c h i n g poses some problems. B u t , f o l l o w i n g S e a r l e ( \" I n t e n t i o n and A c t i o n , \" a t a l k g i v e n a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, F e b r u a r y 1979 )» i t can be argued t h a t t h e i n t e n t i o n t o b r i n g about l e a r n i n g o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g can be a p r i o r i o r s i m u l t a n e o u s t o the moment of a c t i o n . That i s , a speaker may i n t e n d t o 'teach ' t h e l a b e l f o r an o b j e c t and may a c t u a l l y do so by p o i n t i n g t o the o b j e c t and g i v i n g i t s name, o r , i n the second c a s e , a speaker may i n t e n d t o f u l f i l l t h e s i n c e r i t y c o n d i t i o n s f o r a speech a c t o t h e r t h a n o s t e n s i v e l a b e l i n g , b u t w h i l e d o i n g so a c t u a l l y p o i n t s t o an o b j e c t and names i t , t h e r e b y m o d e l i n g the l a b e l - s e n s e a s s o c i a t i o n which i s t o be c l a r i f i e d and t o be mastered by t h e l e a r n e r . By r e f e r r i n g t o t h e o b j e c t , t h e speaker f u l f i l l s h i s i n t e n t i o n s . Hence t h e c l a i m i s made t h a t t e a c h i n g can be ' i n t e n t i o n a l l y ' o r ' i n c i d e n t a l l y ' c a u s a t i v e . 26 I n t h e l i t e r a t u r e on second language a c q u i s i t i o n , 'minimal language t e a c h i n g ' r e q u i r e s t h e use o f language w h e r e i n communications a r e e i t h e r c l e a r o r c l a r i f i e d f o r t h e l e a r n e r (Mohan 1 9 7 9 ) . I t i n v o l v e s two l o g i c a l l y n e c e s s a r y c o n d i t i o n s : f i r s t , t h e c o n d i t i o n t h a t i t d i s p l a y s t h e p r o n u n c i a t i o n , form, meaning, r u l e o f s y n t a x or c o n v e r s a t i o n t o he l e a r n e d ; and second, the c o n d i t i o n t h a t i t does so i n a way which i s i n t e l l i g i b l e to the l e a r n e r ( a f t e r P e t e r s & H i r s t 1 9 7 0 : 8 1 ; H i r s t 1 9 7 3 ) . F o r m a l language a n a l y s e s o r 2 e x p l a n a t i o n s a r e n o t n e c e s s a r y c o n d i t i o n s f o r language t e a c h -i n g , hut i n some i n s t a n c e s may o c c u r . Many t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l - g e n e r a t i v e l i n g u i s t s (Chomsky 1 9 7 6 ; Newport 1 9 7 7 ; Newport, G l e i t m a n & G l e i t m a n 1 977 ) f i n d i t m i s l e a d i n g t o p h i l o s o p h i z e about t h e ways i n which language and i t s use might be t a u g h t . T h e i r d i s l i k e f o r t h e n o t i o n of language t e a c h i n g stems from t h e i r r e j e c t i o n o f c o n d i t i o n i n g as an adequate e x p l a n a t i o n f o r language l e a r n i n g and t h e i r i m p l i c i t d e f i n i t i o n o f t e a c h i n g as n e c e s s a r i l y i n v o l v i n g ' f o r m a l e x p l a n a t i o n , i n s t r u c t i o n ' . Fodor, Bever & G a r r e t t ( 197^ ) argue t h a t s i n c e no one knows enough about t h e opaque . r e l a t i o n s h i p s between deep s t r u c t u r e s and s u r f a c e s t r u c t u r e s (whether o f a s y n t a c t i c o r a p h o n o l o g i c a l n a t u r e ) , t h e r e l a t i o n -s h i p s a r e ' i n e x p l i c a b l e ' . Moreover, a d u l t s have l i t t l e i n c l i n a -t i o n t o e x p l a i n ^ s u c h r e l a t i o n s h i p s and c h i l d r e n have l i m i t e d a b i l i t i e s t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e e x p l a n a t i o n s . I concur t h a t most l i n g u i s t i c f e a t u r e s and r u l e s cannot be e x p l a i n e d , but t h a t i s n o t a t i s s u e . My argument i s t h a t f e a t u r e s and r u l e s can be d i s p l a y e d i n a r e l a t i v e l y h e l p f u l o r h i n d e r i n g manner. L e a r n e r s a c c o m p l i s h a g r e a t d e a l : i n B r u n e r ' s terms ( 1973)> l e a r n e r s always have t o \"go beyond t h e i n f o r m a t i o n g i v e n \" i n an example or d i s p l a y i n o r d e r t o form t h e c o n c e p t , s t o r e t h e image, o r i n t e r n a l i z e t h e p r i n c i p l e . But examples and d i s p l a y s can be judged on t h e i r adequacy i n g i v i n g some of t h e i n f o r m a t i o n from which l e a r n e r s must e x t r a p o l a t e . 27 O r d i n a r i l y , i n a d u l t c o n v e r s a t i o n s , a c t s o f c l a r i f i c a -t i o n (as i n \"Do you mean now?\") do n o t b e l o n g t o a c l a s s o f i n f o r m a l t e a c h i n g a c t s b u t a r e normal ways t o s u s t a i n communica-t i o n . However, g i v e n a s i t u a t i o n w h e r e i n an ad d r e s s e e l a c k s r e q u i s i t e i n f o r m a t i o n o r c o d i n g o r c o g n i t i v e a b i l i t i e s , c l a r i f i c a t i o n s must be deemed as i n f o r m a l l y i n s t r u c t i o n a l a t some l e v e l . I f a h e a r e r p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n an everyday c o n v e r s a t i o n i s i g n o r a n t o f what a -parabola i s and needs t o know i t s d e f i n i -t i o n i n o r d e r t o u n d e r s t a n d and c o n t r i b u t e t o the d i a l o g u e , the knowledgeable speaker i s o b l i g a t e d by G r i c e ' s f i r s t and f o u r t h c o n v e r s a t i o n a l maxims o f q u a n t i t y and manner ( 1 : be as i n f o r m a t i v e as r e q u i r e d ; 4: be c l e a r and c o n c i s e ) t o c l a r i f y .. the sense o f the term f o r the h e a r e r . H i s c l a r i f i c a t i o n c o n s t i t u t e s a n a t u r a l t e a c h i n g a c t . C l a r i f i c a t i o n s have a d o u b l e - f a c e t e d beauty: t h e y c omprise c o n v e n t i o n a l means t o conduct c o n v e r s a t i o n s and t h e y can, on o c c a s i o n , a l s o s e r v e as n o n - c o n t r i v e d , i n f o r m a l t e a c h i n g d e v i c e s . F o l l o w i n g the l e a d o f Brown and B e l l u g i (1964), Snow (1972), and Moerk (1972) who eschewed t h e s t r o n g n a t i v i s t p o s i t i o n t h a t a s p e c t s o f language cannot be t a u g h t (Chomsky 1 9 6 5 . 1 9 7 6 ; Lenneberg 1 9 6 7 ) . p s y c h o l i n g u i s t s now deem i t r e s p e c t a b l e t o d i s c u s s language l e s s o n s and t e a c h i n g t e c h n i q u e s , C l a r k and C l a r k ( 1 977 ) d i s c u s s ' c o n v e r s a t i o n a l ' , 'map-p i n g ' , and 'segmentation' l e s s o n s i n c o r p o r a t e d i n a d u l t s ' speech m o d i f i c a t i o n s ; t h e y c h a r t b e h a v i o r s w h i c h f a l l i n t o each t y p e 28 o f l e s s o n . I n a s t r i c t sense, however, many o f t h e g l o b a l changes which t a k e p l a c e d u r i n g a l e s s o n do not meet t h e two l o g i c a l l y n e c e s s a r y c o n d i t i o n s o f t e a c h i n g and t h u s cannot be c o n s t r u e d as ' t e a c h i n g ' . F o r example, some d e v i c e s used t o get t h e c h i l d ' s a t t e n t i o n — h i g h p i t c h , w h i s p e r i n g , c a l l i n g t h e c h i l d ' s name and i n v i t i n g t h e c h i l d t o o b s e r v e - - a r e p r o l o g u e s t o t h e d i s p l a y o f c o n t e n t . The d e v i c e s a r e not t e a c h i n g a c t s t h e m s e l v e s : f o r example, t h e y do not i n t e n d t o t e a c h t h e c h i l d t o use h i g h p i t c h o r t o w h i s p e r . However, as G a r n i c a ( 1 977 ) and Sachs ( 1 977 ) h y p o t h e s i z e , h i g h p i t c h and e x a g g e r a t e d i n t o n a t i o n c o n t o u r s may be more e a s i l y p e r c e i v e d by i n f a n t s and t h u s a s s i s t a n a l y s i s and s e g m e n t a t i o n . N i n i o and B r uner ( 1 9 7 8 : 6 - 7 ) r e f e r t o t h e forms of language pedagogy among mothers and i l l u s t r a t e t h e ' s c a f f o l d i n g d i a l o g u e ' c o n s t r u c t e d by a mother and c h i l d d u r i n g book-r e a d i n g s e s s i o n s which f o s t e r s t h e t e a c h i n g of v o c a b u l a r y and t h e e a r l y use o f n o m i n a l s . They l i s t f o u r key u t t e r a n c e t y p e s u sed by t h e mother--the a t t e n t i o n a l v o c a t i v e Look, t h e query What's t h a t ? , t h e l a b e l I t ' s an X, and t h e feedback u t t e r a n c e Yes--and examine t h e i r p r i v i l e g e s o f o c c u r r e n c e i n t h e d i a l o g u e . Moerk ( 1 9 7 2 , 1 9 7 ^ , 1 9 7 6 , 1977 ) p r o p o s e s t h a t i n normal i n t e r a c t i o n s between mother and c h i l d a m u l t i p l i c i t y o f t e a c h -i n g d e v i c e s a r e used. He c l a i m s t h a t t h e phenomena o f i m i t a t i o n t h r o u g h e x p a n s i o n , m o d e l i n g , o c c a s i o n a l q u e s t i o n s , i n c o m p l e t e s e n t e n c e s , q u e s t i o n -answer games, n u r s e r y rhymes and s t r u c t u r i n g t h r o u g h p i c t u r e books do not y e t d e s c r i b e e x h a u s t i v e l y a l l t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f i n t e r a c t i o n and t e a c h i n g a p p l i e d by t h e mother. ( 1 9 7 2 : 2 5 5 ) 29 The concept o f t e a c h i n g espoused h e r e c o i n c i d e s w i t h t h e l a b e l i n g , m o d e l i n g , q u e r y i n g , and feedback t a c t i c s used by mothers i n N i n i o and B r u n e r ' s , and Moerk's s t u d i e s . But t h e v i e w which i s r e j e c t e d h e r e i s t h a t t e a c h i n g t a k e s p l a c e d u r i n g a l l d i s p l a y s o f l i n g u i s t i c d a t a .' The problem t h e n becomes t o s p e c i f y a few speech a c t s which verge towards b e i n g i n t e n t i o n -a l l y c a u s a t i v e i n t h e sense o f ' h e l p i n g a l e a r n e r t o l e a r n ' o r 'making a l e a r n e r u n d e r s t a n d ' and t o s e l e c t t h o s e a c t s which d i f f e r e n t i a t e between language s o u r c e s . I t can be argued t h a t language t e a c h i n g o c c u r s when l e a r n e r s a r e shown how t o map l i n g u i s t i c c a t e g o r i e s onto p r o p e r t i e s o f t h e c o n t e x t , a r e g i v e n c o n f i r m i n g o r c o r r e c t i v e feedback about t h e i r e x p r e s s i o n s , a r e prompted t o c l a r i f y t h e i r e x p r e s s i o n s and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , and a r e shown how t o b u i l d c o n v e r s a t i o n s . I n a d d i t i o n , c o n d i t i o n s a r e p r o p i t i o u s f o r l i n g u i s t i c improvement when l e a r n e r s a r e encouraged t o r e h e a r s e and r e v e a l t h e i r l i n g u i s t i c knowledge, because by so d o i n g t h e y a r e a l e r t e d t o t h e l i n g u i s t i c r u l e s which r e m a i n t o be d i s c e r n e d . S p e c i f i c l a n g u a g e - t e a c h i n g a c t s i n c l u d e o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s , c o r r e c t i o n s o f t r u t h v a l u e and l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s -s i o n , c o n f i r m a t i o n s o f e x p r e s s i o n , i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , r e s p o n s e s t o s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s , and r e s p o n s e s t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s . O p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n s o f t h e a c t s and examples now f o l l o w . 30 Language T e a c h i n g : O p e r a t i o n a l D e f i n i t i o n s 1. p r o v i d i n g an o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n i n which some o b j e c t i s i n d i c a t e d i n t h e c o n t e x t and g i v e n a name so t h a t i t s meaning becomes c l e a r . E x p r e s s i o n s such as \"That's a r o c k i n g c h a i r , \" \" I s t h a t a r o c k i n g c h a i r ? \" \"Look a t t h a t r o c k i n g c h a i r , \" and \" R o c k i n g c h a i r \" a r e examples o f o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s i f t h e p r e d i c a t i o n s a r e t r u e . 2. c o r r e c t i n g t h e t r u t h v a l u e o f t h e o t h e r ' s p r o p o s i -t i o n o r c o r r e c t i n g t h e l i n g u i s t i c form o f t h e o t h e r ' s mal-formed u t t e r a n c e by g i v i n g t h e p r o p e r form o r p r o n u n c i a t i o n . C o r r e c t i o n s can be made e x p l i c i t l y by dr a w i n g a t t e n t i o n t o t h e e r r o r ( s ) and n o t i n g t h e r e q u i r e d change(s) o r t h e y can be made i n f o r m a l l y by s i m p l y s u p p l y i n g t h e a c c u r a t e l a b e l o r r e p a i r i n g t h e u t t e r a n c e ( i n an expanded o r re d u c e d form) i n s t a n d a r d E n g l i s h . I t i s assumed t h a t some r e p e t i t i o n s of t h e o t h e r ' s u t t e r a n c e a r e e x p r e s s e d a l o u d , w i t h o u t r i s i n g i n t o n a t i o n , i n an attempt t o d e c i p h e r t h e i n a c c u r a t e o r i n c o m p l e t e o r u n c l e a r e x p r e s s i o n and a r e t h u s m o t i v a t e d by an urge t o u n d e r s t a n d r a t h e r t h a n by an a p r i o r i c o n s c i o u s i n t e n t t o ' s t r a i g h t e n out' t h e l e a r n e r . N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e y r e s u l t i n t h e m o d e l i n g o f a c c e p t a b l e forms. E x p a n s i o n s o f t h e c h i l d ' s u t t e r a n c e which s u p p l y o b l i g a t o r y morphemes must be c o n s i d e r e d as c o r r e c t i o n s even though r e s e a r c h e r s i n t h e p a s t have n ot always deemed them as such. Examples o f c o r r e c t i o n ' s i n c l u d e : 31 a. C h i l d : \" S t a r f i s h . \" ( p o i n t i n g t o o b j e c t s on a piano-book c o v e r ) Mother: \"No, t h e y ' r e n o t s t a r f i s h , t h e y ' r e f l o w e r s . \" F u n c t i o n : e x p l i c i t c o r r e c t i o n o f t h e t r u t h v a l u e o f t h e o t h e r ' s p r e d i c a t i o n : statement of n e g a t i v e i n s t a n c e s and p o s i t i v e i n s t a n c e s . b. C h i l d : \"De shame.\" Mother: \"The same.\" F u n c t i o n : c o r r e c t i o n o f p r o n u n c i a t i o n v i a r e p e t i t i o n i n s t a n d a r d \" E n g l i s h . c. Younger C h i l d : \"Care p u l l . \" O l d e r C h i l d : \" C a r e f u l , L .\" Younger C h i l d : \" C a r e f u l . \" F u n c t i o n : p o s s i b l y i n a d v e r t e n t c o r r e c t i o n o f p r o n u n c i a t i o n v i a r e p e t i t i o n p l u s t h e r e p e t i t i o n of t h e c o r r e c t i o n . 3 . c o n f i r m i n g t h e t r u t h v a l u e o f a p r o p o s i t i o n by s i m p l y r e p e a t i n g t h e o t h e r ' s statement e x a c t l y o r p a r t i a l l y a nd/ o r v a l i d a t i n g t h e statement w i t h a \"yes\" o r a \"That's r i g h t . \" C h i l d : \"See a r e p u ( s s ) y c a ( t ) s . \" (=These a r e p u s s y c a t s . ) - ^ 3AII o f t h e s e examples were c u l l e d from t h e speech r e -c o r d e d i n t h e s t u d y . The t r a n s c r i p t i o n o f t h e t a p e s i n v o l v e d t h e b r o a d p h o n e t i c t r a n s c r i p t i o n o f t h e c h i l d r e n ' s u t t e r a n c e s w h i c h had u n u s u a l phonology. S i n c e t h e use o f p h o n e t i c s would be v e r y awkward i n g i v i n g t h e s e examples and a r e n o t c r u c i a l t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n , we a r e u s i n g 'eye' s p e l l i n g and a r e r e p r e s e n t -i n g sounds which were n o t p e r c e i v e d by t h e t r a n s c r i b e r s by l e t t e r s p l a c e d i n p a r e n t h e s e s . 32 Mother: \" P u s s y c a t s , y e s . \" C h i l d : \" C a t s . \" F u n c t i o n : The mother's u t t e r a n c e c o n s t i t u t e s a c o n f i r m a t i o n , p l u s a c o r r e c t i o n o f p r o n u n c i a t i o n by s u p p l y i n g t h e d e n t a l f r i c a t i v e s and s t o p t . The c h i l d acknowledges the c o r r e c t i o n . 4 . p h r a s i n g an: i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n which t e s t s the knowledge o r a b i l i t i e s o f t h e l e a r n e r . An i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t v i o l a t e s t h e m i n i m a l s e t o f n e c e s s a r y c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e performance o f t h e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n (as f o r m u l a t e d by Garvey 1977 ) i n t h a t a. t h e speaker a l r e a d y knows t h e answer o r knows what c o u l d count as a p o s s i b l e answer-; b. the s p e a k e r does n o t r e a l l y want t o know t h e answer but wants t o h e a r how t h e l i s t e n e r w i l l r e s p o n d ; and c. t h e speaker does n o t assume t h e l i s t e n e r ' s a b i l i t y o r w i l l i n g n e s s t o d i v u l g e t h e answer but p r o c e e d s t o check out t h a t a b i l i t y o r w i l l i n g n e s s . I n my v i e w, t h e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , i n i t s c e n t r a l c a s e , i s p h r a s e d as an i n t e r r o g a t i v e . But o t h e r g r a m m a t i c a l s t r u c t u r e s a r e u s e d a l s o . Some examples f o l l o w . i . The i n t e r r o g a t i v e \"What i s a cop?\" f u n c t i o n s as an i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n when t h e speaker a l r e a d y knows t h e sense o f t h e term 'cop'. i i . The e l l i p t i c a l \"Humpty Dumpty had a g r e a t . . . . \" prompts th e c h i l d t o f i n i s h t h e p h r a s e and complete t h e rhyme. 33 i i i . The o c c a s i o n a l q u e s t i o n s which p l a c e Wh-question words i n a n o n - i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n i n an u t t e r a n c e (Brown 1968) can sometimes be i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s . F o r example, i f t h e o c c a s i o n a l q u e s t i o n i n t r o d u c e s a new t o p i c i n t h e d i a l o g u e and t e s t s t h e knowledge o f t h e l e a r n e r , i t i s an i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n : Mother: \"We pour w a t e r m a what?\" ( w i t h f a l l i n g i n t o n a t i o n on what.) E x p r e s s i o n s w i t h v e r b s such as t a l k , t e l l and say r e q u e s t t h e l e a r n e r t o demonstrate l i n g u i s t i c s k i l l s . Examples i n c l u d e : i v . \" T a l k on t h e t e l e p h o n e . \" v. \" T e l l me t h e name o f t h i s a n i m a l . \" v i . \"Say microphone.\" A l t h o u g h c a s e s o f \"Say X\"and \"Can you say X?\" p r o d t h e c h i l d t o demonstrate p h o n e t i c i m i t a -t i o n and a r e t h u s i n s t a n c e s o f t h e most d i r e c t and i n t e n t i o n a l i n s t r u c t i o n , t h e y a r e v e r y l i k e l y t o be r a r e i n o c c u r r e n c e . I n d i r e c t r e q u e s t s t o demonstrate knowledge can be conveyed by s t a t e m e n t s w i t h t h e v e r b wonder. Examples i n c l u d e : v i i . \" I wonder i f t h a t i s a sewing machine\" o r \" I wonder what t h a t c o u l d be.\" 5. r e s p o n d i n g t o a s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n by g i v i n g t h e r e q u i s i t e answer. Responding w i t h a n o t h e r i n t e r -r o g a t i v e , a f a v o r i t e p l o y o f t e a c h e r s ( M i s h l e r 1 975 ) and an o p t i o n o c c a s i o n a l l y used by mothers (Moerk 1 9 7 6 ), u s u a l l y does n o t p r o v i d e a r e q u i s i t e answer. Only r e s p o n s e s which p r o v i d e s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n a r e r e g a r d e d as t e a c h i n g a c t s . 34 c , • 4 6. p o s i n g a c o n t i n g e n t query which r e q u e s t s the p a r t n e r t o r e p e a t , c o n f i r m , s p e c i f y , e l a b o r a t e upon, c o r r e c t , o r j u s t i f y d e t a i l s o f h i s p r e v i o u s u t t e r a n c e . T h e c o n t i n g e n t \"''Elsewhere i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e , v a r i a n t s o f the c o n t i n g e n t query a r e c a l l e d t h e query 'to r e a f f i r m c o r r e c t n e s s o f u n d e r -s t a n d i n g ' (Moerk 1 9 7 2 ) ; the ' c l a r i f i c a t i o n r e q u e s t ' ( L o n g h u r s t & S t e p a n i c h 1 9 7 5 ; C o r s a r o 1 9 7 7 ; C h e r r y 1 9 7 8 ) ; and the ' o c c a s i o n -a l q u e s t i o n ' (Brown 1 9 6 8 ) . •^Garvey ( 1 9 7 7 ) proposes a d e s c r i p t i v e model o f t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n , s t r u c t u r e , and use of t h e c o n t i n g e n t query i n d i s c o u r s e . The c o n t i n g e n t query i s deemed t o be a s p e c i a l i z e d v a r i a n t o f t h e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n because i t r e s t s upon a s i m i l a r s e t o f f e l i c i t y c o n d i t i o n s . I n Garvey's model, two t y p e s o f c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d — t h e s o l i c i t e d and the u n s o l i c i t e d . W ith t h e f i r s t t y p e , t h e s p e a k e r e n g i n e e r s t h e s i t u a t i o n so t h a t he s o l i c i t s a query from the l i s t e n e r w h ich t h e n p e r m i t s him to make t h e remark t h a t he o r i g i n a l l y i n t e n d e d t o make. S o l i c i t e d q u e r i e s o c c u r i n t h r e e c i r c u m -s t a n c e s and a r e a s t e r i s k e d i n the f o l l o w i n g examples: (1 ) i n summons-answer r o u t i n e s (\"Mom?