ABSTRACT

The pragmatic system consists of the rules for appropriate and communicatively-effective language use. This book provides an integrated view of the acquisition of the various pragmatic subsystems, including expression of communicative intents, participation in conversation, and production of extended discourse. The three components of the pragmatic system are presented in a way that makes clear how they relate to each other and why they all fall under the rubric of "pragmatics". The authors combine their own extensive work in these three domains with an overview of the field of pragmatic development, describing how linguistic pragmatics relates to other aspects of language development, to social development, and to becoming a member of one's culture.

chapter 1|14 pages

Introduction: What Is Pragmatics?

chapter 2|30 pages

The Communicative Uses of Speech

chapter 4|22 pages

The First Stage of Speech Use

chapter 6|35 pages

Participation in Verbal Interaction

chapter 7|28 pages

Children as Conversationalists

chapter 8|22 pages

The Pragmatics of Connected Discourse