Into the Mother Tongue: A Case Study in Early Language Development

Description

This book offers a systematic linguistic critique of language development studies since the 1960s. It uses systemic theory to explain and interpret the development of child language, with discussions and illustrative texts to explicate the analysis. Painter provides a rich source of data for child language researchers in all fields, and aims to make a systematic theory more accessible to those interested in the ideas put forward by M.A.K. Halliday in his writings on language development. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents List of figures Foreword Introduction 1 Developmental research since the 1960s: non-systemic approaches Language as syntactic structure Language as semantic structure Language as communication Summary 2 Systemic theory The general theory: paradigmatic and functional Systemic theory: language and context Implications for a developmental study Outline of Halliday's account of language development Systemic theoretical and terminological issues 3 Data Data collection: the non-neutral observer Methods of data collection Constraints of a naturalistic study Data analysis Formal representation of the language 4 The Protolanguage The functional framework Systematicity A description of Hal's protolanguage Overview of Hal's protolanguage and comparison with Nigel Orientational interpretation 5 Into Phase: from protolanguage to transition The language from 161/2 to 18 months From microfunction to macrofunction A macrofunctional analysis, I61/2-18 months The transition to adult begun The macrofunctional representation considered Comparison with Nigel and subjects from other studies 6 Eighteen to nineteen and a half months The emergence of the informative function Other mathetic utterances Developments within the pragmatic function Successive single-word utterances 7 Nineteen and a half months to twenty-one months Developments within mathetic function Developments within pragmatic function The mathetic/pragmatic distinction Formal description of the language, 191/2-21 months Functional restriction of lexico-grammatical realizations General summary 8 Twenty-one to twenty-two and a half months The breaking down of the mathetic/pragmatic distinction First adult MOOD forms Summary of evidence for breakdown of the functional dichotomy Factors in support of maintaining a functionally specific interpretation Formal description of the language 21-221/2 months General summary 9 Twenty-two and a half to twenty-four months From macrofunction to metafunction Evolution of MOOD system A macrofunctional description no longer valid Revision to a metafunctional analysis Stratification of speech function and MOOD systems Major vs. minor clauses Ellipsis Implicit elements Summary of considerations relevant to a metafunctional description of Hal's language, 221/2-24 months Metafunctional analysis, 221/2-24 months Textual developments Summary 10 Concluding summary Development from Phase I to Phase III Comparison with Nigel Appendix: Selected developments, 24-27 months Bibliography Index