\" #\"What?\"); ( 2 ) i n r h e t o r i c a l gambits (\"Know what?\" *\"What?\"); and ( 3 ) i n a p p r e c i a t i o n s e -quences (\"Humpity dumpity.\" *\"Humpity d u n t i t y ? \" \"That's funny, e h ? \" ) . S i n c e s o l i c i t e d q u e r i e s a r e s a i d i n o r d e r t o p r o v o k e a t t e n t i o n and n o t t o r e s u l t i n c l a r i f i c a t i o n , t h e y do n o t q u a l i f y as t e a c h i n g b e h a v i o r s . I n c o n t r a s t , t h e second t y p e of c o n t i n g e n t query, t h e u n s o l i c i t e d , f u n c t i o n s t o c l a r i f y o r t o c o r r e c t : i t m a i n t a i n s mutual u n d e r s t a n d i n g and r e p a i r s f a i l u r e s i n communication. I n Garvey's a n a l y s i s , each u n s o l i -c i t e d query has a s e l e c t i v i t y f u n c t i o n ( n o n s p e c i f i c , s p e c i f i c , p o t e n t i a l ) and a d e t e r m i n i n g f u n c t i o n ( r e p e t i t i o n , s p e c i f i c a -t i o n , c o n f i r m a t i o n , and e l a b o r a t i o n ) . W h i l e t h i s s t u d y acknowledges th e t h e o r y b u i l t by Garvey and uses h e r c r i t e r i a and examples t o i d e n t i f y a c o n t i n g e n t query, i t d i f f e r s i n some r e s p e c t . That i s , i t r e s t r i c t s i t s a n a l y s i s t o u n s o l i c i t e d c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s . The a n a l y s i s h e r e i s r a t h e r g e n e r a l : i t does n o t d i f f e r e n t i a t e between f u n c t i o n s . But i n an a t t e m p t t o n e t a l l c a s e s , i t adds r e q u e s t s f o r c o r r e c t i o n s and j u s t i f i c a t i o n s . The s t u d y a l s o p e r m i t s ' i n -s i n c e r e ' r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n embedded i n d i s c o u r s e t o be c o u n t e d a s c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s . The s e t o f p o s s i b l e c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s i s t h u s e n l a r g e d . The ontogeny of c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s i n t h e speech o f v e r y young l e a r n e r s d e s e r v e s t o be s t u d i e d but i s n o t a t t e m p t e d h e r e . The acronym CQ i s sometimes u s e d h e r e t o r e f e r to t h e c o n t i n g e n t query c a t e g o r y . 35 query, a c o n t e x t u a l l y dependent speech a c t , i s deemed t o be a s p e c i a l i z e d v a r i a n t o f the r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n because i t r e s t s upon a s i m i l a r s e t o f f e l i c i t y c o n d i t i o n s . I n t h e a n a l y s i s s e t f o r t h h e r e , the c o n t i n g e n t query may be ' i n s i n c e r e ' o r ' s i n c e r e ' i n i n t e n t . The c o n t i n g e n t query i s i d e n t i f i e d by t h r e e n e c e s s a r y c r i t e r i a : a. i n t e r r o g a t i v e s t r u c t u r e w hich b. q u e s t i o n s d e t a i l s mentioned or p o t e n t i a l l y 'presumed'^ i n t h e i m m e d i a t e l y a n t e c e d e n t u t t e r a n c e and w h i c h c. f u n c t i o n s t o c l a r i f y o r c o r r e c t d e t a i l s e x p l i c i t l y s t a t e d or i m p l i c i t l y presupposed or p a r a t a c t i c a l l y p o s s i b l e i n t h e p r e v i o u s u t t e r a n c e . aThe p o t e n t i a l l y 'presumed' d e t a i l s c o u l d be the f e l i c i t y c o n d i t i o n s h o l d i n g f o r the i l l o c u t i o n a r y f o r c e of t h e a n t e c e d e n t u t t e r a n c e . F o r example, the a s s e r t i o n \"I'm g o i n g t o do t h a t p u z z l e \" i s based on t h e c o n d i t i o n s t h a t t h e s p e a k e r i s s a y i n g what s/he b e l i e v e s t o be t r u e - - t h a t s/he i s w i l l i n g and a b l e t o do i t . The c o n t i n g e n t query can check on t h e s p e a k e r ' s w i l l i n g n e s s and a b i l i t y : \"Are you?\" o r \"Can y o u ? \" / \"Do you need any h e l p ? \" . S e c o n d l y , ' p o t e n t i a l ' d e t a i l s c o u l d b e a r a p a r a t a c t i c r e l a t i o n s h i p t o d e t a i l s a l r e a d y mentioned. I n t h i s c a s e , the CQ can prompt f o r d e t a i l s not c o m p l e t e l y l i s t e d . C h i l d : \"A doggie, a t i g e r , a b e a r . \" Mother: \"And what e l s e ? \" F u n c t i o n : I n Garvey's t e r m i n o l o g y t h i s i s a ( p o t e n t i a l ) r e q u e s t f o r e l a b o r a t i o n . 36 Examples of u n s o l i c i t e d c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s i n c l u d e t h e u t t e r -ances marked by an a s t e r i s k . a. C h i l d : g a r b l e d u t t e r a n c e Mother: *\"Hmmm?\" ( w i t h r i s i n g i n t o n a t i o n ) F u n c t i o n : n o n s p e c i f i c r e q u e s t f o r r e p e t i t i o n . b. ( i ) C h i l d : \"The v i l l a g e goes t h e r e . \" Mother: *\"The what goes t h e r e ? \" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r r e p e t i t i o n o f a s p e c i f i c c o n s t i t u e n t , ( i i ) C h i l d : \" F a s h i n g . \" Mother: *\"You're d o i n g what?\" F u n c t i o n : a g a i n a r e q u e s t f o r r e p e t i t i o n o f a s p e c i f i c c o n s t i t u e n t framed by an emphatic s e n t e n c e - f i n a l i n t e r r o g a t i v e , t h e s t r u c t u r e c a l l e d an o c c a s i o n a l q u e s t i o n . c. C h i l d : \"Here's a p o c k e t . \" Mother: * \" I s t h a t a p o c k e t ? \" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r c o n f i r m a t i o n o f a s p e c i f i c i t e m . d. C h i l d : \"Give me t h e hammer.\" Mother: *\"Which one?\" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r s p e c i f i c a t i o n . e. C h i l d : \"A r e d h a t . \" Mother: *\"And what e l s e ? \" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r e l a b o r a t i o n . f . C h i l d : \"Dat's a paper.\" Mother: * \" I s t h a t a p a per, n o t a b l a n k e t f o r t h e d o l l i e s t o s l e e p ? \" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r a c o n f i r m a t i o n / c o r r e c t i o n o f t r u t h v a l u e , (The o b j e c t i s a p i e c e o f c l o t h . ) 37 g. C h i l d : \" I need more p e o p l e . \" Second C h i l d : *\"Why?\" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r . j u s t i f i c a t i o n . h. I n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n a r e c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s i f t h e y s e m a n t i c a l l y o r p r a g m a t i c a l l y l i n k up w i t h t h e p r e v i o u s u t t e r a n c e , as i n : Mother: \"Which one does t h e b u t t e r f l y go i n ? \" C h i l d : \" I dunno.\" Mother: *\"Dpes i t go i n t h a t one?\" F u n c t i o n : p r o v i d e s a c l u e y e t a l s o r e q u e s t s t h e c h i l d t o demonstrate more knowledge. 7. r e s p o n d i n g t o a c o n t i n g e n t query i n which t h e l i s t e n e r r e p e a t s , c o n f i r m s , s p e c i f i e s , e l a b o r a t e s upon, c o r r e c t s or j u s t i f i e s d e t a i l s o f h i s / h e r own speech and i n t e n t i o n s f o r the b e n e f i t o f t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n a l p a r t n e r . D i s c u s s i o n o f t h e Language-Teaching Measures T a b l e 1 summarizes t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s t h a t t h e seven t y p e s o f t e a c h i n g b e h a v i o r s p o t e n t i a l l y make t o t h e under-s t a n d i n g o f language c o n t e n t , t h e i n t e r n a l i z i n g o f p r o c e d u r e s to conduct d i a l o g u e s , and the r e h e a r s a l and d i s p l a y o f know-l e d g e . I t presumes t h a t t h e t e a c h i n g o f language c o n t e n t i n -v o l v e s more t h a n the t e a c h i n g o f l a b e l s and t h e g e n e r a l i z i n g and c l a r i f y i n g o f c o n c e p t s - - i t i n v o l v e s t h e t e a c h i n g o f morph-o l o g y , c o n s t i t u e n t s t r u c t u r e , and t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s , t o o . 38 TABLE 1 LANGUAGE-TEACHING SPEECH ACTS POSSIBLE ROLES IN ACQUISITION PROMOTES UNDERSTANDING OF LINGUISTIC CONTENT CONVERSATIONAL PROCEDURES ACTS; A a B D E G H CAUSES REHEARSAL OF KNOWLEDGE 1 . o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s 2. c o r r e c t i o n s o f t r u t h v a l u e c o r r e c t i o n s o f l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n 3. c o n f i r m a t i o n s o f t r u t h 'value X [ X X (X)' X X (X)(X) X c o n f i r m a t i o n s o f l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n 4 . i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n X X (X)(X) 5. r e s p o n s e s t o s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n ( X ) ( X ) 6. c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s 7. r e s p o n s e s t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X a A = l e x i c o n ; B = p r o n u n c i a t i o n ; C=morphology; D=syntax, e i t h e r p h r a s e s t r u c t u r e r u l e s o r t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l r u l e s ; E = i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t o p i c ; F = t u r n - t a k i n g ; G=discourse c o h e s i o n ; H=remedying n o i s e o r c h a n n e l p roblems; I=causes ( l i n g u i s t i c ) p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g . denotes t h e p r e s e n c e o f a p o s s i b l e r o l e . C ( X ) denotes 'sometimes'. 3 9 The p o s s i b l e m e r i t s o f each t e a c h i n g a c t a r e now d i s c u s s e d . O s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s a r e an i m p o r t a n t e m p i r i c a l means by which a language l e a r n e r can i n f e r m e a n i n g f u l r e l a t i o n s h i p s between l a b e l s and examples. S i n c e o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s must f u l f i l l t h e s i n c e r i t y c o n d i t i o n t h a t t h e speaker and t h e h e a r e r a r e m u t u a l l y a t t e n d i n g t o t h e example w h i l e i t i s b e i n g l a b e l e d , o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s a r e measures o f communicative speech. When the l e a r n e r i s s u p p l i e d numerous examples o f o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s , s/he has many o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o master v o c a b u l a r y , t o n e g o t i a t e t h e sense o f c o n c e p t s , and t o g e n e r a l -i z e c o n c e p t s t o new exemplars. I n Newport's s t u d y ( 1 9 7 7 ) i i n c r e a s e d p r o d u c t i o n o f d e i c t i c u t t e r a n c e s by mothers (as i n \"That's an a p p l e \" ) c o r r e l a t e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y w i t h c h i l d r e n ' s i n c r e a s e d v o c a b u l a r y s i z e ( r = . 7 6 ) and w i t h noun p h r a s e e l a b o r a t i o n ( r = . 5 6 ) . I t i s n o t e w o r t h y t h a t t h e f r e q u e n c y of t h e i n d e f i n i t e \"What's t h a t ? \" r e q u e s t i n which t h e l a b e l i s n o t modeled f a i l s t o p r e d i c t language growth. Newport's f i n d i n g r e g a r d i n g t h e noun p h r a s e e l a b o r a t i o n i s i n t e r e s t i n g because i t s u g g e s t s t h a t d e i c t i c u t t e r a n c e s / o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s have a s y n t a c t i c e f f e c t as w e l l as a l e x i c a l e f f e c t : by m o d e l i n g f o r t h e l e a r n e r t h e use of s p e c i f i c n o m i n a l s r a t h e r t h a n t h e use o f c o n t e x t - b o u n d pronouns, t h e y promote t h e growth o f t h e noun p h r a s e . I n t h e p a s t , b e h a v i o r i s t s have c l a i m e d a fundamental r o l e f o r t h e s o c i a l environment i n v o c a b u l a r y development. However, i t seems t h a t t h e s o c i a l environment may i n f l u e n c e s y n t a c t i c d e v e l o p -ment and use as w e l l . 40 W h i l e o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s can he g i v e n f o r o b j e c t s , a t t r i b u t e s , a c t s , and s t a t e s , t h i s s t u d y f o c u s e s on t h e c e n t r a l c a s e - - o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s f o r o b j e c t s but w i t h a s i d e l i n e c o n c e r n w i t h one t y p e o f a t t r i b u t e - - c o l o r . Immediate feedback on l i n g u i s t i c performance f a c i l i t a t e s communication a c c u r a c y and u n d o u b t e d l y has l o n g - r a n g e con-sequences. As w e l l - t i m e d f eedback, c o r r e c t i o n s / c o n f i r m a t i o n s o f t r u t h v a l u e and l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n can a s s i s t t h e l e a r n e r t o match l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n s w i t h c i r c u m s t a n c e s , t o c l a r i f y t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f c o n c e p t s , and t o l e a r n t h e s t a n d a r d forms of e x p r e s s i o n j u s t a t t h e t i m e t h a t t h e c h i l d i s t r y i n g t o e x p r e s s h i s c o n c e r n s . C o r r e c t i o n s / c o n f i r m a t i o n s o f l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n p o s s i b l y cause t h e l e a r n e r t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e o p e r a -t i o n o f s y n t a c t i c and m o r p h o l o g i c a l r u l e s . S i n c e feedback f o l l o w s p r e v i o u s c l a i m s , i t a l s o shows t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t u r n -t a k i n g , d i s c o u r s e c o h e s i o n , and o c c a s i o n a l l y t h e c l e a r i n g - u p of c h a n n e l problems. Requests and t h e i r r e s p o n s e s r e v e a l t h e i n i t i a t i o n and maintenance of d i s c o u r s e . Requests f o r i n f o r m a t i o n impose o b l i g a t i o n s on t h e h e a r e r and have a h i g h c o n v e r s a t i o n a l p u l l v a l u e : t h e y p r o v i d e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r l i n g u i s t i c p r a c t i c e and p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g . The g r e a t v a r i e t y of i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n r e v e a l s t h e d i v e r s e ways t h a t t e a c h e r s can engage l e a r n e r s . F o r example, t h e e l l i p t i c a l s t r u c t u r e s w h i c h prompt f o r c o m p l e t i o n a r e good i n s t r u m e n t s f o r t r a i n i n g i n t h e a n a l y s i s o f s e n t e n c e c o n s t i t u e n t s (Moerk's c l a i m 1974). Responses t o s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e w o r l d l y i n f o r m a t i o n and l e x i c a l and p r o n u n c i a t i o n models when t h e l e a r n e r e x p r e s s e s 41 a need t o know. C o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s a r e s p e c i a l i z e d r e q u e s t s which remedy c h a n n e l problems: t h e y seek t o c l a r i f y messages which a r e unheard, ambiguous, i n c o r r e c t , i n c o m p l e t e , o r un-j u s t i f i a b l e . Responses t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s r e a d j u s t c a s e s o f f a i l u r e i n comprehension. S i n c e r e q u e s t s a r e o f t e n p h r a s e d as i n t e r r o g a t i v e s and t h e i r r e s p o n s e s as s t a t e m e n t s , r e q u e s t s and t h e i r r e s p o n s e s a r e s y n t a c t i c a l l y r e l a t e d . Q u e s t i o n and answer i n t e r a c t i o n s a r e i n d i s p e n s a b l e t o o l s t o h e l p t h e c h i l d t o u n d e r s t a n d and e x e r -c i s e t h e r u l e s o f q u e s t i o n t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s i n a l l t h e i r d i v e r s i t y - - y e s / n o , t a g , Wh-, and o c c a s i o n a l q u e s t i o n s . S h i f t i n g from l a n g u a g e - t e a c h i n g examples, we t u r n t o the c l i m a t e o f t h e t e a c h i n g / l e a r n i n g s i t u a t i o n and d i s c u s s t h e tone o f t h e l i n g u i s t i c feedback and t h e power r e l a t i o n s h i p s between p a r t n e r s . Tone o f L i n g u i s t i c Feedback O p t i o n s One way t o a s s e s s t h e a t t i t u d e s o f c o n v e r s a t i o n a l p a r t n e r s t oward each o t h e r i s t o l o o k a t t h e tone o f t h e l i n g u i s t i c f e edback t h a t t h e y t y p i c a l l y convey. F o l l o w i n g a t t e m p t s t o a c c o m p l i s h some t a s k or make some c l a i m , p a r t n e r s can be p o s i t i v e o r n e g a t i v e , a c c e p t i n g o r r e j e c t i n g , a g r e e -a b l e o r d i s a g r e e a b l e . I n d o i n g so, t h e y can employ v o i c e m o d u l a t i o n s , l e x i c o n (Dummy, wrong, g r e a t ) , and 'charged' speech a c t s . S i n c e t h e p h o n e t i c measurement and t h e i n t e r -p r e t a t i o n o f superimposed p a r a l i n g u i s t i c f e a t u r e s — v a r i a t i o n s 42 i n l o u d n e s s , p i t c h , d u r a t i o n , openness, c l i p p i n g - - i s a new a r e a i n communication t h e o r y (Lyons 1977). t h e assessment o f t h e c l i m a t e o f r e l a t i o n s h i p s by e x c l u s i v e l y c o n s i d e r i n g v o i c e m o d u l a t i o n s cannot be at t e m p t e d h e r e . I n s t e a d , t h e a t t i t u d e s o f t h e mothers and f i r s t b o r n g i r l s a r e gauged by t h e i r p o s i t i v e o r n e g a t i v e r e a c t i o n s which s u r f a c e i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y - t o n e d speech a c t s . S i n c e c o n s i s t e n t p a t t e r n s of i n t o n a t i o n and s t r e s s have s t r u c t u r a l and i n t e r p r e t i v e i m p o r t a n c e , t h e y must be c o n s i d e r e d as c l u e s i n i n f e r r i n g t h e f o r c e o f speech a c t s . P a r a l i n g u i s t i c f e a t u r e s a r e i n d e e d n o t e d but a r e i n t e r p r e t e d 1 i n t u i t i v e l y ' , a s a d j u n c t s t o t h e c e n t r a l l i n g u i s t i c d e v i c e s which s i g n a l i l l o c u t i o n a r y f o r c e - - w o r d o r d e r , s t r e s s , i n t o n a -t i o n a l c o n t o u r , mood o f v e r b , o r p e r f o r m a t i v e v e r b . A f f e c t i v e Feedback: O p e r a t i o n a l D e f i n i t i o n s Measures s e l e c t e d to i n d i c a t e n e g a t i v e - a f f e c t speech a c t s i n c l u d e : 1. c o r r e c t i n g t h e t r u t h v a l u e o f t h e o t h e r ' s p r o p o s i -t i o n i n n e g a t i v e ways by s t a t i n g t h a t t h e i n s t a n c e i s n o t an a p p r o p r i a t e i n s t a n c e . C h i l d : \" A f f e . \" Mother: \"That's n o t a g i r a f f e . \" 2. c o r r e c t i n g t h e l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n of t h e o t h e r i n n e g a t i v e ways by s t a t i n g \"That's n o t how to say X.\" 3. c o r r e c t i n g the b e h a v i o r o f t h e o t h e r i n n e g a t i v e ways by s t a t i n g e x p r e s s i o n s such as \"That's n o t how i t i s done,\" o r \"You're n o t supposed t o s i t on t h e t a b l e . \" 4 3 4 . d i s a g r e e i n g w i t h o r r e j e c t i n g o r r e f u s i n g t h e o t h e r ' s c l a i m . F o r example: Younger C h i l d : \" I ' l l show y'how, okay?\" O l d e r C h i l d : \"No, I'm gonna show you how.\" 5. c r i t i c i z i n g t h e o t h e r ' s q u a l i t i e s , a b i l i t i e s , o r manner o f a c t i n g , as i n \"You're n ot v e r y smart, a r e you?\" o r \"You don't know how t o do t h i s . \" Measures s e l e c t e d t o i n d i c a t e p o s i t i v e - a f f e c t speech a c t s a r e t h e r e v e r s e o f t h e n e g a t i v e ones and i n c l u d e : 1. c o r r e c t i n g t h e t r u t h v a l u e o f t h e o t h e r ' s p r o p o s i -t i o n i n n e u t r a l o r p o s i t i v e ways by p r o v i d i n g o n l y an a p p r o p r i a t e i n s t a n c e i n r e s p o n s e t o an i n c o r r e c t one. F o r example: C h i l d : \"That's a b a r r e l . \" Mother: \" I t ' s a b l o c k , I t h i n k . \" 2. c o r r e c t i n g t h e l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e o t h e r i n n e u t r a l o r p o s i t i v e ways by s i m p l y r e p e a t i n g o r r e p h r a s i n g t h e o t h e r ' s u t t e r a n c e i n s t a n d a r d form, as i n , C h i l d : \"My t a teemo mus t e e . \" Mother: \"That's r i g h t , t h a t i s a C h r i s t m a s t i m e t r e e . \" 3 . c o r r e c t i n g t h e b e h a v i o r o f t h e o t h e r i n n e u t r a l o r p o s i t i v e 'ways by s t a t i n g how t h e t a s k s h o u l d be a c c o m p l i s h e d , as i n , \" I t would work b e t t e r i f you s a t on t h e c h a i r . \" 4 . p r a i s i n g t h e o t h e r ' s q u a l i t i e s o r a b i l i t i e s , as i n , \"Good f o r you,\" \"You a r e r i g h t on,\" \"You're a c l e v e r g i r l , a r e n ' t you?