ABSTRACT
Language is acquired and used in the context of face-to-face interaction. The child acquires language only after a relatively extensive experience of interaction with others, some of this interaction involving language and some not. A child who has experienced particularly pathological interaction with significant others may not use language at all or at least not use it in any normal sense. It seems reasonable to expect that a child reared without direct contact with humans but exposed to language in terms of well-formed utterances emanating from audio speakers would not acquire language. (May this speculation never receive empirical test.) Once language is acquired, its use in everyday life commonly occurs in the context of face-to-face interaction, not only that specialized type of interaction called conversation, but also a variety of other types of interaction.
