ABSTRACT
Pragmatic acquisition has been of great interest to developmental psycholinguists for the last 15 years. Unlike grammatical rules, pragmatic 'rules' can hardly be considered rules. In general, the ambiguity and complexity of pragmatic behaviors would appear to make them very difficult for children to learn to use appropriately. Parents are not the only family members to use the pragmatic teaching techniques. Input from caregivers comes in a variety of forms. These forms include modeling, prompts or direct and indirect comments on children's pragmatic errors and omissions, reinforcement of appropriate behavior, and statements about past and future pragmatic episodes. Input from caregivers is just one part of the process of acquiring pragmatic competence. Children have a number of general cognitive abilities that help them learn about the world. They have a natural tendency to form concepts, remember sequences of events and associations between behaviors and situations, organize and make sense of the world, and note regularities in their experience.