\" 44 5. e n c o u r a g i n g the o t h e r t o improve or p r o v i d i n g p o s i t i v e c o n f i r m a t i o n t h a t t h e o t h e r ' s p r o g r e s s i s s a t i s f a c t o r y , as i n , \"Keep on t r y i n g now,\" \"Good, good,\" o r \"That's i t . \" D i s c u s s i o n o f t h e Tone of Feedback Measures ' A c c e p t i n g ' feedback i s assumed t o be more f a c i l i t a t i v e f o r e m o t i o n a l and l i n g u i s t i c growth t h a n ' r e j e c t i n g ' feedback f o r s e v e r a l r e a s o n s ( N e l s o n 1 9 7 3 ; Amidon & Giammatteo 1 9 6 7 ; R a r d i n 1 9 7 7 )• F i r s t of a l l , n e g a t i v e feedback i s p s y c h o l o g i c a l -l y d i f f i c u l t t o t a k e . Disagreements a r e u n p l e a s a n t ; c r i t i c i s m s can be s c a t h i n g . Second, n e g a t i v e feedback i s s e m a n t i c a l l y d i f f i c u l t t o comprehend. N e g a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s c o n t r a d i c t t h e v i e w s o f the l e a r n e r and a r e d i f f i c u l t t o accommodate t o . There i s a l s o e m p i r i c a l e v i d e n c e t h a t n e g a t i v e c a s e s may not be n e c e s s a r y i n t h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f words but even may be c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e ( G r u e n d e l 1 9 7 7 ) . I n a r e v i e w , N e l s o n ( 1 9 7 9 : 144) w r i t e s : p r e s e n t i n g t h e c h i l d w i t h a statement such as t h a t ' s n o t a dog, i t ' s a h o r s e may have a p a r a d o x i c a l e f f e c t i f t h e c h i l d i s n o t y e t s y n t a c t i c a l l y p r o f i c i e n t . The c h i l d may f a i l to code the n e g a t i v e , n o t e i n s t e a d t h a t h i s own word (dog) has been a f f i r m e d by t h e a d u l t and i f he n o t e s th e c o r r e c t i o n h o r s e , may assume t h a t i t i s an a l t e r n a t i v e f o r m u l a t i o n f o r dog. J u s t as c h i l d r e n do n o t seem t o be b o t h e r e d by h a v i n g a s i n g l e f o rm f o r s e v e r a l r e f e r e n t s (da f o r dad, duck and dog, f o r example) t h e y do n o t seem to be c o n c e r n -ed a t f i r s t about more t h a n one word f o r a s i n g l e r e f e r e n t . U s u a l l y , though, p a r t n e r s ' a c t s o f r e j e c t i o n and r e f u s a l a r e n o t s y n t a c t i c a l l y e l a b o r a t e d ( E r v i n - T r i p p 1 9 7 7 ) and t h u s t h e y f a i l t o model s t r u c t u r a l c o m p l e x i t y which l e a d s 45 to f u r t h e r growth. N e l s o n (1973) o p e r a t i o n a l l y d e f i n e d ' r e j e c t i o n ' as a v e r b a l i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e words o r a c t i o n s o f c h i l d r e n were i n a p p r o p r i a t e ; h e r d e f i n i t i o n subsumes t h e n e g a t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s o f t r u t h v a l u e , l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n , and b e h a v i o r d i s t i n g u i s h -ed above. N e l s o n (1973s91) d e t e c t e d a s i g n i f i c a n t n e g a t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n (-.43, p=0 .05 ) between m a t e r n a l r a t e of r e j e c t i o n and c h i l d r e n ' s mean l e n g t h of u t t e r a n c e f o r c h i l d r e n aged 24 months. C o n s i d e r a b l e c o n s t r a i n t i s r e q u i r e d t o r e a c t t o p r e -s c h o o l e r s i n s u p p o r t i v e ways s i n c e t h e y behave im m a t u r e l y and o f t e n c a n t a n k e r o u s l y and u n p r e d i c t a b l y . N e v e r t h e l e s s , ob-s e r v a t i o n s r e v e a l a number of p o s i t i v e o p t i o n s i n r e s p o n d i n g t o a . c h i l d who o v e r g e n e r a l i z e s a word o r e x p r e s s e s an unconven-t i o n a l view. The s e n s i t i v e p a r t n e r can a l l o w t h e o v e r g e n e r a l -i z a t i o n t o p a s s , on the grounds t h a t t h e c h i l d i s not r e a d y f o r the c o n t r a r y n o t i o n o r does n o t need t h e c o r r e c t i n f o r m a t i o n a t t h e ti m e . On the o t h e r hand, t h e p a r t n e r can p r o v i d e a p o s i t i v e i n s t a n c e ( h o r s e ) , o r use a p a r e n t h e t i c a l v e r b (\"I t h i n k t h a t ' s a h o r s e , \" \" I wonder i f t h a t i s a h o r s e , \" \"That's a ho r s e , I suppose\") which g i v e s t h e c h i l d some leeway t o r e a s o n i n an u n u s u a l way. Power R e l a t i o n s h i p s C o n s i d e r a t i o n s Power depends upon s t a t u s d e t e r m i n e d by one's age, 46 s i z e , degree o f knowledge, w e a l t h , p r e s t i g e . Power may be d i s t r i b u t e d i n h i e r a r c h i c a l ( d o m i n a n t / s u b o r d i n a t e ) o r e g a l i -t a r i a n ways. Dominant p e r s o n s may choose t o i n i t i a t e i n t e r -a c t i o n s and t o c o n t r o l t h e o t h e r s ' b e h a v i o r by p r o h i b i t i n g , o r d e r i n g , making h i n t s o r f i r s t p e r s o n a s s e r t i o n s o r n o r m a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s . S u b o r d i n a t e s a w a i t t h e i r t u r n t o speak and a r e f o r c e d t o comply, t o f o l l o w t h e o r d e r s , t o t a k e the h i n t s , and to f o l l o w t h e r u l e s . I n c o n t r a s t , e g a l i t a r i a n r e l a t i o n s h i p s r e v e a l a sense o f s o l i d a r i t y and a r e marked by a u n i t y of purpose, i n t e r e s t , o r sympathy. E q u a l p a r t n e r s use s i m i l a r forms o f a d d r e s s t o each o t h e r and have e q u a l r i g h t s t o i n i t i a t e a c o n v e r s a t i o n a l t u r n . I n s t e a d o f i s s u i n g o r d e r s , t h e y may i n i t i a t e a p o l i t e r e q u e s t or s u g g e s t i o n o r o f f e r . They may or may n o t choose t o re s p o n d to t h e r e q u e s t o r s u g g e s t i o n o r o f f e r . The o p t i o n s a r e not p r e s c r i b e d . I n t e r a c t i o n s among f a m i l y members can be a t e i t h e r extremes of t h e power d i s t r i b u t i o n . P a r e n t s can deny t h e i r customary a u t h o r i t a r i a n p o s i t i o n s i n f a v o r o f s o l i d a r i t y ones w i t h t h e i r c h i l d r e n . S i b l i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s can be h i e r a r c h i c a l w i t h t h e e l d e s t c h i l d u s i n g age, s t a t u r e , g r e a t e r l i n g u i s t i c f a c i l i t y and c o g n i t i v e powers t o p r e s s u r e t h e younger c h i l d r e n . But s i b l i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s a l s o have t h e p o t e n t i a l t o become e g a l i t a r i a n because t h e f r e q u e n t i n t e r a c t i o n , t h e d u r a b i l i t y o f the r e l a t i o n s h i p s and the g r e a t commonality o f e x p e r i e n c e s and v a l u e s ( C i c i r e l l i 1976) f o s t e r s o l i d a r i t y . S i b l i n g r e l a -t i o n s a r e s p e c i a l : t h e y a r e u s u a l l y much more i n t e n s e t h a n p e e r r e l a t i o n s and e x t e n d over l i f e t i m e s . 47 Power Measures: O p e r a t i o n a l D e f i n i t i o n s Measures o f power r e l a t i o n s f a l l i n t o two c a t e g o r i e s : d o m i n a t i n g speech a c t s and s o l i d a r i t y a c t s . D e f i n i t i o n s and examples f o r t h e d o m i n a t i n g speech a c t s now f o l l o w . D o m i n a t i n g Speech A c t s 1. p r o h i b i t i o n s — a c t s , i m p e r a t i v e i n mood, which f o r b i d o r debar, e.g. \"Don't do t h a t , \" \"Hold i t , \" \"Wait a m inute,\" o r \"Stop i t . \" 2. o r d e r s — a c t s , i m p e r a t i v e i n mood, e x p r e s s e d t o an e q u a l or more l i k e l y t o a l i s t e n e r downward i n r a n k , w h i c h expect t h e l i s t e n e r t o comply. Examples i n c l u d e \"Put i t h e r e , \" and \"You w i l l put i t h e r e . \" 3. i n d i r e c t d i r e c t i v e s - - a c t s which i n d i r e c t l y c o n t r o l t h e i n t e r a c t i o n . Examples i n c l u d e e x p r e s s i o n s o f needs (\"I want X \" ) , f i r s t - p e r s o n a s s e r t i o n s ( \" I ' l l do t h i s \" and \" W e ' l l go h e r e \" ) , n o r m a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s (\"The c a r b e l o n g s h e r e \" ) , and s t a t e m e n t s w h i c h h i n t a t t h e r e q u i r e d a c t s (\"A d r i n k o f w a t e r would be n i c e \" = \"Get me a d r i n k o f w a t e r \" ) . S o l i d a r i t y Speech A c t s I n c o n t r a s t w i t h t h e d o m i n a t i n g speech a c t s a r e a s e t of s o l i d a r i t y speech a c t s which i n d i c a t e a g r e a t e r degree of e g a l i t a r i a n i s m and d e f e r e n c e between p a r t n e r s . F o u r t e e n speech a c t s can be defended as s o l i d a r i t y a c t s : s i n c e r e , R e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n ; r e q u e s t s f o r a c t i o n , p e r m i s s i o n , a s s e n t , and a t t e n t i o n ; o f f e r s ; s u g g e s t i o n s ; and c o n v e r s a t i o n a l r e s p o n s e s 48 t o t h e a f o r e m e n t i o n e d r e q u e s t s , o f f e r s , and s u g g e s t i o n s . As a group, s o l i d a r i t y a c t s can be i d e n t i f i e d e a s i l y . But some p a i r s o f s o l i d a r i t y a c t s cannot be d i f f e r e n t i a t e d from each o t h e r unambiguously. F o r example, t h e e x p r e s s i o n \"Are you t h i r s t y ? \" c o u l d be a s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , o r , i n some c o n t e x t s , i t c o u l d be an o f f e r . S i m i l a r l y , t h e sentence \"Do you want t o p u t t h a t on t h e t a b l e ? \" c o u l d be c o n s t r u e d as a s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n and/or a r e q u e s t f o r a c t i o n . S i n c e f i n e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n s amongst t h e s o l i d a r i t y a c t s a r e n o t e s s e n t i a l t o a s s e s s degree o f s o l i d a r i t y , t h e e n t i r e s e t o f a c t s i s c o n s i d e r e d as one c a t e g o r y . The - f o l l o w i n g examples i l l u s t r a t e t h e v a r i e t y o f r e -q u e s t s , o f f e r s , s u g g e s t i o n s and t h e i r r e s p o n s e s w h i c h f a l l i n t o t h e s o l i d a r i t y c l a s s . I n i t i a t i n g and re s p o n s e a c t s o f a s i m i l a r t y p e a r e l i s t e d t o g e t h e r . a . ( i ) O l d e r C h i l d : \"What a r e dese? M i c r o p h o n e s ? \" F u n c t i o n : s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n . The g i r l g e n u i n e l y wants h e r b r o t h e r t o c o n f i r m t h e t r u t h v a l u e o f h e r guess. To a s s i g n t h i s f u n c t i o n , t h e coder must impute i g n o r a n c e t o t h e speaker. ( i i ) C h i l d : \" W i l l you t a l k about i t ? \" Mother: \"Okay, I t h i n k i t must be w i n t e r 'cause t h e r e ' s snow.\" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o s i n c e r e , n o n - s p e c i f i c r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r -m a t i o n . The s o l i d a r i t y f u n c t i o n i s a s s i g n e d o n l y when t h e response f o l l o w s a n o n - s p e c i f i c r e q u e s t . When t h e r e s p o n s e 4-9 answers a s p e c i f i c r e q u e s t w i t h s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n , i t i s deemed a t e a c h i n g ; a c t , as mentioned e a r l i e r . b. ( i ) Mother: \"Want t o put t h a t on t h e t a b l e o r on t h e f l o o r ? \" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r a c t i o n . The d i s j u n c t i v e r e q u e s t p r o v o k e s more t h a n a v e r b a l r e s p o n s e . ( i i ) C h i l d : \"Mom, l e t ' s r e a d t h i s . \" Mother: \"Okay, l e t ' s t a k e a l o o k now.\" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o r e q u e s t f o r a c t i o n . c. ( i ) O l d e r C h i l d : \"Can I p l a y de p i a n o ? \" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r p e r m i s s i o n . • ( i i ) Younger C h i l d : \" I gonna t a l k t o t h e microphone, kay? \" O l d e r C h i l d : \"Kay.\" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o r e q u e s t f o r p e r m i s s i o n . d. ( i ) O l d e r C h i l d : \"You l o v e d a t , don't you?\" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r a s s e n t . ( i i ) Younger C h i l d : \"You c a ( l l ) me on d i s phone, okay?\" O l d e r C h i l d : \"Kay.\" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o r e q u e s t f o r a s s e n t . e. ( i ) Mother: \"Look a t a l l t h e f u r he's got t h e r e . \" 7 F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r a t t e n t i o n . ' ''imperatives such as \"Watch me:\" \"Look,\" \"See,\" \" S n i f f , \" \" S m e l l , \" and \"Touch t h i s \" a r e l a b e l e d s o l i d a r i t y a c t s i n t h i s s t u d y r a t h e r t h a n o r d e r s , on t h e grounds t h a t t h e s p e a k e r s a r e making e f f o r t s t o s e t up communication. Many of t h e r e q u e s t s f o r a t t e n t i o n a r e p r e l u d e s t o t e a c h i n g ; t h e y deserve t o be c o n s i d e r e d as s u p p o r t i v e a c t s r a t h e r t h a n d o m i n a t i n g a c t s . 50 ( i i ) C h i l d : \"Watch how I p l a y d i s p i a n o . \" Mother: \" A l l r i g h t , one tune.\" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o r e q u e s t f o r a t t e n t i o n . f . (1) O l d e r C h i l d : \"Now i f you need h e l p o r want a s t o r y about Bamhi, I ' l l r e a d you one.\" F u n c t i o n : o f f e r . ( i i ) C h i l d : \" I wan' you have t h i s one,\" Mother: \"Okay, t h a n k s . \" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o o f f e r . g. ( i ) O l d e r C h i l d : \"You can do dem up i f you want again.\" ( C o n t e x t : Dem r e f e r s t o the p u z z l e s which th e younger c h i l d i s h o l d i n g . ) F u n c t i o n : s u g g e s t i o n . ( i i ) C h i l d : \"Wan1 me t o show you de p ( l ) a y d i s ? \" Mother: \"Sure.\" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e to s u g g e s t i o n . Examples b, c_, d, f , and g i n d i c a t e t h a t w h i l e s y n t a c -t i c e l a b o r a t i o n i s t y p i c a l o f t h e s o l i d a r i t y speech a c t s which i n i t i a t e t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n a l t u r n ( t h e r e q u e s t s f o r a c t i o n , p e r -m i s s i o n , a s s e n t , and the o f f e r s and s u g g e s t i o n s ) , s i n g l e -word r e p l i e s a r e common f o r the c o n v e r s a t i o n a l r e s p o n s e s W h i l e t h e s y n t a c t i c s t r u c t u r e of t h i s u t t e r a n c e r e -sembles t h a t o f the a c t c a l l e d t h e i n d i r e c t d i r e c t i v e i n t h i s s t u d y , t h i s u t t e r a n c e i s an example o f a s o l i d a r i t y a c t be-cause th e p u t a t i v e i n t e n t i o n o f the speaker i s to s h a r e . I f t h e i n t e n t i s t o o f f e r somebody something, t h e u t t e r a n c e i s coded as a s o l i d a r i t y a c t . 51 t o the a f o r e m e n t i o n e d r e q u e s t s , o f f e r s , and s u g g e s t i o n s . D i s c u s s i o n o f t h e D o m i n a t i n g and S o l i d a r i t y Measures U n l i k e t h e p r o h i b i t i o n s and o r d e r s which a r e i m p e r a t i v e i n mood and expect n o n - v e r b a l c o m p l i a n c e from a h e a r e r s u b j e c t t o t h e a u t h o r i t y o f a sp e a k e r , r e q u e s t s a r e more l i k e l y t o be i n t e r r o g a t i v e s w h i c h s o l i c i t v e r b a l r e s p o n s e s from a l i s t e n e r who s h a r e s a s i m i l a r p o s i t i o n a l o n g t h e continuum o f power d i s t r i b u t i o n . R e q u e s t s a r e v e r s a t i l e i n form and f u n c t i o n . A speaker can ' p u l l o f f a r e q u e s t by q u e s t i o n i n g a l i s t e n e r ' s b e l i e f s (\"Do you b e l i e v e t h a t . . . \" ) , knowledge (\"Do you know w h e t h e r . . . \" ) , a b i l i t i e s (\"Can y o u . . . \" ) , immediate i n t e n t i o n s (\"Are you g o i n g t o . . . \" ) , o r w i l l i n g n e s s (\"Would y o u . . . \" ) . That i s , t h e speaker can query t h e l i s t e n e r - b a s e d f e l i c i t y c o n d i -t i o n s upon which t h e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n o r a c t i o n h o l d s and t h e r e b y he might get t h e l i s t e n e r t o p e r f o r m t h e d e s i r e d a c t , c l e a r away p o t e n t i a l impasses, o r g i v e t h e l i s t e n e r j u s t cause t o r e s p o n d w i t h \" I don't b e l i e v e t h a t , \" \" I don't know,\" \" I c a n ' t , \" \"Yeah, I am,\" or \" I ' d o n ' t wanna.\" P r o h i b i t i o n s and o r d e r s demand ob e d i e n c e ; i n d i r e c t d i r e c t i v e s a r e u s e f u l f o r e s t a b l i s h i n g needs, t e r r i t o r i e s , and norms. I n t h e a n a l y s i s s e t f o r t h h e r e , r e q u e s t s a r e produced i n c a s e s o f i n t e r p e r s o n a l s e n s i t i v i t y : t h e y g i v e t h e l i s t e n e r o p t i o n s and t h u s a r e m i t i g a t e d , p o l i t e forms ( L a k o f f 1 9 7 3 ) . O f f e r s and s u g g e s t i o n s may be s t r u c t u r e d as i n t e r r o g a -t i v e s and t h u s r e s e m b l e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n (\"Would you l i k e a n o t h e r candy?\" \"Can we p u t t h e lawn c h a i r s h e r e ? \" ) . 52 Indeed, i n t e r r o g a t i v e s a r e prone t o ambiguous i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s as o f f e r s , s u g g e s t i o n s or r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n even when the l i n g u i s t i c and s i t u a t i o n a l c o n t e x t of t h e u t t e r a n c e i s probed t o i n f e r t h e s p e a k e r s ' p r a g m a t i c i n t e n t i o n s . But o f f e r s and s u g g e s t i o n s may a l s o be p h r a s e d as d e c l a r a t i v e s (\"Here's a n o t h e r candy f o r you\" \"We c o u l d p u t t h e lawn c h a i r s h ere\") or as e n j o i n i n g i m p e r a t i v e s (\"Let's have a n o t h e r candy\" \" L e t ' s p u t the lawn c h a i r s h e r e \" ) . C o n v e r s a t i o n a l r e s p o n s e s to r e q u e s t s , o f f e r s , and s u g g e s t i o n s show t h a t t h e l i s t e n e r s a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n or-s y m p a t h e t i c to t h e c o n c e r n s of t h e s p e a k e r s . The a l t e r n a t i v e s a r e to i g n o r e t h e c o n c e r n s or t o t a k e o f f on d i f f e r e n t t a n g e n t s . The ' dominating' and ' s o l i d a r i t y ' measures resemble th e 'tone o f l i n g u i s t i c feedback' measures i n t h a t t h e y a l l gauge the c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f i n t e n t i o n s , . a t t i t u d e s , and rank of p a r t -n e r s . Why be c o n cerned w i t h t h a t c o n f i g u r a t i o n ? D i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e c o n f i g u r a t i o n r e f l e c t predominant d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e ways t h a t c h i l d r e n a r e s o c i a l i z e d , which i n t u r n have conse-quences f o r language development, e l a b o r a t i o n , and use. B e r n s t e i n ( 1 9 7 2 : 4 8 5 - 4 8 9 ) d i s t i n g u i s h e s between impera-t i v e modes of s o c i a l c o n t r o l and c o n t r o l s based upon a p p e a l s . The i m p e r a t i v e mode of c o n t r o l r e d u c e s t h e r o l e d i s c r e t i o n a c c o r d e d t o t h e c h i l d : i t i s r e a l i z e d t h r o u g h a l e x i c a l l y and g r a m m a t i c a l l y p r e d i c t a b l e ' r e s t r i c t e d ' code (\"Shut up,\" \"Get out\") o r e x t r a v e r b a l l y t h r o u g h p h y s i c a l c o e r c i o n . S o c i a l c o n t r o l w hich r e s t s upon a p p e a l s p e r m i t s t h e c h i l d \" v a r y i n g degrees o f d i s c r e t i o n i n t h e sense t h a t t h e range of a l t e r n a -t i v e s , e s s e n t i a l l y l i n g u i s t i c , a r e a v a i l a b l e t o him\" (p. 4 8 5 ) . Two b r o a d t y p e s o f a p p e a l s can be p o s t u l a t e d — p o s i t i o n a l and p e r s o n a l . W h i l e \" p o s i t i o n a l a p p e a l s r e f e r the b e h a v i o r o f t h e c h i l d t o t h e norms which i n h e r e i n a p a r t i c u l a r o r u n i v e r s a l s t a t u s \" (p. 4 8 5 ) . p e r s o n a l a p p e a l s f o c u s upon t h e c h i l d as an i n d i v i d u a l r a t h e r t h a n upon h i s f o r m a l s t a t u s based on r a n k , age, or sex. The b a s i s o f p e r s o n a l c o n t r o l l i e s i n l i n g u i s t i c -a l l y e l a b o r a t e d i n d i v i d u a l i z e d meanings. Of t h e d o m i n a t i n g / s o l i d a r i t y measures, p r o h i b i t i o n s and o r d e r s r e f l e c t t h e i m p e r a t i v e mode of c o n t r o l ; i n d i r e c t d i r e c t i v e s which r e f e r t o norms r e f l e c t p o s i t i o n a l a p p e a l s ; s o l i d a r i t y measures r e f l e c t p e r s o n a l a p p e a l s . Modes of s o c i a l c o n t r o l i n f l u e n c e t h e r i c h n e s s o f t h e l i n g u i s t i c environment. Speech a c t s which f u n c t i o n t o d e t e r or c o n t r o l l a c k s y n t a c t i c e l a b o r a t i o n and a r e t h e o r e t i c a l l y l e s s c o n d u c i v e f o r language l e a r n i n g t h a n t h o s e w h i c h p e r m i t t h e s e l e c t i o n among a s e t o f o p t i o n s o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of f r e s h a l t e r n a t i v e s . Indeed, Newport, G l e i t m a n and G l e i t m a n ( 1 975 ) r e p o r t t h a t t h e more f r e q u e n t l y mothers produce i m p e r a t i v e u t t e r a n c e s , the more s l o w l y normal c h i l d r e n l e a r n t o produce b o t h noun p h r a s e c o n s t r u c t i o n s and a u x i l i a r i e s . The f o u r t h c a t e g o r y i s now examined: o v e r t demonstra-t i o n of language l e a r n i n g . O v ert D e m o n s t r a t i o n of Language L e a r n i n g C l a i m s S y m m e t r i c a l to o v e r t c a s e s o f language t e a c h i n g a r e 5k c o n s p i c u o u s i n s t a n c e s o f language l e a r n i n g . Young c h i l d r e n p a r t i c i p a t e i n d i a l o g u e s i n ways which d e v i a t e from t h e norms f o r a d u l t c o n v e r s a t i o n s ( t h a t i s , t h e y v i o l a t e a l l f o u r o f G r i c e ' s c o n v e r s a t i o n a l m a x i m s — q u a n t i t y , q u a l i t y , r e l a t i o n , and manner). Thereby t h e y r e v e a l a s p e c t s of t h e i r language-l e a r n i n g t a c t i c s . C h i l d r e n a t a p r i m i t i v e l e v e l of l i n g u i s t i c f u n c t i o n i n g n o t o r i o u s l y s t a t e what t h e y know or what t h e y a r e d o i n g i n s t e a d o f s t a t i n g what t h e l i s t e n e r wants o r needs t o know (Bloom & Lahey 1978). So when l e a r n e r s u n u s u a l l y l i n k up l i n g u i s t i c c a t e g o r i e s w i t h p r o p e r t i e s o f t h e c o n t e x t , when t h e y r e p e a t l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s , when t h e y acknowledge t h a t t h e y have a s s i m i l a t e d p r e v i o u s l y unknown e x p r e s s i o n s , when t h e y make s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , when t h e y r e s p o n d t o i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , and when t h e y use q u e r i e s t o m a i n t a i n c o n v e r s a t i o n s , t h e y o v e r t l y demonstrate t h e i r i n t e n t i o n s t o l e a r n and to u n d e r s t a n d language. S p e c i f i c a c t s which q u a l i f y as i n d i c a t o r s of language l e a r n i n g f o l l o w , a l o n g w i t h o p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n s and examples. Language l e a r n i n g : O p e r a t i o n a l D e f i n i t i o n s 1. g i v i n g an o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n by p o i n t i n g t o an o b j e c t i n t h e c o n t e x t and g i v i n g i t a name a l t h o u g h t h e l i s t e n e r a l r e a d y knows i t s name. O v e r g e n e r a l i z e d , i n a c c u r a t e d e f i n i t i o n s a l s o q u a l i f y as examples because t h e c h i l d seems t o i n t e n d t o share and v e r i f y the l a b e l s w i t h o t h e r s . 2. r e p e a t i n g a l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n o f t r u t h v a l u e o r e x p r e s s i o n . 55 i a. Mother: \"Who does i t l o o k l i k e ? \" C h i l d : \"Um, i t ' s Pun g l e s . \" Mother: \"Looks l i k e Humpty...\" C h i l d : \"Yeah.\" Mother: \"Humpty Dumpty.\" C h i l d : \"Yeah Humpty Dumpty, ha', ha', had a g r e a t t a ' . \" F u n c t i o n o f t h e i n t e r c h a n g e : the c h i l d g i v e s an i n a c c u r a t e guess t o the mother's t e s t q u e s t i o n . A f t e r the t r u t h v a l u e of the c h i l d ' s guess i s c o r r e c t e d , the c h i l d r e p e a t s t h e c o r r e c -t i o n . b. C h i l d : \"De shame.\" Mother: \"The same.\" C h i l d : \"Dat n o t same as your l i p s . \" F u n c t i o n : t h e c h i l d r e p e a t s t h e mother's c o r r e c t i o n o f l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n , t h a t i s , t h e c h i l d d e p a l a t a l i z e s h e r s i n same f o l l o w i n g t h e mother's example. 3. a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h a t p r e v i o u s l y unmentioned/unknown words have been p a r t i a l l y or t o t a l l y a s s i m i l a t e d , o r t h a t u n a c c e p t a b l e p r o n u n c i a t i o n s have been improved over a s t r e t c h of t i m e . a. Mother: \"What e l s e i s i n h e r e ? \" Mother: \"What o t h e r t o y s ? \" Mother: \" I s t h e r e a book t h e r e ? \" C h i l d : \" B o o ( k ) . \" (Looks a t t h e book.) F u n c t i o n : by f i n a l l y r e s p o n d i n g t o one o f the mother's t e s t q u e s t i o n s , t h e c h i l d acknowledges t h a t t h e r e i s a book and t h a t he knows i t s r e f e r e n t . 56 b. C h i l d : Mother: C h i l d : \" B ( l ) u e one?\" \"Yeah and t h e n t h e green one.\" \" G ( r ) e e n one?\" F u n c t i o n : u n t i l green i s mentioned,- t h e c h i l d does n ot name i t , a l t h o u g h he t a l k s about o t h e r c o l o r s - - b r o w n , orange, and b l u e - - d u r i n g a f i v e - m i n u t e p e r i o d . c. Mother: C h i l d : Mother: Ten u t t e r a n c e s l a t e r : C h i l d : \"What's t h a t ? \" \" ( S ) t o v e . \" \" Stove, l i k e Mommy's s t o v e , i s n ' t i t ? \" \"Wa' s t o v e . \" F u n c t i o n : t h e c h i l d acknowledges t h a t h i s p r o n u n c i a t i o n o f t h e word s t o v e has improved. 4. making a s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n : t h e l e a r n e r seems to need some i n f o r m a t i o n . 5. r e s p o n d i n g t o an i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n which p r o v i d e s e v i d e n c e of how t h e c h i l d i n t e r p r e t s h i s w o r l d and s t r u c t u r e s h i s knowledge o f the language. a. Mother: C h i l d : b. Mother: \"What a r e you p l a y i n g ? \" (Mother can see what t h e c h i l d i s p l a y i n g . ) \"A p i a n o . \" \" L e t ' s p l a y , h e r e ' s one, do you know t h i s ? \" (Mother p l a y s \" J i n g l e B e l l s \" on t h e pi a n o . ) 57 C h i l d s i n g s : \" J i n g l e B e l l s , ...\" 6. p o s i n g a c o n t i n g e n t query which r e q u e s t s t h e p a r t n e r t o r e p e a t , c o n f i r m , s p e c i f y , e l a b o r a t e o r j u s t i f y d e t a i l s o f t h e p r e v i o u s u t t e r a n c e . The s i n c e r e c o n t i n g e n t query, whether o f a t e a c h i n g o r o f a l e a r n i n g nature\", has t h e same s e t o f f e l i c i t y c o n d i t i o n s h o l d i n g f o r t h e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n p l u s an a d d i t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n r e l a t i n g t o c o n t e x t u a l dependency. I n t h e examples below, t h e c o n t i n g e n t query i s s t a r r e d . a. O l d e r C h i l d : \"Answer your t e l e p h o n e . \" Younger C h i l d : *\"What?\" O l d e r C h i l d : \"Answer your t e l e p h o n e . \" Younger C h i l d : \"Oh.\" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r r e p e t i t i o n , s i g n a l l e d p a r t i a l l y by r i s i n g i n t o n a t i o n . b. O l d e r C h i l d : \"That goes, j e s ' , t e d d y b e a r goes i n t o t h e y e l l o w . \" Younger C h i l d : *\"Dere bunbobear h e r e r i g h t ? \" O l d e r C h i l d : \"Yeah.\" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r c o n f i r m a t i o n . c. O l d e r C h i l d : \"Do you want me t o do i t a l l o ver a g a i n , M.?\" Younger C h i l d : •\"What?\" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r s p e c i f i c a t i o n , p a r t i a l l y s i g n a l l e d by f a l l i n g i n t o n a t i o n . d. Mother: C h i l d : \"Oh t h a t l o o k s l i k e a sewing machine.\" *\"Wha(t) f o r ? \" 58 Mother: \"For sewing c l o t h e s and t h i n g s . \" C h i l d : t * \" F o r what?\" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t s f o r e l a b o r a t i o n . e. Mother: \" I t h i n k t h i s man i s t r y i n g t o f r i g h t e n t h a t man.\" C h i l d : *\"Why?\" F u n c t i o n : r e q u e s t f o r e x p l a n a t i o n . 7. r e s p o n d i n g t o a c o n t i n g e n t query which r e q u e s t s a r e p e t i t i o n , c o n f i r m a t i o n , s p e c i f i c a t i o n , e l a b o r a t i o n , c o r r e c t i o n , j u s t i f i c a t i o n , o r d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f knowledge. I n t h e examples below, t h e u t t e r a n c e f o l l o w i n g t h e s t a r r e d c o n t i n g e n t query i s a r e s p o n s e t o a c o n t i n g e n t query. a. ( i ) C h i l d : \"Aa y e l l a go on h e r e . \" (= \"A l a d d e r go on here.\") Mother: *\"What d a r : l i n g ? \" C h i l d : \"Yadduh.\" (= \"Ladder.\") Mother: \"Oh, t h e l a d d e r goes i n t h e r e . \" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o n o n s p e c i f i c r e q u e s t f o r r e p e t i t i o n . ( i i ) C h i l d : \"Where does d a t ? \" Mother: *\"Huh?\" C h i l d : \"Wha(t) i s d i s t h i n g ? F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o n o n s p e c i f i c r e q u e s t f o r r e p e t i t i o n . b. C h i l d : \"Mom, t h i s t h i n g c a n ' t come o u t . \" Mother: *\"Can't i t ? \" C h i l d : \"No, i t c a n ' t . \" F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o r e q u e s t f o r c o n f i r m a t i o n . 59 c. C h i l d A: C h i l d B: C h i l d A: F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o d. C h i l d : Mother: C h i l d : F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o e. C h i l d : Mother: C h i l d : F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o c o r r e c t i o n . f . Mother: C h i l d : Mother: C h i l d : F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o g. Mother: C h i l d : Mother: C h i l d : F u n c t i o n : r e s p o n s e t o \"Give me t h e hammer.\" *\"Which one?\" \"That one.\" ( p o i n t s ) r e q u e s t f o r s p e c i f i c a t i o n . \"A r e d h a t . \" *\"And what e l s e ? \" \"A j e e p . \" r e q u e s t f o r e l a b o r a t i o n . \" I s i t d'other way?\" * \" I t h i n k you h a f t a go, t h a t , no, i t ' s g o i n g t o f a l l down t h a t way, i s n ' t i t ? \" \"Des.\" (=\"Yes. H) r e q u e s t f o r t h e c o n f i r m a t i o n o f a \"Which i s y o u r f a v o r i t e , w hich do you t h i n k i s t h e n i c e s t ? \" \" D i s one.\" *\"Why?\" \"'cause i t i s : \" r e q u e s t f o r e x p l a n a t i o n . \"Which one does t h e b u t t e r f l y go i n ? \" \" I dunno.\" *\"Does i t go i n t h a t one?\" \"No. \" a r e q u e s t t o demonstrate knowledge. D i s c u s s i o n of the L e a r n i n g - D e m o n s t r a t i n g Measures 60 What do t h e seven t y p e s of l e a r n i n g b e h a v i o r s r e v e a l about th e l e a r n e r s ' c o n c e r n s w i t h language c o n t e n t and con-v e r s a t i o n a l p r o c e d u r e s ? O s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s become t h e v e h i c l e s f o r l e a r n e r s t o show the i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t t h e y have a s s i m i l a t e d and t o check up on i t s a c c u r a c y . The r e p e t i t i o n s o f c o r r e c t i o n s and acknowledgements a r e s i g n s t h a t t h e l e a r n e r s a r e a t t u n e d t o t h e i n f o r m a t i o n and forms t h a t t h e y a r e b e i n g s u p p l i e d . R e p e t i t i o n s and acknowledge-ments i n v o l v e immediate and d e l a y e d i m i t a t i o n , ' r e s p e c t i v e l y . Q 7The v a l u e g i v e n t o i m i t a t i o n as a l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g y i n language a c q u i s i t i o n f l u c t u a t e s a c c o r d i n g to t h e l e a r n i n g t h e o r i e s p r e v a i l i n g a t t h e t i m e , t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f language f a v o r e d , and t h e e m p i r i c a l d a t a a v a i l a b l e . E a r l y r e s e a r c h (McCarthy 1 954 ) s u b s c r i b e d t o b e h a v i o r i s t l e a r n i n g t h e o r i e s and assumed t h a t i m i t a t i o n p l a y s a c r i t i c a l r o l e i n b a s i c v o c a l and l i n g u i s t i c t r a i n i n g , e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g i n f a n c y . E r v i n ( 1 9 6 4 ) f o u n d , i n a l o n g i t u d i n a l s t u d y , t h a t f o r f o u r out o f f i v e c h i l d r e n between the ages of 22 and Jk months, the g r a m m a t i c a l r u l e s g o v e r n i n g spontaneous speech a l s o a c -c ounted f o r i m i t a t i v e u t t e r a n c e s . She c o n c l u d e d t h a t i m i t a t i o n was n o t a f u n c t i o n a l p r o c e s s i n s y n t a c t i c o r m o r p h o l o g i c a l development. Her c o n c l u s i o n s were w i d e l y c i t e d . S l o b i n ( 1 9 6 6 ) n o t e d t h a t Adam and Eve's i m i t a t i o n s of p a r e n t a l e x p a n s i o n s ( i n t h e H a r v a r d s t u d i e s ) were g r a m m a t i c a l l y p r o g r e s s i v e . ' I m i t a t i o n s o f p a r e n t a l e x p a n s i o n s ' a r e r e l a t e d t o the ' r e p e t i t i o n s of c o r r e c t i o n s ' used h e r e . C u r r e n t s t u d i e s ( N e l s o n 1 9 7 3 ; Bloom, Hood, & Lightbown 1 9 7 4 ; W h i t e h u r s t & V a s t a 1 975 ) a r e r e a s s e s s i n g the f u n c t i o n s o f i m i t a t i o n . A l t h o u g h spontaneous i m i t a t i o n appears t o be a r e l a t i v e l y i n e f f i c i e n t language l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g y , Bloom e t a l . suggest t h a t some c h i l d r e n s e l e c t i v e l y i m i t a t e t h o s e words and s t r u c t u r e s i n speech which t h e y a r e i n the p r o c e s s of l e a r n i n g and t h a t i m i t a t i n g h e l p s them to r e p r e s e n t t h e l i n g u i s t i c i n -f o r m a t i o n i n t e r n a l l y . 61 C h i l d r e n u n d e r s t a n d and produce r e q u e s t s i n t h e b e g i n n i n g s t a g e s of language a c q u i s i t i o n (Dore 1975 )» t h e y master t h e r e q u e s t f o r a c t i o n p r i o r t o t h e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a -t i o n . I n f a n t s make use o f i n t o n a t i o n c o n t o u r s t o d e c i p h e r and produce r e q u e s t s (Tonkova-Yampol'skaya 1973). I n t e r r o g a t i v e s a r e one way t o phrase r e q u e s t s . R a t e s of f o r m i n g i n t e r r o g a t i v e s r i s e p r o n o u n c e d l y between t h e ages of two and f o u r (Moerk 197*0.. The a b i l i t y t o frame i n t e r r o g a -t i v e s i s s u b j e c t t o development ( B e l l u g i 1965) because i t r e l i e s upon t h e p r e r e q u i s i t e m a stery of components of t h e a u x i l i a r y system, s e n t e n t i a l n e g a t i v e s , and c o m p l i c a t e d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s (Wh- term p r e p o s i n g s , a u x i l i a r y - i n v e r s i o n s , t a g f o r m a t i o n s ) . A l t h o u g h \" . . . i t t a k e s a c o n s i d e r a b l e p e r i o d of ti m e u n t i l t h e 'Question-answer' game as f o r m a l i z e d by l i n g u i s t i c means i s u n d e r s t o o d and ma s t e r e d by t h e c h i l d \" (Moerk 1974:110), t h e a b i l i t y t o check on communication d y s f u n c t i o n s d e v e l o p s e a r l y : c h i l d r e n as young as two y e a r s p h r a s e p r i m i t i v e c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s (Thew 1975)- L e a r n e r s as w e l l as f u l l y - f l e d g e d c o n v e r -s a t i o n a l i s t s can use c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s t o c l a r i f y messages and i n t e n t s . Because c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s can r e f e r t o many d i f f e r e n t c o n s t i t u e n t s , r e s p o n s e s w i t h t h e c o r r e c t i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d i r e c t e v i d e n c e o f comprehension a b i l i t i e s and aware-ne s s o f c o n s t i t u e n t f u n c t i o n (Garvey 1977). O f t e n , i f t h e p a r t i c u l a r c o n s t i t u e n t b e i n g q u e r i e d i s s i g n a l l e d by i n t o n a -t i o n a l o n e , c o r r e c t r e s p o n s e s p r o v i d e e v i d e n c e of t h e comprehen-s i o n o f v e r y s u b t l e p r o s o d i c c o n s t r a s t s somewhat u n a i d e d by s i t u a t i o n a l l y - s i g n a l l e d cues. 62 Responses t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s a l s o \" p r o v i d e oppor-t u n i t i e s f o r t h e c h i l d t o l e a r n t o p l a c e c o n s t i t u e n t s i n t o s entence frames\" (Moerk 1 9 7 4 : 1 0 2 ) . Responses t o q u e s t i o n s show t h a t c h i l d r e n a r e w i l l i n g t o p l a y t h e l i n g u i s t i c - p r a c t i c e and p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g game. The f i n a l c a t e g o r y , r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e , i s now d i s c u s s e d . R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e When a speaker t a k e s p a r t i n a p r i v a t e o r c o l l e c t i v e monologue and names an o b j e c t w i t h o u t p o i n t i n g to i t o r w i t h -out e n s u r i n g m u t u a l f o c u s o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g w i t h a n o t h e r p e r -son i n t h e s i t u a t i o n , r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e o c c u r s . The s p e a k e r t h e r e b y e x p r e s s e s what w i l l be termed h e r e as an ' e g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n ' . C o m m u n i c a t i v e l y u n s u c c e s s f u l c o u n t e r p a r t s t o o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s , e g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s a r e t h e p r e r o g a -t i v e o f everyone. W h i l e c h i l d r e n beyond t h e age o f 3 § y e a r s do r e v e a l a h i g h l e v e l o f m u t u a l r e s p o n s i v e n e s s i n speech and b e h a v i o r (Garvey & Hogan 1 973 ) a n d a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e i n t e r p e r s o n a l meaning f a c t o r s u n d e r l y i n g t h e r e q u e s t f o r a c t i o n (Garvey 1975 )» t h e y do have d i f f i c u l t i e s i n a d a p t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n s u c c e s s f u l l y f o r t h e needs o f l i s t e n e r s ( F l a v e l l , B o t k i n , F r y , W r i g h t , & J a r v i s 1 9 6 8 ) . Counts o f e g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s r e -f l e c t t h e i r d i f f i c u l t i e s and t h e i r use o f p r i v a t e speech. 63 Amount o f p r i v a t e speech a p p e a r s t o he a f u n c t i o n o f a c h i l d ' s m e n t a l age and t h e d i f f i c u l t y o f t h e t a s k b e i n g p e r f o r m e d ( K o h l b e r g , Yaeger, & H j e r t h o l m 1 9 6 8 ) . The h y p o t h e s i s b e i n g t e s t e d h e r e i s t h a t t h e i n c i d e n c e o f p r i v a t e speech i s a l s o a f u n c t i o n o f t h e p e o p l e i n t h e s i t u a t i o n . Summary The measures were chosen t o c o n t r a s t t h e l a n g u a g e -l e a r n i n g c o n d i t i o n s t h a t secondborn e x p e r i e n c e w i t h mothers-v e r s u s t h o s e t h a t t h e y e x p e r i e n c e w i t h f i r s t b o r n s i s t e r s . The 30 k i n d s o f dependent measures can be more f i n e l y grouped i n t o s i x c a t e g o r i e s : language t e a c h i n g , n e g a t i v e f e e d b a c k , p o s i -t i v e f e edback, d o m i n a t i n g , s o l i d a r i t y , and r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e . The c a t e g o r i e s a r e o b v i o u s l y d i v e r s e i n n a t u r e . Each c a t e g o r y a c t s as a p r i s m t o break up t h e spectrum o f v a r i a b l e s which might be i n f l u e n t i a l i n l i n g u i s t i c l e a r n i n g and p r o c e s s i n g . I t i s now n e c e s s a r y t o s p e c i f y t h e r e s e a r c h d e s i g n chosen, t h e v a r i a b l e s , and the s p e c i f i c h y p o t h e s e s . D e d u c t i o n s based on t h e f i n d i n g s o f p r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h a r e p r o v i d e d t o j u s t i f y t h e p h r a s i n g o r o m i s s i o n o f d i r e c t i o n a l h y p o t h e s e s . 64 TESTING THE HYPOTHESES: DESIGN, VARIABLES, AND SPECIFIC HYPOTHESES DESIGN A 2 x 2 between-groups and 2 x 2 w i t h i n - g r o u p s d e s i g n wasschosen h a v i n g one s u b j e c t f a c t o r (sex o f seeondborn), one t r e a t m e n t f a c t o r ( e x p e r i m e n t a l o r d e r ) , and two t r i a l f a c t o r s ( p a r t n e r and t a s k ) . The mixed model d e s i g n used r e p e a t e d measures- seeondborn boys and g i r l s ( 1 9 o f each) were o b s e r v e d on f o u r t r i a l s e a c h - - p l a y and p u z z l e t r i a l s w i t h t h e i r f i r s t -b o r n s i s t e r s and p l a y and p u z z l e t r i a l s w i t h t h e i r mothers. The f i r s t b o r n and mothers were ob s e r v e d on two t r i a l s each. The d e s i g n and d i s t r i b u t i o n o f s u b j e c t s a r e i n d i c a t e d i n t a b l e 2. There were 9 i 10, 10, and 9 s u b j e c t s i n t h e f o u r c e l l s o f t h e d e s i g n . T h i r t y - e i g h t f a m i l i e s (114 p e o p l e ) comprise a l a r g e sample f o r c h i l d language r e s e a r c h e s p e c i a l l y when t h e 76 c h i l d r e n a r e l i k e l y t o be a t v a r i o u s s t a g e s o f l i n g u i s t i c development and when t h e measures a r e based on t h e r e s e a r c h e r ' s judgments of t h e i l l o c u t i o n a r y f o r c e o f u t t e r a n c e s . However, the r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e sample i s w a r r a n t e d by t h e number of independent v a r i a b l e s (two) and t r i a l v a r i a b l e s ( t w o ) , each h a v i n g two l e v e l s . I f s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s do e x i s t , use o f a s m a l l e r sample r e d u c e s th e l i k e l i h o o d t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e s w i l l show up. 65 TABLE 2 THE 2 x 2 BETWEEN-GROUPS AND 2 x 2 WITHIN-GROUPS DESIGN AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF SUBJECTS Independent V a r i a b l e s T r i a l V a r i a b l e s Sex of Seeondborn E x p e r i m e n t a l Order S i b l i n g P l a y P u z z l e Mother P l a y P u z z l e S i b l i n g s f i r s t S l S 2 • S l 2 S l S 2 • S l S 2 • s 9 *9 G i r l S i b l i n g s second S 10 S I l • b l l • S 10 s l l • ^10 s l l • t S 1 9 • S 19 • S 19 t S 19 S i b l i n g s f i r s t ^20 b 2 1 t %Z0 b 21 • ^20 b 21 §20 b 21 « • s 2 9 • s 2 9 • s 2 9 a s 2 9 Boy S i b l i n g s second o30 b 3 l • ho b 3 l • ho b 3 l • b o b 3 l • • S 38 t S 38 • S 38 S 38 The q u e s t i o n o f e x t e r n a l v a l i d i t y i s a l s o o f i m p o r t -ance. The main purpose o f t h i s s t u d y i s to e x p l o r e whether s i b l i n g s p r o v i d e a c l e a r , c o n t i n g e n t , and p o s i t i v e l y - t o n e d language model f o r younger s i b l i n g s o r an i m p o v e r i s h e d , non-c o n t i n g e n t , and r e j e c t i n g one. S i n c e we a l r e a d y know a g r e a t d e a l about m a t e r n a l models, o b s e r v a t i o n s o f m a t e r n a l language models were employed f o r c o n c e p t u a l and s t a t i s t i c a l c o n t r a s t . Now i t i s h i g h l y m i s l e a d i n g t o generalize\"*\" 0 about s i b l i n g language models from a sample o f one s i b l i n g dyad o r even t e n s i b l i n g dyads. To a v o i d t h e problem somewhat, t h i s s t u d y used a l a r g e c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l sample of s i b l i n g s a t v a r i o u s ages (2 t o 5 y e a r s o f ag e ) . F i v e c o v a r i a t e s were employed: 'age o f secondborn', 'age o f f i r s t b o r n ' , ' a g e - s p a c i n g d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e s i b -l i n g dyads', s c o r e s based on ' p a t e r n a l o c c u p a t i o n s ' , and 'mother's y e a r s o f schooling'.\"'\"\"'\" The l a s t two c o v a r i a t e s were used t o c o n t r o l f o r t h e e f f e c t s o f socioeconomic s t a t u s (hence-f o r t h r e f e r r e d t o as SES). Yet u n j u s t i f i e d g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s appear to be v e r y common i n r e v i e w s of c h i l d language r e s e a r c h . Waterhouse (1978) d i s c u s s e s m e t h o d o l o g i c a l i n a d e q u a c i e s i n t h e f i e l d : g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s a r e made on t h e b a s i s o f case s t u d i e s ( o f t e n w i t h a sample s i z e of one) which have n o t been r e p l i c a t e d o r f o l l o w e d up w i t h l a r g e r , c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l s t u d i e s . \"'\"\"'\"Details about t h e sample summarized by t h e d a t a f o r the c o v a r i a t e s a r e p r o v i d e d i n C h a p t e r I I I , as a r e the i n d i c a -t o r s u sed t o dete r m i n e SES. 67 F o r t h i s s t u d y , i t was more i n f o r m a t i v e t o use co-v a r i a t e s t h a n an a d d i t i o n a l number of independent v a r i a b l e s . As c o v a r i a t e s , t h e s c o r e s f o r age, age d i f f e r e n c e s , o c c u p a t i o n , and s c h o o l i n g a r e based on i n t e r v a l o r r a t i o s c a l e s o f measure-ment and t a k e on c o n t i n u o u s v a l u e s w i t h i n c e r t a i n r a n g e s . C o n v e r t i n g a c o n t i n u o u s v a r i a b l e i n t o a c a t e g o r i c a l v a r i a b l e ( i n t h i s c a s e , i n t o an independent v a r i a b l e ) i n v o l v e s t h e s h i f t i n g t o an o r d i n a l o r n o m i n a l s c a l e of measurement and the subsequent t h r o w i n g away of i n f o r m a t i o n . F o r example, i f t h e r e i s a s u b t l e r e l a t i o n s h i p between age and a dependent v a r i a b l e , use o f a c o v a r i a t e (which i s based on t h e measurement o f t h e a c t u a l age) i s more l i k e l y t o c a p t u r e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p t h a n use of an independent v a r i a b l e (based on c a t e g o r i e s such as o l d v e r s u s young). A l s o , u s i n g t h e c o v a r i a t e s as independent v a r i a b l e s would have c o m p l i c a t e d t h e f a c t o r i a l d e s i g n — i n s t e a d of two f a c t o r s w i t h two l e v e l s t h e r e would have been seven f a c t o r s w i t h from two t o f o u r l e v e l s each. C e l l s i z e would have been i m p o s s i b l e t o c o n t r o l : f a c t o r i a l a n a l y s i s i s hampered o r made i m p o s s i b l e by an u n e q u a l o r i n s u f f i c i e n t number o f c a s e s p e r c e l l . A dvantages and d i s a d v a n t a g e s i n u s i n g c o v a r i a t e s i n a r e p e a t e d measures d e s i g n a r e s t a t e d below i n t h e s p e c i f i c h y p o theses s e c t i o n . 68 Dependent v a r i a b l e s were 22 measures o f mother and f i r s t b o r n speech a c t s and 8 measures of secondborn speech a c t s . The dependent v a r i a b l e s a r e l i s t e d below under major h e a d i n g s so t h a t we may c o n v e n i e n t l y r e f e r t o them when s t a t i n g t h e s p e c i f i c r e s e a r c h h y p o t h e s e s . DEPENDENT VARIABLES B e h a v i o r s of Mothers o r F i r s t b o r n Language T e a c h i n g 1. o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s 2 . l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s 3 . c o n f i r m a t i o n s 4. i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n 5. r e s p o n s e s t o s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n 6. c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s 7. r e s p o n s e s t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s Tone o f L i n g u i s t i c Feedback N e g a t i v e Feedback 8 . n e g a t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s o f t r u t h v a l u e 9. n e g a t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s o f l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n 1 0 . n e g a t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s o f b e h a v i o r 1 1 . d i s a g r e e m e n t s / r e j e c t i o n s / r e f u s a l s 1 2 . c r i t i c i s m s P o s i t i v e Feedback 1 3 . p o s i t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s o f t r u t h v a l u e 14. p o s i t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s of l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n 1 5 . p o s i t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s o f b e h a v i o r 69 DEPENDENT VARIABLES (Continued) 1 6 . p r a i s e 1 7 . encouragements D o m i n a t i n g Speech A c t s 1 8 . p r o h i b i t i o n s 1 9 . o r d e r s 2 0 . i n d i r e c t d i r e c t i v e s S o l i d a r i t y Speech A c t s 2 1 . a s e t o f 14 speech a c t s : r e q u e s t s , o f f e r s , s u g g e s t i o n s , and t h e i r r e s p o n s e s R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e 2 2 . e g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s B e h a v i o r s of Seeondborn D e m o n s t r a t i n g of Language L e a r n i n g 2 3 . o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s 2 4 . r e p e t i t i o n s o f l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s 2 5 . acknowledgements 26 . s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n 2 7 . r e s p o n s e s t o i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r . i n f o r m a t i o n 2 8 . c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s 2 9 . r e s p o n s e s t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e 3 0 . e g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s S p e c i f i c h y p o t h e s e s a r e now l & s t e d r e g a r d i n g t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e independent v a r i a b l e s , t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h e independent v a r i a b l e s , t h e c o v a r i a t e s , t h e t r i a l v a r i a b l e s , and t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f independent and t r i a l v a r i a b l e s . 70 SPECIFIC HYPOTHESES AND THEIR RATIONALE Independent V a r i a b l e s : Sex o f Secondborn S u b j e c t s and E x p e r i m e n t a l Order The independent v a r i a b l e s 'sex o f secondborn' and ' e x p e r i m e n t a l o r d e r ' were n o t o f i n t r i n s i c i n t e r e s t to t h i s s t u d y but had t o be c o n t r o l l e d n e v e r t h e l e s s . Sex o f Secondborn I n s p i t e o f t h e vaunted s u p e r i o r i t y of f e m a l e s i n language achievement, a r e c e n t r e v i e w f a i l s t o d e t e c t any s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e language development o f boys and g i r l s (Macaulay 1 9 7 8 ) . Thus i t i s u n n e c e s s a r y t o s e a r c h f o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l causes o f d i f f e r e n c e s which a r e o n l y presumed to e x i s t . I t i s a l s o d i f f i c u l t t o p r e d i c t whether c a r e g i v e r s s o c i a l i z e male and f e m a l e c h i l d r e n i n d i f f e r -ent ways and whether boys and g i r l s i n d i c a t e d i f f e r e n c e s i n l e a r n i n g - d e m o n s t r a t i n g t a c t i c s . A few s t u d i e s which have examined s t y l i s t i c a s p e c t s of m a t e r n a l s p e e c h - - i t s q u a n t i t y , l e x i c a l v a r i a t i o n , and s y n t a c t i c c o m p l e x i t y , have r e p o r t e d no d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e ways t h a t mothers a d d r e s s boys and g i r l s ( F r a s e r & R o b e r t s 1 9 7 5 ; P h i l l i p s 1 9 7 0 , 1 9 7 3 ) . Some s t u d i e s do r e p o r t sex d i f f e r e n c e s i n m o t h e r - i n f a n t v o c a l / v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n : mothers and f e m a l e i n f a n t s have been found to v o c a l i z e and v e r b a l i z e more t o one a n o t h e r and i n r e s p o n s e t o one a n o t h e r t h a n mothers and male i n f a n t s ( G o l d b e r g & L e w i s 1 9 6 9 ; L e w i s & F r e e d l e 1 9 7 3 ; Moss 1 9 6 7 ) ; 71 however, t h e s e t e n d e n c i e s a r e n o t u n i v e r s a l l y r e p o r t e d (Maccoby & J a c k l i n 1 9 7 4 ) . C h e r r y and L e w i s ( 1978 ) f o u n d t h a t mothers o f s i x g i r l s t a l k e d more t o t h e i r d a u g h t e r s t h a n mothers of s i x hoys (matched f o r b i r t h o r d e r and a g e - - 2 4 months), had g r e a t e r MLU's, asked more q u e s t i o n s , and r e -p e a t e d the g i r l s ' e x p r e s s i o n s more o f t e n ; none o f t h e c h i l d measures showed s i g n i f i c a n t sex d i f f e r e n c e s . C a u t i o n a r y s t a t e m e n t s must be made. G e n e r a l i z a t i o n s about s e x - d i f f e r e n t i a t e d v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n s must always be q u a l i f i e d c a r e f u l l y s i n c e b o t h b i r t h o r d e r and gender o f c h i l d r e n i n f l u e n c e m a t e r n a l b e h a v i o r , p a r e n t - p a r e n t i n t e r a c -t i o n s ( C i c i r e l l i 1 9 7 6 ) , and s i b l i n g i n t e r a c t i o n s . F o r example, \"same-sex s i b l i n g s appear t o i n d u l g e i n more p o w e r f u l i n t e r -a c t i o n s t h a n do o p p o s i t e - s e x s i b l i n g s ( S u t t o n - S m i t h & Rosen-b e r g 1 9 7 0 : 5 2 ) . Indeed, i n t e r a c t i o n s between f a m i l y members a r e s u b j e c t t o t h e i n f l u e n c e s of a l l o f t h e s i b l i n g - s t r u c t u r e v a r i a b l e s o p e r a t i n g i n tandem and t h e t y p e s o f i n t e r a c t i o n s p o s s i b l e i n i n t a c t f a m i l i e s . The c o m p l e x i t y o f the i s s u e s can be s k e t c h e d b r i e f l y . J a c o b s and Moss ( 1 9 7 6 ) c o l l e c t e d d a t a on m a t e r n a l i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h f i r s t b o r n i n f a n t s and t h e n , 25 months l a t e r , o b s e r v e d m a t e r n a l i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h seeondborn i n f a n t s . M o t h e r s spent s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s t i m e i n s o c i a l , a f f e c t i o n a t e , and c a r e t a k i n g i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e i r seeondborn t h a n t h e y d i d w i t h t h e i r f i r s t b o r n ( e x c e p t f o r f e e d i n g a c t i v i t i e s ) . The d i f f e r e n c e 72 was g r e a t e r i f t h e secondborn was f e m a l e . L e s s of a d e c r e -ment i n m a t e r n a l a t t e n t i o n took p l a c e i f t h e secondborn was a male and/or a gender o p p o s i t e t o t h a t o f the f i r s t b o r n . C i c i r e l l i ( 1 976 ) s t u d i e d m o t h e r - c h i l d and s i b l i n g -s i b l i n g i n t e r a c t i o n s on a p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g t a s k . (The c h i l d r e n i n the m o t h e r - c h i l d groups were from th e f i r s t grade; th e p a i r s i n the s i b l i n g groups were from th e t h i r d o r f o u r t h grade and from t h e f i r s t grade.) He d e t e c t e d an i n t e r e s t i n g i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t o f t h e t r e a t m e n t f a c t o r (mother o r o l d e r s i b l i n g as h e l p e r ) w i t h t h e sex o f t h e o l d e r s i b l i n g . Not o n l y d i d t h e sex of t h e o l d e r s i b l i n g a f f e c t t h e o l d e r s i b l i n g ' s b e h a v i o r s and t h e younger s i b l i n g ' s r e s p o n s e s , but i t a f f e c t e d the mother's b e h a v i o r s as w e l l . The mother tended to g i v e h e l p t o t h e c h i l d w i t h an o l d e r b r o t h e r but tended t o d e l e g a t e t h e h e l p where t h e c h i l d had an o l d e r s i s t e r . Koch ( 1 9 5 4 ) p o i n t e d out t h a t t h e b road c a t e g o r y o f f i r s t b o r n o r secondborn i s n o t r e a l l y a u n i f i e d c a t e g o r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y . I n t h e r e l a t i v e l y ' u n c o m p l i c a t e d ' t w o - c h i l d f a m i l y , t h e r e i s e i t h e r a f i r s t b o r n male who has a younger b r o t h e r o r a f i r s t b o r n male who has a younger s i s t e r or a f i r s t b o r n female who has a younger b r o t h e r or a f i r s t b o r n f e male who has a younger s i s t e r . S u t t o n - S m i t h and Rosenberg ( 1970 ) i d e n t i f y e i g h t t y p e s o f o r d i n a l p o s i t i o n i n the two-c h i l d f a m i l y . They f o r m a l i z e n o t a t i o n s f o r o r d i n a l p o s i t i o n t h u s : M1M (=focus on f i r s t b o r n male w i t h a younger b r o t h e r ) , MM2 (=focus on secondborn male w i t h an o l d e r b r o t h e r ) , M1F, MF2, F1F, FF2, F1M, and. FM2. Thus o r d i n a l p o s i t i o n s a r e a 73 f u n c t i o n of t h e b i r t h o r d e r and sex of a c h i l d i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e b i r t h o r d e r s and sex o f t h e o t h e r c h i l d r e n i n t h e f a m i l y . A g e - s p a c i n g d i f f e r e n c e s between the c h i l d r e n f u r t h e r c o m p l i c a t e the p o s s i b l e t y p e s of o r d i n a l p o s i t i o n . Koch (I960) i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e e f f e c t s o f an under two-year s p a c i n g , a t w o - t o - f o u r - y e a r s p a c i n g , and an o v e r - f o u r - y e a r s p a c i n g be-tween s i b l i n g s and d e t e c t e d i n t e r e s t i n g , c o n s i s t e n t e f f e c t s . The o r d i n a l p o s i t i o n s o f i n t e r e s t f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h a r e F1F, FF2, F1M, and FM2. D e s c r i p t i v e and c l i n i c a l psycho-l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h (Koch 1 9 5 6 ; F o r e r & S t i l l 1 976 ) s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e o l d e r o f two g i r l s , the younger of two g i r l s , t h e o l d e r s i s t e r of a b r o t h e r , and t h e younger b r o t h e r o f a s i s t e r a r e l i k e l y t o d e v e l o p c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s and v e r b a l s t y l e s . The c l a i m s made about the consequences of o r d i n a l p o s i t i o n f o r p e r s o n a l i t y development and i n t e r a c t i o n s t y l e a r e s t i l l open f o r s c i e n t i f i c v a l i d a t i o n . But t h e c l a i m s do suggest t h a t r e l e v a n t v a r i a b l e s a r e numerous and t h a t v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n s w hich s u p e r f i c i a l l y share c e r t a i n a t t r i b u t e s may be p r e c i p i t a t e d by d i v e r s e f a c t o r s i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h o t h e r f a c t o r s i n complex ways. I n t h i s s t u d y , I t h i n k t h a t a number of f a c t o r s c a n c e l each o t h e r out or a t l e a s t reduce t h e degree of sex d i f f e r e n c e s . To w i t : w h i l e mothers might, i n g e n e r a l , t a l k more t o d a u g h t e r s t h a n to sons, i t i s l i k e l y t h e case t h a t seeondborn sons who f o l l o w s i s t e r s h o l d c h e r i s h e d p o s i t i o n s and a r e l a v i s h e d w i t h a t t e n t i o n . W h i l e same sex s i b l i n g s might, i n g e n e r a l , engage i n more p o w e r f u l i n t e r a c t i o n s t h a n o p p o s i t e - s e x ones, i t seems t o be t h e case t h a t t h e o l d e r s i s t e r o f a b r o t h e r i s s e r i o u s l y c h a l l e n g e d by him and becomes ' a g g r e s s i v e , t a l k a -t i v e , and q u a r r e l s o m e ' ; he, i n t u r n , r e c i p r o c a t e s q u a r r e l s o m e -n e s s and t r i e s t o dominate h e r ( F o r e r & S t i l l 1 9 7 6 ). W h i l e the o l d e r s i s t e r o f two g i r l s may mother h e r s i s t e r and t r y to be good t o h o l d h e r p a r e n t s ' r e s p e c t , when t h e younger s i s t e r i s e s p e c i a l l y charming, the f i r s t b o r n i s l i k e l y t o r e j e c t t h e a t t e n t i o n s o f o t h e r s and become s t r i d e n t l y a s s e r t i v e ( F o r e r & S t i l l 1 9 7 6 ) . S i n c e t h e e f f e c t s o f t h e sex o f secondborn on t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s a r e not c l e a r - c u t , the f o l l o w i n g hypo-t h e s e s a r e c o n s i d e r e d the most a p p r o p r i a t e : 1. There i s no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e between t h e mean number of a c t s a d d r e s s e d t o boys and t h e mean number of- a c t s a d d r e s s e d t o g i r l s . ( T h i s h y p o t h e s i s a p p l i e s , t o each of t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s # 1 - 2 2 . ) 2 . There i s no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e between t h e mean number of speech a c t s of boys and t h e mean number of speech a c t s o f g i r l s . ( T h i s h y p o t h e s i s a p p l i e s t o each of t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s # 2 3 - 3 0 i ) E x p e r i m e n t a l Order: S i b l i n g I n t e r a c t i o n F i r s t o r Second P i l o t work i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e secondborn s u b j e c t s e n j o y e d r u n n i n g t h r o u g h the complete experiment t w i c e and t h a t t h e i r b e h a v i o r d i d not seem to be a f f e c t e d by whether 75 t h e y i n t e r a c t e d w i t h t h e i r s i b l i n g s p r i o r t o o r a f t e r t h e y i n t e r a c t e d w i t h t h e i r mothers. T h e r e f o r e , t h e p r e f e r r e d h y p o t h e s i s on t h e e f f e c t s of e x p e r i m e n t a l o r d e r ( s i b l i n g i n t e r a c t i o n f i r s t o r second, a s s i g n e d a t random) r e a d s as f o l l o w s : 3. There i s no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e between t h e mean number o f b e h a v i o r s i n t h e s i b l i n g - f i r s t e x p e r i m e n t a l o r d e r and t h e mean number o f b e h a v i o r s i n t h e s i b l i n g - s e c o n d e x p e r i m e n t a l o r d e r . ( T h i s h y p o t h e s i s a p p l i e s t o each o f t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s . ) I n t e r a c t i o n between Independent V a r i a b l e s S i n c e no d i r e c t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s have been s t a t e d r e g a r d i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f sex o f seeondborn and o r d e r , t h e r e a r e no s u b s t a n t i a l r e a s o n s t o c i t e d i r e c t i o n a l e x p e c t a n c i e s f o r t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h e independent v a r i a b l e s . The f o l l o w i n g i s t h e r e l e v a n t h y p o t h e s i s : 4 . There i s no s i g n i f i c a n t i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e independent v a r i a b l e s , sex of seeondborn and e x p e r i m e n t a l o r d e r . ( T h i s h y p o t h e s i s a p p l i e s t o each o f t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s . ) C o v a r i a t e s D i s a d v a n t a g e s i n U s i n g C o v a r i a t e s i n a Repeated-Measures D e s i g n The b a s i c d i s a d v a n t a g e i n u s i n g c o v a r i a t e s i n a r e p e a t -ed measures d e s i g n a c c r u e s because c e l l means a r e a d j u s t e d f o r 76 c o v a r i a t e s o n l y i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e b e t w e e n - s u h j e c t s v a r i a b l e s (sex o f seeondborn and o r d e r ) , but n o t i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e w i t h i n - s u b j e c t s v a r i a b l e s ( p a r t n e r and t a s k ) . I w i l l a t t e m pt t o e x p l a i n t h i s d i s a d v a n t a g e i n o t h e r words, u s i n g 'age of seeondborn' as t h e example of t h e co-v a r i a t e and ' t e a c h i n g o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s ' as t h e example of t h e dependent v a r i a b l e . F o l l o w i n g upon t h e g e n e r a l h y p o t h e s i s t h a t mothers a r e b e t t e r , more s e n s i t i v e language s o u r c e s t h a n f i r s t b o r n , i t i s h i g h l y l i k e l y t h a t t h e r e e x i s t s a s i g n i f i c a n t p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n between 'age of seeondborn' measures and i n d i v i d u a l measures of m a t e r n a l t e a c h i n g b e h a v i o r , f o r example, o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s . But i t i s h i g h l y u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e r e i s a s i g -n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n between 'age of seeondborn' measures and measures of f i r s t b o r n s ' o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s . The problem i s t h a t i n t h e a n a l y s i s of c o v a r i a n c e ( c o n c e p t u a l l y b u t . n o t c o m p u t a t i o n a l l y ) , a c o r r e l a t i o n i s r u n between t h e measure of t h e 'age of seeondborn' f o r each s u b j e c t and t h e average s c o r e o f the two m a t e r n a l and two f i r s t b o r n s c o r e s of o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s p o o l e d t o g e t h e r f o r each s u b j e c t , w i t h i n each of t h e f o u r Sex x Order subgroups. G i v e n t h e g e n e r a l h y p o t h e s i s about p a r t n e r s ' r o l e s , i t i s i m p r o b a b l e t h a t 'age of seeondborn' w i l l be c o r r e l a t e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y w i t h an average of f o u r s c o r e s f o r each s u b j e c t . Only i n t h o s e c a s e s where t h e r e i s a s t r o n g r e l a t i o n s h i p b e r tween t h e c o v a r i a t e and t h e b e h a v i o r s of the f a m i l y as a whole w i l l t h e r e be a s i g n i f i c a n t i n f l u e n c e o f t h e c o v a r i a t e . 77 One more i l l u s t r a t i o n i s g i v e n . I t i s h i g h l y l i k e l y t h a t i n d i c a t o r s o f SES a r e s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e l a t e d t o t h e be-h a v i o r s o f t h e secondborn when s/he i s w i t h t h e mother but not when s/he i s w i t h t h e s i b l i n g . Hence, w h i l e t h e r e may be an o s t e n s i b l e r e l a t i o n s h i p between SES i n d i c a t o r s and second-b o r n s ' b e h a v i o r , t h e n i c e t i e s of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p cannot be r e v e a l e d w i t h t h e d e s i g n used. Nor can t h e n i c e t i e s o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p be a d j u s t e d f o r . Advantage o f U s i n g C o v a r i a t e s i n a Repeated-Measures D e s i g n Of c o u r s e , a r e s e a r c h e r has t h e o p t i o n t o d i s r e g a r d t h e c o v a r i a b l e s e n t i r e l y . T h i s i s not such a p e r i l o u s o p t i o n w i t h a r e p e a t e d measures d e s i g n i n wh i c h t h e b a s i c d i s a d v a n t a g e of t h e d e s i g n can a l s o be viewed as an advantage. There i s no way i n which we can impute d i f f e r e n c e s t o p a r t n e r which a r e i n r e a l i t y d i f f e r e n c e s i n SES i n d i c a t o r s o r age or a g e - s p a c i n g , s i n c e f o r each o f t h e f o u r measures p e r s u b j e c t each s c o r e f o r each o f t h e c o v a r i a t e s i s t h e same. T e c h n i c a l l y , each s u b j e c t i s h i s own c o n t r o l f o r t h e c o v a r i a b l e s . A r e s e a r c h e r a l s o has t h e o p t i o n t o s e l e c t a r e l a t i v e l y homogeneous sample which e l i m i n a t e s t h e need t o use ^ c o v a r i a b l e s . Hypotheses S i n c e p r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h p r o v i d e s no w e l l - d e f i n e d 78 g u i d e l i n e s on how t h e c o v a r i a t e s a f f e c t t h e Sex x Order groups, t h e s e h y p o t h e s e s a r e p u t f o r w a r d : 5. F o r each dependent v a r i a b l e , w i t h i n t h e f o u r Sex x Order subgroups ( g i r l , s i b - f i r s t ; g i r l , s i b - s e c o n d ; boy, s i b - f i r s t ; boy, s i b - s e c o n d ) , t h e r e i s no i n f l u e n c e o f any o f t h e c o v a r i a t e s on t h e average s c o r e o f a s u b j e c t . 6. F o r each dependent v a r i a b l e , w i t h i n t h e f o u r Sex x Order subgroups, t h e i ^ * 1 c o v a r i a t e has no a d d i t i o n a l i n f l u e n c e above t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e o t h e r f o u r . -^'Reference t o t h e e f f e c t o f 'age o f secondborn' on two r e c i p r o c a l dependent v a r i a b l e s w i l l i l l u s t r a t e t h e s i t u a t i o n . C l a r i f i c a t i o n r e q u e s t s ( t y p e s of c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s ) i n a s t u d y o f mothers' q u e s t i o n i n g of t h e i r 1 - , 2 - , and 3 -y e a r - o l d c h i l d r e n by L o n g h u r s t and S t e p a n i c h ( 1 975 ) r e a c h e d t h e i r h i g h e s t p e r c e n t a g e when the c h i l d r e n were age 2 . Thus we might r e a s o n t h a t m a t e r n a l c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s would be more p r e v a l e n t f o r t h e youngest secondborn of t h i s sample t h a n f o r t h e o l d e s t ; moreover, t h e youngest would t h u s be r e s p o n d i n g t o more m a t e r n a l c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s t h a n t h e o l d e s t . W h i l e t h e r e i s e v i d e n c e t h a t c h i l d r e n v a r y t h e t y p e of q u e s t i o n s t h e y a s k — i n t e r n a l - s t a t e q u e s t i o n s t o b a b i e s and e x t e r n a l - s t a t e q u e s t i o n s t o p e e r s and a d u l t s — (Sachs & D e v i n 1 9 7 6 ) , t h e r e i s no e v i d e n c e t h a t f i r s t b o r n s ' q u e s t i o n s ( i n s i n c e r e / s i n c e r e / c o n t i n g e n t ) v a r y a c c o r d i n g t o t h e age o f t h e secondborn. F o r each dependent v a r i a b l e , t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between a c o v a r i a t e and b e h a v i o r s 'by f i r s t b o r n ' and t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between a c o v a r i a t e and b e h a v i o r s ' w i t h f i r s t b o r n ' a r e unknown. Thus d i r e c t i o n a l a l t e r n a t i v e h y p o t h e s e s f o r t h e c o v a r i a t e s a r e d i f f i c u l t t o s t a t e . T r i a l V a r i a b l e s : P a r t n e r and Task P a r t n e r The t r i a l v a r i a b l e p a r t n e r i s the major v a r i a b l e o f i n t e r e s t . So as n o t t o confound sex w i t h g e n e r a t i o n , the f i r s t b o r n have t o be f e m a l e , the same sex as t h e mothers. F u t u r e r e s e a r c h must t r e a t o f t h e r o l e of b r o t h e r s i n younger s i b l i n g s ' l i n g u i s t i c development. S u b s t a n t i v e d i r e c t i o n a l h y p o t h e s e s a r e s p e c i f i e d f o r each c a t e g o r y o f dependent v a r i a b l e . T e a c h i n g 7. The mean number o f t e a c h i n g a c t s p r o v i d e d by mothers i s g r e a t e r t h a n the mean number o f t e a c h i n g a c t s p r o v i d e d by f i r s t b o r n g i r l s ( f o r each dependent v a r i a b l e #1-7: o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s , l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s , c o n f i r m a t i o n s , i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , r e s p o n s e s t o s i n c e r e r e -q u e s t s , c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s , and r e s p o n s e s t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s ) . Tone o f L i n g u i s t i c Feedback 8. The mean number of n e g a t i v e l y - t o n e d speech a c t s i s s u e d by f i r s t b o r n g i r l s i s g r e a t e r t h a n the mean number o f n e g a t i v e l y - t o n e d speech a c t s i s s u e d by mothers ( f o r each dependent v a r i a b l e #8-12: n e g a t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s o f t r u t h v a l u e , l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n , a n d ' b e h a v i o r ; d i s a g r e e m e n t s / r e j e c t i o n s / r e f u s a l s ; and c r i t i c i s m s ) . But i t i s p r e d i c t e d t h a t the p o s i t i v e feedback w i l l f o l l o w an o p p o s i t e p a t t e r n . 9. The mean number of p o s i t i v e l y - t o n e d speech a c t s 8 0 . o f f e r e d by mothers I s g r e a t e r t h a n t h e mean number o f p o s i -t i v e l y - t o n e d speech a c t s o f f e r e d by f i r s t b o r n g i r l s ( f o r each dependent v a r i a b l e # 1 3 - 1 7 : p o s i t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s of t r u t h v a l u e , l i n g u i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n , and b e h a v i o r ; p r a i s e ; and encouragement). Dominance The d o m i n a t i n g p a t t e r n s a r e p r e d i c t e d t o o p e r a t e i n the same way as t h e n e g a t i v e feedback. 10. The mean number of d o m i n a t i n g speech a c t s i s s u e d by f i r s t b o r n g i r l s i s g r e a t e r t h a n t h e mean number o f dominat-i n g speech a c t s i s s u e d by mothers ( f o r each dependent v a r i a b l e #18-20: p r o h i b i t i o n s , o r d e r s , and i n d i r e c t d i r e c t i v e s ) . S o l i d a r i t y The i n c i d e n c e o f s o l i d a r i t y a c t s i s p r e d i c t e d t o f o l l o w t h e p a t t e r n o f t h e i n c i d e n c e of t h e p o s i t i v e feedback. 11. The mean number of s o l i d a r i t y speech a c t s o f f e r e d by mothers i s g r e a t e r t h a n the mean number o f s o l i d a r i t y speech a c t s o f f e r e d by f i r s t b o r n g i r l s ( f o r t h e dependent v a r i a b l e #21). R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e 12. The mean number o f e g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s e x p r e s s e d by f i r s t b o r n g i r l s i s g r e a t e r t h a n t h e mean number o f ego-c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s e x p r e s s e d by mothers ( f o r the dependent v a r i a b l e #22). That completes t h e hypotheses r e g a r d i n g the p r e d i c t e d b e h a v i o r of the mothers and the f i r s t b o r n . We now t u r n t o t h e f o r e c a s t s f o r the seeondborn. 81 L e a r n i n g - D e m o n s t r a t i n g 1 3 . The mean number o f l e a r n i n g - d e m o n s t r a t i n g speech a c t s e x p r e s s e d by secondborn i n the p r e s e n c e o f mothers i s g r e a t e r t h a n the mean number o f l e a r n i n g - d e m o n s t r a t i n g speech a c t s e x p r e s s e d by secondborn i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f f i r s t b o r n s i b l i n g s ( f o r each dependent v a r i a b l e # 2 3 - 2 9 : o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s , r e p e t i t i o n s o f l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s , acknow-ledgements, s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , r e s p o n s e s t o i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s , and r e s p o n s e s to c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s ) . The l a s t h y p o t h e s i s r e g a r d i n g t h e i n f l u e n c e of p a r t n e r i s now s t a t e d . R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e 14. The mean number of e g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s e x p r e s s e d by secondborn i n t h e p r e s e n c e of f i r s t b o r n s i b l i n g s i s g r e a t e r t h a n t h e mean number o f e g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s ex-p r e s s e d by secondborn i n the p r e s e n c e o f mothers ( f o r t h e dependent v a r i a b l e # 3 0 ) . Task Two d i f f e r e n t e x p e r i m e n t a l t a s k s — f r e e p l a y and p u z z l e -were used to o b t a i n some v a r i a t i o n i n t h e co r p u s o f speech. S i n c e the f r e e p l a y s e s s i o n was based on a c r i t e r i o n o f 10 minutes d u r a t i o n and the p u z z l e s e s s i o n on f i v e m i n u t e s , t h e t a s k s were equated on t h e time d i m e n s i o n by h a l v i n g t h e p l a y -t i me f r e q u e n c y s c o r e s . T h i s a d j u stment o f s c o r e s was made to 82 r e a l l y get a t t h e e f f e c t o f t h e t a s k upon t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s . But s i n c e no o b v i o u s p r e d i c t i o n s can be made r e g a r d i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f t h e t a s k s , t h e f o l l o w i n g becomes t h e a p p r o p r i a t e h y p o t h e s i s : 1 5 . There i s no d i f f e r e n c e between t h e mean number o f b e h a v i o r s i n t h e f r e e p l a y t r i a l s and t h e mean number of b e h a v i o r s i n t h e p u z z l e . t r i a l s . ( T h i s h y p o t h e s i s a p p l i e s t o each o f t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s . ) The h y p o t h e s e s r e l a t i n g t o t h e i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s have y e t t o be s p e l l e d o u t . Hypotheses R e l a t i n g t o I n t e r a c t i o n E f f e c t s No p r e d i c t i o n s a r e f a v o r e d r e g a r d i n g t h e i n t e r a c t i o n ( s ) between t h e independent v a r i a b l e s and t h e t r i a l v a r i a b l e s , and between t h e t r i a l v a r i a b l e s . The f o l l o w i n g h y p o t h e s e s a r e put f o r w a r d : 1 6 . There i s no s i g n i f i c a n t i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e independent v a r i a b l e s , sex and e x p e r i m e n t a l o r d e r , and t h e t r i a l v a r i a b l e s , p a r t n e r and t a s k . ( T h i s h y p o t h e s i s a p p l i e s t o each of t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s . ) The s i x t e e n t h h y p o t h e s i s c o v e r s a l l p o s s i b l e combina-t i o n s o f independent and t r i a l i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s : P a r t n e r x Sex, P a r t n e r x Order, P a r t n e r x Sex x Order, Task x Sex, Task x Order, Task x Sex x Order, P a r t n e r x Task x Sex, P a r t n e r x Task x Order, and P a r t n e r x Task x Sex x Order, n i n e combina-t i o n s i n a l l . 1 7 . There i s no i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e t r i a l v a r i a b l e s , 83 p a r t n e r and t a s k . ( T h i s h y p o t h e s i s a p p l i e s t o each o f t h e dependent v a r i a b l e s . ) Summary The h y p o t h e s e s a r e now r e v i e w e d s i m p l y . C a t e g o r i e s o f dependent v a r i a b l e s which share s i m i l a r p r e d i c t i o n s a r e grouped t o g e t h e r so t h a t t h e o v e r a l l p a t t e r n s o f p r e d i c t i o n s a r e c l a r i f i e d . T e a c h i n g , p o s i t i v e f e edback, and s o l i d a r i t y c a t e g o r i e s a r e p l a c e d t o g e t h e r as a r e t h e n e g a t i v e f e edback, d o m i n a t i n g , and r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e c a t e g o r i e s . The h y p o t h e s e s o f major i n t e r e s t p e r t a i n t o t h e e f f e c t s o f p a r t n e r . I t i s p r e d i c t e d t h a t mothers w i l l produce more i n s t a n c e s o f s p e c i f i c t e a c h i n g b e h a v i o r s , p o s i t i v e f e e d b a c k , and s o l i d a r i t y a c t s , b u t fewer i n s t a n c e s of n e g a t i v e feedback, d o m i n a t i n g a c t s , and r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e t h a n f i r s t b o r n . I t i s a l s o p r e d i c t e d t h a t secondborn e x h i b i t more examples o f l e a r n i n g - d e m o n s t r a t i n g a c t s and fewer examples o f r e f e r e n t i a l f a i l u r e w i t h mothers t h a n w i t h o l d e r s i s t e r s . No p r e f e r r e d d i r e c t i o n a l p r e d i c t i o n s a r e e x p r e s s e d r e g a r d i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f the sex o f secondborn, e x p e r i m e n t a l o r d e r , t h e c o v a r i a t e s , t h e t a s k , and t h e i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s o f the independent and t r i a l v a r i a b l e s . I f p a r a m e t r i c assumptions h o l d t r u e , t h e s p e c i f i c r e s e a r c h h y p o t h e s e s a r e f i r s t t e s t e d by an a n a l y s i s o f co-v a r i a n c e . A l t h o u g h t h e hypotheses r e g a r d i n g the e f f e c t s of 8 4 p a r t n e r a r e d i r e c t i o n a l i n n a t u r e , a l l a l t e r n a t i v e s t a t i s t i c a l h y p o t h e s e s a r e p h r a s e d i n n o n - d i r e c t i o n a l terms (namely, t h a t the p o p u l a t i o n means f o r measures of i n t e r e s t a r e n o t e q u a l ) . Each o f t h e s t a t i s t i c a l n u l l h y p o t h e s e s ( t h a t p o p u l a t i o n means f o r measures o f i n t e r e s t a r e equal) i s t e s t e d w i t h an a l p h a l e v e l o f 0 .025. S i n c e a l a r g e number of s t a t i s t i c a l t e s t s i s performed, the s t r i n g e n t c h o i c e o f a l p h a l e v e l i s n e c e s s a r y to reduce t h e o v e r a l l Type I e r r o r . Then, f o r t h o s e dependent v a r i a b l e s w h e r e i n t h e n u l l h y p o t h e s e s r e g a r d i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f the c o v a r i a t e s a r e n o t r e j e c t e d , we r e s o r t to an a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e . The a l p h a l e v e l remains t h e same - -0 ,025• The r e s e a r c h problems, the measures, t h e d e s i g n , and the s p e c i f i c r e s e a r c h hypotheses have been s e t f o r t h . B e f o r e we t u r n t o the methodology of the r e s e a r c h ( t h e p r o c e d u r e s of d a t a c o l l e c t i o n and a n a l y s i s ) , we must n o t e what t h i s s t u d y does n o t attempt t o a c c o m p l i s h . We must a l s o mention t h e assumptions which u n d e r l i e r e s e a r c h o f the k i n d c o n ducted h e r e . D i s c l a i m e r s T h i s s t u d y does n o t aim t o d i s p o s e o f t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t o n l y \" m i n i m a l c o n d i t i o n s o f i n t e r a c t i o n , exposure and c a r e \" a r e r e q u i r e d f o r the growth o f grammar (Chomsky 1 9 7 6 : 1 4 4 ) . I n s t e a d i t a t t e m p t s t o d e t e c t c o n d i t i o n s beyon\" t h e minimum which advance language s k i l l s . I t a t t e m p t s t o make e x p l i c i t the n a t u r e o f language t e a c h i n g and t o e x p l o r e t h e r o l e s t h a t 85 mothers and female s i b l i n g s p l a y i n e s t a b l i s h i n g l anguage-l e a r n i n g c o n d i t i o n s . The p r o j e c t does n o t t r y to measure degree of l i n g u i s -t i c o r communicative competence. Nor does i t measure any e f f e c t s o f v a r i a b l e s such as f a m i l y s i z e , b i r t h o r d e r , s o c i a l -i z a t i o n s t y l e s , t e a c h i n g t a c t i c s , o r a t t i t u d i n a l d i f f e r e n c e s . The a n a l y s i s o f the s i b l i n g and p a r e n t - c h i l d r e l a t i o n -s h i p s i s based on a l i n g u i s t i c p e r s p e c t i v e , n o t a p s y c h i a t r i c one. The s t u d y i s n o t c o n c e i v e d as a t r e a t i s e on s o c i a l i z a -t i o n . W h i l e many measures used i n t h e s t u d y a r e based on the f u n c t i o n a l c o n t i n g e n c y of u t t e r a n c e s , t h e y do n o t deserve t o be r e g a r d e d as an a t t e mpt by t h e a u t h o r t o espouse a r e v i s e d c o n d i t i o n i n g t h e o r y to account f o r language l e a r n i n g . The measures a r e chosen t o examine c o n v e r s a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e . A ssumptions The t h e o r y of language development w h i c h i s i m p l i c i t l y h e l d by t h e a u t h o r i s t h a t t h e p r o c e s s of l e a r n i n g t o under-s t a n d and to use a language i s a s y n e r g i s t i c p r o c e s s i n which a f o r m i d a b l e number of f a c t o r s work t o g e t h e r . The f a c t o r s a r e b o th i n t r i n s i c and e x t r i n s i c to t h e l e a r n e r . I n t r i n s i c f a c t o r s i n c l u d e g e n e t i c and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l makeup; p e r c e p t u a l , c o g n i t i v e , and a r t i c u l a t o r y a b i l i t i e s . E x t r i n s i c f a c t o r s i n c l u d e s o c i a l m i l i e u and t y p e o f l i n g u i s t i c exposure, i t s i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y , amount and c o n t i n -86 gency to t h e l e a r n e r . But t h e i n t r i n s i c and e x t r i n s i c f a c t o r s c o n s t a n t l y i n t e r a c t : f o r i n s t a n c e , c h i l d r e n ' s non-comprehension and i n a t t e n t i o n a t g i v e n s t a g e s p l a y a major r o l e i n p r o m p t i n g mothers t o p r o v i d e c e r t a i n s i m p l i f i e d and r e p e t i t i v e t y p e s of exposure t o language (Snow 1972). That humans have a s t r o n g i n b u i l t endowment t o develop language systems i s acknowledged. However, t h e fu n d a m e n t a l a s s u m p t i o n s u n d e r l y i n g t h e r e s e a r c h c o nducted h e r e a r e t h a t speech a c t s a r e l e a r n e d c a t e g o r i e s a r i s i n g out o f s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n and t h a t some i n t e r a c t i o n s a r e more f a c i l i t a t i v e t h a n o t h e r s i n f o s t e r i n g language growth. I n t h e c o n t r o v e r s y o v er n a t i v i s t and b e h a v i o r i s t t h e o r i e s o f language d e v e l o p -ment, t h e a u t h o r t a k e s a m i d d l e p o s i t i o n : b o t h i n b o r n and e n v i r o n m e n t a l f a c t o r s a r e i m p o r t a n t f o r language growth. 87 CHAPTER I I I METHODOLOGY: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS DATA COLLECTION: SAMPLING METHOD AND SAMPLE F a m i l i e s were c o n t a c t e d v i a l e t t e r s , phone c a l l s , and p e r s o n a l v i s i t s t o 45 p r e s c h o o l s , one h e a l t h u n i t and one d r o p - i n c e n t r e i n Vancouver, B r i t i s h Columbia ( p o p u l a t i o n 420,000) p l u s 13 p r e s c h o o l s i n Richmond, an a d j a c e n t suburban a r e a w i t h a g r i c u l t u r a l z o n i n g ( p o p u l a t i o n 95.000). A copy o f the t y p i c a l l e t t e r s e n t t o t h e p r e s c h o o l d i r e c t o r s i s i n -c l u d e d i n Appendix I . I t was d i f f i c u l t t o o b t a i n t h e r e q u i s i t e l a r g e sample because t h e p e o p l e o f Canada a r e o f d i v e r s e l i n g u i s t i c backgrounds, t h e b i r t h r a t e t h r o u g h o u t N o r t h A m e r i c a i s d r o p p i n g , and t h e n a t u r e o f t h e r e q u i r e d f a m i l y c o n s t e l l a -t i o n s c o n s t i t u t e d r a t h e r s t r i c t c o n d i t i o n s . F a m i l i e s d i s p a r a t e i n socioeconomic s t a t u s and r e s i -d e n t i a l l o c a t i o n were i n v i t e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e s t u d y and were n o t p r e s c r e e n e d f o r v a r i a b l e s such as s o c i a l s t a t u s , i n t e l l i g e n c e , i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y , o r language development. B u t f a m i l i e s w h e r e i n t h e c h i l d r e n were e n r o l l e d i n f u l l - t i m e group d a y c a r e , were becoming b i l i n g u a l , o r were han d i c a p p e d by sev e r e h e a r i n g l o s s were n o t i n c l u d e d because i t was t h e i n t e n t t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e 'normal' v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n s between E n g l i s h 88 sp e a k e r s who spend much time t o g e t h e r . The 38 f a m i l i e s s e l e c t e d were s t r a n g e r s t o t h e a u t h o r and c o n s i s t e d of two p a r e n t s , a f i r s t b o r n girls;sand a secondborn boy or g i r l . Two f a m i l i e s a l s o had 1 - y e a r - o l d g i r l s . A l l c h i l d r e n were l e a r n i n g E n g l i s h . Two c h i l d r e n were exposed t o H u n g a r i a n and German; two, t o Japanese; two, t o F r e n c h ; and two, t o Chinese:.; E i g h t mothers were of r e c e n t B r i t i s h e m i g r a t i o n (which posed problems f o r t r a n s c r i p t i o n ) . Twenty-seven of t h e f a m i l i e s l i v e d i n Vancouver; 1 1 , i n Richmond. The f i r s t b o r n a t t e n d e d some t y p e o f p r e s c h o o l a p o r -t i o n of one day o r t h r e e t o f i v e days p e r week; t h e y d i d not a t t e n d p u b l i c - s c h o o l k i n d e r g a r t e n . The secondborn remained a t home. The 76 c h i l d r e n were judged by t h e i r mothers t o have normal h e a r i n g and t o be r e a c h i n g d e v e l o p m e n t a l m i l e s t o n e s a t a normal o r an a c c e l e r a t e d r a t e . P h y s i c i a n s a s s e s s e d one boy (29.4 months) t o be l i n g u i s t i c a l l y d e l a y e d and one g i r l ( 2 3 . 7 months) t o be l i n g u i s t i c a l l y p r e c o c i o u s . As t h e a t t r i b u t e s o r background o f t h e s u b j e c t s were used as c o v a r i a t e s , c e l l means and s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s f o r the f i v e c o v a r i a t e s i n f o u r c e l l s o f t h e d e s i g n a r e g i v e n i n t a b l e 3 . I n s p i t e o f t h e l i b e r a l s a m p l i n g method used, t h e sample which c o n s e n t e d t o be t a p e d appeared t o be r e l a t i v e l y homogeneous on a number o f v a r i a b l e s . The secondborn ( 1 9 boys and 19 g i r l s ) were e q u a l l y r e p r e s e n t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e age range o f 2 2 . 0 t o 3 6 . 2 months. The c e l l means f o r age o f secondborn a c c o r d i n g t o sex and o r d e r c o n d i t i o n s were 3 0 . 3 3 ( g i r l , s i b - f i r s t ) , 30.46 ( g i r l , 8 9 TABLE 3 CELL MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FOR THE FIVE COVARIATES Independent V a r i a b l e s C o v a r i a t e s Sex o f Seeondborn E x p e r i m e n t a l Order C e l l S t a n d a r d Means D e v i a t i o n s Age o f Seeondborn G i r l Boy S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s f i r s t second f i r s t second 3 0 . 3 3 k.k5 30 . 4 6 5 . 10 2 9 . 6 7 4 . 3 4 2 9 . 3 6 4 . 6 5 Age o f F i r s t b o r n - G i r l Boy S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s f i r s t second f i r s t second 5 5 . 3 3 5 . 1 2 55.65 7 . 0 1 5 3 . 5 7 6 . 9 8 5 6 . 9 1 6 . 07 A g e - S p a c i n g D i f f e r e n c e s between S i b l i n g s G i r l Boy S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s f i r s t second f i r s t second 2 5 . 0 0 6 . 0 4 2 5 . 2 9 5 . 0 5 2 3 . 9 0 7 . 0 3 2 7 . 5 6 4 . 8 5 P a t e r n a l O c c u p a t i o n S c o r e s G i r l Boy S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s f i r s t second f i r s t second 5 . 5 6 1 .01 5 . 2 0 2 . 3 5 5 . 5 0 1 .58 -5 . 6 7 1 . 12 M o t h e r s ' Y e a r s o f F o r m a l S c h o o l i n g G i r l Boy S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s S i b l i n g s f i r s t second f i r s t second 1 5 . 0 0 1 . 94 1 4 .40 2 . 1 2 1 4 . 8 0 2 . 1 5 1 5 . 2 2 2 . 5 4 90 s i b - s e c o n d ) , 2 9 . 6 7 (boy, s i b - f i r s t ) , and 29.36 (boy, s i b -second) . The c e l l means r e v o l v e v e r y c l o s e l y around t h e average age o f secondborn - - 3 0.0 months. The e q u i t a b l e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f secondborn a c c o r d i n g t o age and sex i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e 1. The 38 f i r s t b o r n g i r l s c o v e r e d a w i d e r age span t h a n t h e secondborn: t h e y ranged from 44.3 t o 64.4 months o f age. A c c o r d i n g t o sex and o r d e r c o n d i t i o n s , t h e c e l l means f o r age o f f i r s t b o r n were 55-33 ( g i r l , s i b - f i r s t ) , 55.6$ ( g i r l , s i b - s e c o n d ) , 53-57 (boy, s i b - f i r s t ) , and 5 6 . 9 1 (boy, s i b -se c o n d ) ; t h e r e s p e c t i v e s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s were 5-12, 7.01, 6 . 9 8 , and 6 .07. The average age o f f i r s t b o r n was 55.4 months. F i g u r e 2 p r e s e n t s t h e f r e q u e n c y o f f i r s t b o r n a c c o r d i n g t o age i n months. Each o f t h e months ( e x c e p t 4 9 and 50 months) was r e p r e s e n t e d o v e r the age span; h a l f of t h e f i r s t b o r n were o l d e r t h a n 56 months (4 2/3 y e a r s ) . The t h i r d c o v a r i a t e r e l a t e d t o t h e age d i f f e r e n c e s between s i b l i n g dyads. A c c o r d i n g t o sex and o r d e r c o n d i t i o n s , t h e c e l l means f o r a g e - s p a c i n g d i f f e r e n c e s were 25.00 ( g i r l , s i b - f i r s t ) , 25.29 ( g i r l , s i b - s e c o n d ) , 2 3 . 9 0 (boy, s i b - f i r s t ) , and 2 7 . 5 6 (boy, s i b - s e c o n d ) ; t h e s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s f o r the c o r r e s p o n d i n g c o n d i t i o n s were 6.04, 5.05> 7 - 03 . and 4.85. The average d i f f e r e n c e was 25.4 months; t h e d i f f e r e n c e s ranged from 14.7 months t o 37.7 months. I n h a l f o f t h e c a s e s (19), t h e age d i f f e r e n c e was 24 months and under. F i g u r e 3 r e c o r d s t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f secondborn and f i r s t b o r n p a i r s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e two s i b l i n g s ' ages i n months; i t h e l p s t o fi u o r Q 'd fi o o CD W 3 4 ; p = 0 . 0 2 4 ) . The seeondborn produced more o s t e n s i v e def-i n i t i o n s with mothers (an average of 6 . 8 0 ) than they d i d with f i r s t b o r n (an average of 1 . 1 5 ) . The task x order i n t e r a c t i o n accrued because f o r the pl a y t i m e , the s i b l i n g - f i r s t order r e -s u l t e d i n fewer scores than the s i b l i n g - s e c o n d order; but f o r the p u z z l e s , the s i b l i n g - f i r s t order r e s u l t e d i n more scores than the s i b l i n g - s e c o n d order. (Refer to t a b l e 1 5 f o r the c e l l means f o r l e a r n e r s ' o s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s and r e -sponses to c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s . ) Secondborns' responses to co n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s showed s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t s of age of seeondborn ( F = 7 . 3 9 ; df 1 , 3 0 ; p = 0 . 0 1 1 ) , p a t e r n a l o c c u p a t i o n ( F = 1 1 . 0 6 ; df 1 , 3 0 ; p = 0 . 0 0 2 ) , ' a l l ' c o v a r i a t e s ( F = 5 . 2 0 ; df 4 , 3 0 ; p = 0 . 0 0 3 ) , p a r t n e r (F= 1 1 3 7 . 9 7 ; df 1 , 3 4 ; p = 0 ) , task ( F = 1 9 . 7 2 ; df 1 , 3 4 ; p = 0 ) , task x sex ( F = 9 . 0 4 ; df 1 , 3 4 ; p = 0 . 0 0 5 ) , and p a r t n e r x task ( F = 6 . 3 5 ; df 1 , 3 4 ; p = 0 . 0 1 7 ) . More responses to co n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s were gi v e n with mothers (an average of 6.84) than with f i r s t -born (an average of 0 . 3 0 ) . For the task e f f e c t , more responses to CQ's were g i v e n i n the p l a y s e s s i o n than i n the p u z z l e s e s s i o n . Since the g i r l s scored lower than the boys i n the 141 TABLE 1 4 SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE RESULTS FOR TWO MEASURES OF SECONDBORN BEHAVIOR Dependent V a r i a b l e s Source P O s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s Age o f secondborn P a r t n e r Task x Order 6.74 0.014 3 1 5 . 6 6 0 5 . 5 5 0.024 Responses t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s Age of secondborn 7 - 3 9 0 . 0 1 1 P a t e r n a l o c c u p a t i o n 1 1 . 0 6 0 . 0 0 2 • A l l * c o v a r i a t e s 5 - 20 0 . 0 0 3 P a r t n e r Task Task x:Sex P a r t n e r x Task 1 1 3 7 - 9 7 1 9 . 7 2 9 . 0 4 : 6 . 3 5 0 0 0 . 0 0 5 0 . 0 1 7 NOTES: The a n a l y s i s o f c o v a r i a n c e was based on p r o p o r t i o n a l s c o r e s s u b j e c t e d t o a r c - s i n e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s . n=38. d f = l , 3 0 f o r each independent v a r i a b l e and c o v a r i a t e ; df = 4 , 3 0 f o r ' a l l ' c o v a r i a t e s combined; d f = l , 3 4 f o r each t r i a l v a r i a b l e ; f o r t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f independent v a r i a b l e s ; f o r t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t r i a l v a r i a b l e s ; f o r t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f independent v a r i a b l e ( s ) and t r i a l v a r i a b l e ( s ) . 142 TABLE 15 CELL MEANS* FOR TWO MEASURES OF SECONDBORN BEHAVIORS ADJUSTED FOR THE INFLUENCE OF COVARIATES Independent V a r i a b l e s T r i a l V a r i a b l e s Sex of E x p e r i m e n t a l Seeondborn Order S i b l i n g Mother P l a y P u z z l e P l a y P u z z l e Dependent V a r i a b l e s O s t e n s i v e d e f i n i t i o n s G i r l S i b 1 s t 0 . 9 7 1.14 5 . 75 1 0 . 3 6 S i b 2 n d 1.10 0 . 6 0 7 . 0 0 7 . 3 0 Boy S i b 1 s t 0.89 1.59 5-59 7.59 S i b 2 nd 1.10 1 .77 5 . 6 6 5 . 1 0 Responses t o c o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s G i r l S i b 1 s t 0.19 - 0 . 0 9 8 . 8 0 7.91 S i b 2 nd 0 . 2 7 0 . 2 2 5 . 9 7 5 . 8 2 Boy S i b 1 s t 0 . 2 7 0 . 1 7 9.17 6 . 3 7 S i b 2nd 1 .05 0 . 3 3 5 - 7 7 4.88 * C e l l means a r e based on raw s c o r e s (equated on t h e ti m e c r i t e r i o n of f i v e m inutes) and a d j u s t e d f o r t h e c o v a r i a t e s . 143 p l a y t i m e but h i g h e r t h a n t h e boys i n the p u z z l e t i m e , t h e t a s k x sex i n t e r a c t i o n o c c u r r e d . The p a r t n e r x t a s k r e s u l t e d because t h e r e was a s m a l l e r d i s c r e p a n c y between s c o r e s w i t h p a r t n e r s i n t h e p u z z l e s e s s i o n t h a n between s c o r e s w i t h p a r t n e r s i n the p l a y s e s s i o n . A n a l y s i s o f V a r i a n c e R e s u l t s f o r Secondborn Measures L e a r n i n g - D e m o n s t r a t i n g Measures F o r t h e f i v e r e m a i n i n g l a n g u a g e - l e a r n i n g measures o f secondborn, f i v e s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t s o f p a r t n e r appeared, a l l o f t h e r e s u l t s h a v i n g a z e r o p r o b a b i l i t y o f o c c u r r i n g by chance and a l l c o n f i r m i n g t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t secondborn would e v i d e n c e more l e a r n i n g - d e m o n s t r a t i n g a c t s w i t h mothers t h a n w i t h s i b ^ l i n g s . Two e f f e c t s o f t a s k and two e f f e c t s of p a r t n e r x t a s k i n t e r a c t i o n a l s o showed up. The a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e r e s u l t s a r e r e p o r t e d i n t a b l e 16.; c e l l means,, i n t a b l e 1 7 . The r e p e a t i n g l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s measure showed s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t s o f p a r t n e r ( F = l 6 . 6 5 ; df 1 ,34; p= 0 ) , t a s k (F = 9 - 6 0 ; df 1 ,34; p = 0 . 0 0 4 ) , and p a r t n e r x t a s k (F = ? . 1 7 ; df 1 ,34; p = 0 . 0 1 1 ) . W h i l e t h e s c o r e s f o r t h i s measure were not l a r g e (an average of 0 . 3 2 w i t h mothers and 0 . 0 7 w i t h s i b l i n g s ) , t h e d i f f e r e n c e between p a r t n e r s was s i g n i f i c a n t . The p l a y s e s s i o n prompted more r e p e t i t i o n s of l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s t h a n d i d t h e p u z z l e s e s s i o n . The p a r t n e r x t a s k i n t e r a c t i o n appeared because secondborns' s c o r e s w i t h b o t h p a r t n e r s were more a l i k e i n the p u z z l e s e s s i o n (means of 0 . 1 6 and 0 . 0 5 ) t h a n i n t h e 144 TABLE 16 SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR SIX MEASURES* OF SECONDBORN BEHAVIORS Dependent V a r i a b l e Source F P Language - L e a r n i n g Measures R e p e a t i n g l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s P a r t n e r Task P a r t n e r x Task 1 6 . 6 5 9 .60 7 . 1 7 0 0 . p-004 O i l Acknowledgements P a r t n e r Task 2 5 . 6 0 6 . 1 9 0 0 . 018 S i n c e r e r e q u e s t s P a r t n e r P a r t n e r x Task 2 6 . 7 5 7 . 85 0 0 . 008 Responses t o i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s P a r t n e r 5 3 3 . 2 2 0 C o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s P a r t n e r 1 5 2 . 0 2 0 R e f e r e n t i a l F a i l u r e Measure E g o c e n t r i c d e f i n i t i o n s P a r t n e r 4 5 . 9 3 0 *Based on t r a n s f o r m e d s c o r e s . n=38. d f = l , 3 4 f o r each t r i a l v a r i a b l e . 145 TABLE 17 CELL MEANS* FOR FIVE MEASURES OF SECONDBORN BEHAVIORS Independent V a r i a b l e s T r i a l V a r i a b l e s Sex o f Seeondborn E x p e r i m e n t a l Order S i b l i n g Mother P l a y P u z z l e P l a y P u z z l e Dependent V a r i a b l e s R e p e a t i n g l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e c t i o n s 0 . 44 G i r i S i b 1 s t 0. 06 0 0 . 1 1 S i b 2nd 0 . 1 0 0 0 . 3 0 0 . 3 0 Boy S i b 1 s t 0 . 1 5 0 . 2 0 0 . 6 0 0 . 2 0 S i b 2nd 0 0 0 . 5 6 0 Acknowledgements G i r l S i b 1 s t 0 . 3 9 0 . 4 4 2 . 8 3 2 . 0 0 S i b 2nd 0 . 4 5 0 . 4 0 1 . 25 1 .50 Boy S i b 1 s t 0 . 6 5 1 .10 2 . 1 0 1 .70 S i b 2nd 0 . 5 0 0 . 2 2 1 . 72 0 . 7 8 S i n c e r e r e q u e s t s 4 . 1 1 3 . 6 7 G i r l S i b 1 s t 0 . 5 6 3 . 4 4 S i b 2nd 0 . 9 5 1 -30 3 . 00 1 .30 Boy S i b 1 s t 1 .00 2 . 0 0 2 . 5 0 2 . 5 0 S i b 2nd O.56 0 . 4 4 2 . 78 2. 22 Responses t o i n s i n c e r e r e q u e s t s 3 . 6 1 G i r l S i b 1 s t 0 0 5 . 2 2 S i b 2nd 0 0 2 . 9 5 5 . 00 Boy S i b 1 s t 0 0 . 7 0 2 . 4 0 4 . 3 0 S i b 2nd 0 0 . 1 1 1 . 67 2 . 8 9 C o n t i n g e n t q u e r i e s 4 . 2 8 4 . 2 2 G i r l S i b 1 s t O.78 0 . 2 2 S i b 2nd O.65 0 . 4 0 3 . 6 5 2 . 5 0 Boy S i b 1 s t 0 . 7 0 1 .80 3 . 60 4 . 2 0 S i b 2nd 0 . 3 9 O.67 2 . 8 9 4 . 1 1 * C e l l means based on raw s c o r e s equated on t h e ti m e c r i t e r i o n , u n a d j u s t e d f o r c o v a r i a t e s . 146 p l a y s e s s i o n (means o f 0 . 4 7 and 0 . 0 8 ) . Acknowledgements showed e f f e c t s o f p a r t n e r (F = 2 5 . 6 0 ; df. 4-4- A 4-., A - — ^ -> -•> • . - _ ~ m a x a u OI 1UU uea O I S1D-l i n g s t o a t t i t u d e s h e l d t oward each o t h e r and toward t h e i r p a r e n t s . Monographs of t h e S o c i e t y f o r R e s e a r c h i n C h i l d Development, I 9 6 0 , 2j>, (4 S e r i a l No. 78 ) 1-124 K o h l b e r g , Lawrence; Yaeger, Judy; & H j e r t h o l m , E l s e . P r i v a t e speech: F o u r s t u d i e s and a r e v i e w o f t h e o r i e s . C h i l d Development, 1 9 6 8 , 22, 6 9 1 - 7 3 6 . L a k o f f , R. The l o g i c o f p o l i t e n e s s . P a p e r s from t h e N i n t h R e g i o n a l M e e t i n g o f the Chicago L i n g u i s t i c s S o c i e t y . 1 9 7 3 , 2 9 2 - 3 0 5 . Lamb, M i c h a e l E. I n t e r a c t i o n s between eighteen-month o l d s and t h e i r p r e s c h o o l - a g e d s i b l i n g s . C h i l d Development, 1 9 7 8 a , 42» 5 1 - 5 9 . . 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Paper p r e s e n t e d a t t h e L i n g u i s t i c S o c i e t y of A m e r i c a , December, 1 9 7 3 -. Young c h i l d r e n ' s use o f a g e - a p p r o p r i a t e speech s t y l e s . J o u r n a l o f C h i l d Language, 1 9 7 6 , _3_, 8 1 - 9 8 . S a v i c , Svenka. M o t h e r - c h i l d v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n : t h e f u n c t i o n -i n g of c o m p l e t i o n s i n the t w i n s i t u a t i o n . J o u r n a l o f C h i l d Language, 1 9 7 9 , 6 , 1 5 3 - 1 5 8 . S c h i e f e l b u s c h , R. & L l o y d , L., eds. Language p e r s p e c t i v e s -A c q u i s i t i o n , r e t a r d a t i o n and i n t e r v e n t i o n . London: M a c m i l l a n , 19W. S e a r l e , John R. What i s a speech a c t ? I n M. B l a c k , ed., P h i l o s o p h y i n Am e r i c a . A l l e n & Unwin and C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 9 6 5 , 2 2 1 - 2 3 9 . . Speech a c t s An essay i n the p h i l o s o p h y o f language. 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Mommy l i n g u i s t : the case f o r motherese. Lingua, 1 9 7 5 , 21. 281 - 312 . Waterhouse, Lynn H. C h i l d language research methodology. Paper given at the F i r s t I n t e r n a t i o n a l Congress f o r the Study of C h i l d Language, August, 1 9 7 8 , Japan. Whitehurst, Grover J . & Vasta, Ross. I s language acquired through i m i t a t i o n ? J o u r n a l of P s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c Re-search, 1 9 7 5 , 4 , 3 7 - 5 9 . Winer, B.J. S t a t i s t i c a l p r i n c i p l e s i n experimental design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1 9 6 2 . 1 9 9 APPENDIX I TYPICAL NOTICE SENT TO THE PRESCHOOL DIRECTORS ATTENTION: PARENTS WITH CHILDREN AGED 4-5 YEARS AND Z-ZJ YEARS I f you speak E n g l i s h and have a dau g h t e r ( 4 - 5 y e a r s o l d , f i r s t b o r n ) and a younger c h i l d (2-2-g- y e a r s o l d , boy o r g i r l ) , we i n v i t e you t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n one r e s e a r c h s t u d y on c h i l d r e n ' s l e a r n i n g and i n t e r a c t i o n s a t UBC. T h i s r e s e a r c h i s now i n p r o g r e s s and w i l l be c o n t i n u i n g t h r o u g h o u t t h e r e m a i n d e r o f May and t h e f i r s t p a r t o f June. We would l i k e t h e mother o f t h e f a m i l y and t h e two c h i l d r e n t o v i s i t our p l e a s a n t c l i n i c a t UBC once. T r a n s p o r t a t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e i f t h a t poses a problem. The r e s e a r c h p r o c e d u r e i n v o l v e s t h e o b s e r v a t i o n o f t h e two c h i l d r e n i n a s h o r t p l a y s e s s i o n and t h e o b s e r v a t i o n o f t h e mother and t h e younger c h i l d . V i d e o t a p e s and a u d i o t a p e s a r e made of t h e s e s s i o n s which do not exceed f o r t y m i n u t e s . I t has been our p o l i c y t o show t h e f a m i l i e s t h e v i d e o -t a p e s d i r e c t l y a f t e r t h e t a p i n g . A s h o r t r e p o r t on t h e f i n d i n g s o f t h e s t u d y w i l l be sent t o p a r t i c i p a t i n g f a m i l i e s . S i n c e a l a r g e sample o f f a m i l i e s i s r e q u i r e d , we urge f a m i l i e s t o v o l u n t e e r . Over tw e n t y f a m i l i e s a r e a l r e a d y i n v o l v e d i n t h e s t u d y . More t h a n t e n have been t a p e d . The c h i l d r e n have e n j o y e d t h e new t o y s . I f you a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s r e s e a r c h , you may c o n t a c t me a t ... ( S i g n a t u r e ) APPENDIX I I 200 FAMILY DATA SHEET F a m i l y name: A d d r e s s : Telephone number: R e f e r r a l : F i r s t b o r n c h i l d name: b i r t h d a t e : sex: Seeondborn c h i l d name: b i r t h d a t e : sex: T h i r d b o r n c h i l d ( i f r e l e v a n t ) b i r t h d a t e : sex: F a t h e r ' s o c c u p a t i o n : F a t h e r ' s e d u c a t i o n a l background: number of y e a r s of f o r m a l s c h o o l i n g : Grade 8, h i g h s c h o o l , t e c h n i c a l s c h o o l , c o l l e g e , u n i v e r s i t y Mother's o c c u p a t i o n : Mother's e d u c a t i o n a l background: number o f y e a r s o f f o r m a l s c h o o l i n g : Grade 8, h i g h s c h o o l , t e c h n i c a l s c h o o l , c o l l e g e , n u r s i n g , u n i v e r s i t y Mother's age: 2 0 - 2 4 , 2 5 - 2 9 , 3 0 - 3 4 , 3 5 - 3 9 , 4 0 - 4 4 I s E n g l i s h t h e o n l y language spoken i n t h e home? What o t h e r l a n g u a g e s do you speak i n t h e home? Have your c h i l d r e n a t t e n d e d daycare c e n t r e s ? I f y e s , f o r how long? Have your c h i l d r e n a t t e n d e d p r e s c h o o l , n u r s e r y s c h o o l o r p l a y s c h o o l ? I f y e s , i s t h e p l a y s c h o o l t h a t y o ur c h i l d a t t e n d s a \"parent p a r t i c i p a t i o n \" o r \" c o - o p e r a t i v e \" p l a y s c h o o l ? Has t h e f a m i l y p h y s i c i a n n o t e d any speech o r h e a r i n g problems? I n t h e mother's o p i n i o n , have t h e c h i l d r e n been d e v e l o p i n g a t a normal pace ( t e e t h i n g , c r a w l i n g , w a l k i n g , and s o c i a l d e v e l o p -ment)? 201 APPENDIX I I I DATA COLLECTION D e t a i l s o f t h e s e t t i n g , t o y s , p u z z l e s , and p r o c e d u r e s were v e r y i m p o r t a n t because o f t h e n a t u r e o f t h e r e s e a r c h d e s i g n : t h e s i b l i n g s were t o amuse t h e m s e l v e s f o r a 1 0-minute p l a y s e s s i o n and a f i v e - m i n u t e p u z z l e s e s s i o n w i t h o u t any a d u l t s on t h e scene. D e t a i l s a r e r e p o r t e d here i n case o t h e r s would l i k e t o tape v e r y young c h i l d r e n a l o n e w i t h each o t h e r i n s t r a n g e s e t t i n g s . They a r e a l s o r e p o r t e d t o i n d i c a t e why we had a good t r a c k r e c o r d i n r e t a i n i n g f a m i l i e s w i t h complete r o s t e r s o f s c o r e s . I n f o r m a t i o n about t h e r e s e a r c h equipment and p e r -s o n n e l i s a l s o s p e c i f i e d . The S e t t i n g The s e t t i n g was a l a r g e c a r p e t e d room f l a n k e d on one s i d e by two d o o r s , on t h e o p p o s i t e s i d e by cupboards and s t e p s l e a d i n g up t o a s i n k , and on two o p p o s i n g s i d e s by draped, one-way m i r r o r s below which were walk-on l e d g e s . M i r r o r , f a n s , l i g h t s , and a microphone boom were overhead. The f u r n i t u r e i n c l u d e d two t a b l e s l a d e n w i t h t o y s and two microphones, two c o r d s , an a d u l t - s i z e d c h a i r , and f o u r c h i l d - s i z e d c h a i r s - - t w o wooden s t a c k i n g c h a i r s , a r o c k i n g c h a i r , and a w i c k e r c h a i r . The room was s e t up i n as i n t e r e s t i n g , c o m f o r t a b l e , and s a f e a way as p o s s i b l e , g i v e n t h e c l i n i c a l s e t t i n g . 202 The Toys The t o y s c o n s i s t e d o f a F i s h e r - P r i c e A-frame house complete w i t h f a t h e r , mother, t w i n g i r l s , hoy, baby, cowboy ( f i r e m a n ) , dog, two c a r s , l a d d e r , d o o r b e l l , p i c n i c t a b l e , k i t c h e n t a b l e , two benches, barbecue, two l o u n g e c h a i r s , couch, t e l e v i s i o n s e t , washer and d r y e r , sewing machine, bunk beds, c l o t h f o r b e d d i n g , b a t h t u b , s i n k , t o i l e t , bathroom s c a l e s , s t r o l l e r , c r a d l e , and c h a n g i n g t a b l e ; s t a c k i n g b a r r e l s , a xylophone and p i a n o ; a s t u f f e d monkey and a l a r g e Humpty Dumpty; two b l o c k s w i t h b e l l s ; one r e d and one b l u e t e l e p h o n e ; two b o o k s — B a m b i , a ' s c r a t c h and s m e l l ' book, and The O l d West, a pop-up book w i t h movable p a r t s . P u z z l e s and P u z z l e I n s t r u c t i o n s The P u z z l e s , F a m i l i a r T h i n g s #2113 ( c o m m e r c i a l l y p r o -duced by L a u r i , I n c . o f P h i l l i p s - A v o n , Maine, 0 4 Q 6 6 ) , were made of foam r u b b e r ( r e d , b l u e , green, y e l l o w ) and came i n 16 s i m p l e shapes: a p p l e , b e a r , b i r d , boy, b u t t e r f l y , c a r , c a t , dog, f i s h , f l o w e r , g i r l , house, p l a n e , t r e e , and t r i c y c l e . The dog shape was u s e d as t h e example i n a l l o f t h e p u z z l e i n s t r u c -t i o n s ; t h e r e m a i n i n g s i x p u z z l e s f o r each p a i r p e r f a m i l y were s e l e c t e d a t random w i t h o u t r e p l a c e m e n t . I t was d i f f i c u l t t o word t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s e x a c t l y i n t h e s i b l i n g and m o t h e r - c h i l d p u z z l e t r i a l s , s i n c e s t a t u s o f a d d r essee a f f e c t s use o f modals, use of g r a m m a t i c a l s t r u c t u r e s d i f f e r i n g i n p o l i t e n e s s , and p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s p r e sumably s h a r e d 20 3 by speaker and a d d r e s s e e . G e n e r a l l y , t h e form o f t h e i n s t r u c -t i o n u sed w i t h t h e f i r s t b o r n was a r e s t r i c t e d p e r m i s s i o n s t a t e -ment (\"You can\") c o u p l e d w i t h a r e q u e s t i n i m p e r a t i v e form ( \" T e l l , \" \"You t e l l \" ) but t h e form used w i t h mothers was a r e q u e s t i n i n t e r r o g a t i v e form (\"Would you t e l l . . . \" ) . I n p i l o t work, when t h e f i r s t b o r n were q u e r i e d on t h e i r w i l l i n g n e s s t o e x p l a i n t h e t a s k ( \" W i l l you...\" \"Would y o u . . . \" ) , t h e y s t a t e d t h a t t h e y were n o t w i l l i n g (\"Not now\" o r \" I don't wanna\"). To reduce t h e i r say i n t h e m a t t e r , t h e y were bestowed w i t h impera-t i v e s . M o t h e r s , on t h e o t h e r hand, were presumed t o be w i l l i n g p a r t n e r s . They were a l s o n o t i n f o r m e d t h a t t h e p u z z l e s were o n l y f o r t h e i r secondborn. The i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r the p u z z l e t a s k s f o l l o w e d t h i s f o r m u l a i n t h e s i b l i n g s e s s i o n s : \"Here a r e some p u z z l e s t o do. Can you see t h i s dog? The dog goes w i t h t h e dog shape. ( f i r s t b o r n c h i l d ' s name), t h e s e p u z z l e s a r e f o r (secondborn c h i l d ' s name) t o do. But you c a n t e l l him/her what t o do. You t e l l him/her what t o do.\" The f i r s t b o r n were r e m a r k a b l y adept a t engaging t h e r e s e a r c h e r i n c o n v e r s a t i o n s ; t h e y o f t e n b o a s t e d about t h e i r own accomplishments and downgraded t h e a b i l i t i e s o f t h e i r young-er s i b l i n g s . The p o l i c y o f d e l i v e r i n g t h e f o r m u l a i c i n s t r u c -t i o n s , g i v i n g n o n - c o m m i t t a l r e p l i e s (\"Mhm\"), and l e a v i n g t h e room w i t h i n a 3 0-second time l a p s e was o f t e n d i f f i c u l t t o c a r r y out. 204 G e n e r a l P r o c e d u r e s As t h e c h i l d r e n were v e r y young and l i k e l y t o r e a c t t o t h e s t r a n g e n e s s o f t h e s i t u a t i o n , we a t t e m p t e d t o p u t them a t ease by a d d r e s s i n g them by name, knowing t h e i r e x a c t ages and b i r t h d a y s , and t a l k i n g w i t h t h e i r mothers i n a f r i e n d l y , r e -l a x e d way. We f o l l o w e d a format o f h a n g i n g up t h e i r wraps by t h e p l a y room and c o f f e e c o r n e r , so t h a t t h e y were s e c u r e i n knowing where t h e i r garments and t h e i r mothers were. I n t h e r e c e p t i o n a r e a w h i c h was v e r y p l e a s a n t and r e s e m b l e d t h a t o f a w e l l - o u t f i t t e d m e d i c a l o f f i c e , t h e r e was a c o n s t a n t box o f t o y s (a l a r g e s t u f f e d Snoopy, p u p p e t s , s t a c k i n g c u p s ) . C o p i e s o f Sesame S t r e e t magazines and a m a g n i f y i n g g l a s s s e t i n t o a t h r e e - l e g g e d s t o o l a t t r a c t e d t h e c h i l d r e n ' s i n t e r e s t . W h i l e t h e mother and secondborn were b e i n g t a p e d , i t was customary f o r t h e r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n t t o t a k e t h e f i r s t b o r n a f l i g h t u p s t a i r s t o see t h e s c i e n c e d i s p l a y s — t h e l i v e i g u a n a , q u a i l , and a n i m a l s i n t h e aquarium. F o r t h o s e f a m i l i e s who t r a v e l l e d t o g e t h e r (two a t a t i m e ) , we p r o v i d e d a t r i c y c l e and a r i d i n g h o r s e c a l l e d 'Marvel t h e Mustang' f o r t h e c h i l d r e n t o r i d e on o u t s i d e . The c h i l d r e n were s e r v e d a p p l e j u i c e and t h e mothers t e a or c o f f e e . The r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n t s were n o t aware o f t h e p u r p o s e s of t h e r e s e a r c h . 205 Equipment and R e s e a r c h Team The v i d e o t a p e camera, a VCM 2000 Sanyo, w i t h a Sony 1 2 . 5 - 7 5 m.m. zoom l e n s , f 1 / 1 . 8 , was c o n n e c t e d t o a Sanyo tapedeck Model VTR - 2000 and a S e n n h e i s e r microphone, Model 421-U - 4 . Sony (V - 3 2 and V - 30H ) v i d e o t a p e s were used. The t a p e r e c o r d e r was an UHER 4000 R e p o r t - L c o n n e c t e d by an a d a p t -er t o an AKG Model D202 E l microphone ( s e t t o p i c k up t h e c h i l d r e n ' s h i g h f r e q u e n c i e s ) . The r e e l - t o - r e e l t a p e s were Ampex 6 31 i \" x 6 0 0 ' p r o f e s s i o n a l t a p e s (24 o f t h e s e ) and S c o t c h brand pro-pack 176 Low N o i s e ^ ' x 6 0 0 ' magnetic t a p e s (2 o f t h e s e ) . The r e c o r d i n g speed was s e t a t 3 3/4 i n c h e s p e r second. The d a t a c o l l e c t i o n team c o n s i s t e d o f t h r e e p e o p l e : the p r o f e s s i o n a l cameraman, th e a u t h o r ( r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e g e n e r a l p r o c e d u r e s and t h e a u d i o t a p i n g ) , and t h e r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n t ( r e s p o n s i b l e f o r making t h e f i r s t b o r n and t h e mother f e e l c o m f o r t a b l e when t h e y were n o t b e i n g t a p e d ) . The d a t a a n a l y s i s team a l s o i n c l u d e d s t u d e n t s who checked t h e t a l l i e s o f t h e measures and c o u n t e d u t t e r a n c e f r e q u e n c i e s , a computer programmer, and numerous c o n s u l t a n t s from t h e computer s c i e n c e department. APPENDIX IV 206 INTELLIGIBILITY OF THE TAPES I n t e l l i g i b i l i t y s t a t i s t i c s were e s t i m a t e d f o r t h e e n t i r e s e t o f p r o t o c o l s ; t h e y gauge t h e a c o u s t i c ' c l e a n n e s s ' of t h e sample and t h e e x t e n s i v e t i m e t h a t was d e v o t e d t o t h e t r a n s c r i p t i o n s . The b e s t e s t i m a t e o f t h e t o t a l number o f u t t e r a n c e s v o c a l i z e d i n t h e e n t i r e s e t of p r o t o c o l s was 20,062. Two f i r s t b o r n t a l k e d t o themselves s o t t o voce, so o n l y guesses of t h e i r u t t e r a n c e t o t a l s c o u l d be made u s i n g i n t o n a t i o n p a r a m e t e r s . W h i l e t h e u t t e r a n c e t o t a l s f o r t h e o t h e r s p e a k e r s were c o u n t e d r e l i a b l y (a team o f t h r e e s t u d e n t s checked and r e c h e c k e d t h o s e d e s c r i p t i v e s t a t i s t i c s and t h e a u t h o r went over them a g a i n t h o r o u g h l y ) , t h e t o t a l number of u t t e r a n c e s r e m a i n s an e s t i m a t e , s u b j e c t t o a m a r g i n o f measurement e r r o r . N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h a t t o t a l was used t o e s t i m a t e i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y s t a t i s t i c s . I n s p i t e o f t h e v a r y i n g a c o u s t i c c l a r i t y o f t h e c h i l d r e n ' s speech, p r i v a t e and s o c i a l , and i n s p i t e o f t h e i r d e v i a n t p h onology, a l m o s t 93$ o f t h e u t t e r a n c e s o f t h e sample were i n t e l l i g i b l e i n t h e i r e n t i r e t y . S t r i c t c r i t e r i a f o r i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y were employed: i f a s y l l a b l e i n an u t t e r a n c e was not p e r c e p t i b l e o r i f a c h i l d ' s u t t e r a n c e c o u l d n o t be r e n d e r e d i n p h o n e t i c s , t h a t u t t e r a n c e was deemed t o be un-i n t e l l i g i b l e . (The r e a d e r s h o u l d keep i n mind t h a t a h y p o t h -e s i s r e g a r d i n g i l l o c u t i o n a r y f o r c e can be formed even when an 207 u t t e r a n c e i s n ot t o t a l l y I n t e l l i g i b l e . ) The mothers' speech tended t o be al m o s t p e r f e c t l y i n t e l l i g i b l e - - 9 7 . 7 2 $ i n the p l a y t i m e and 9 8 . 4 0 $ i n t h e p u z z l e t i m e . The c h i l d r e n ' s speech ranged c o n s i d e r a b l y i n i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y . On t h e average, t h e secondborns' speech was 8 1 . 2 6 $ i n t e l l i g i b l e w i t h s i b l i n g s i n t h e p l a y t i m e and 8 7 . 5 2 $ i n t e l l i g i b l e , i n t h e p u z z l e t i m e . T h e i r speech was 94 .16$ i n t e l l i g i b l e w i t h mothers i n t h e p l a y t i m e and 9 4 . 2 0 $ i n t e l l i g i b l e , i n t h e p u z z l e t i m e . The f i r s t b o r n s ' speech was d e c i p h e r a b l e f o r 8 4 . 1 6 $ of t h e u t t e r a n c e s I n t h e p l a y t i m e and f o r 9 1 . 2 1 $ , i n t h e p u z z l e t i m e . I n t e l l i g i b i l i t y o f u t t e r a n c e s was t h u s a f u n c t i o n o f age, p a r t n e r , and t a s k . The secondborns' u t t e r a n c e s were more i n t e l l i g i b l e w i t h mothers t h a n w i t h f i r s t b o r n . A l l spe a k e r s were more u n d e r s t a n d a b l e i n t h e f o c u s s e d p u z z l e s e s s i o n t h a n i n t h e u n s t r u c t u r e d p l a y s e s s i o n . An i n c r e a s e i n t h e i n c i d e n c e of p r i v a t e speech r e s u l t e d i n t h e l o s s of d e c i p h e r a b i l i t y ; an i n c r e a s e i n t h e i n c i d e n c e o f communicative speech would r e s u l t i n an i n c r e a s e i n i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y . I f t h e 1 8 , 2 5 7 u t t e r a n c e s judged t o be communicative were s c o r e d f o r i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y , t h e gauges would be more a c c u r a t e t h a n t h o s e s t i p u l a t e d above and t h e i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y p e r c e n t a g e s would i n c r e a s e f o r a l l p a r t n e r and t a s k c o n d i t i o n s . "@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0055729"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "Education"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "The role of mothers and firstborn female siblings in teaching and encouraging language skills"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/22097"@en .