first words

[Brian MacWhinney]

Dear Alison et al.,
     Your observations suggest an interesting new method of computing  
time in child language acquisition.  When you use the phrase "in the  
first few months," I believe you mean something like "in the first  
few months after the onset of language" or "in the first few months  
after the first word."  Then, later, when you refer to your sons use  
of "bears" at four months, I assume you mean his use of this word at  
"four months after the onset of language."
    It makes good sense for child language people to think in these  
terms.  Of course, it requires a firm commitment to the time of the  
first word.  But this is not all that different from the commitment  
to the time of the beginning of the Christian era or the Buddhist  
calendar.  How about 4 months AL (ante lingua)?

--Brian MacWhinney

On Sep 13, 2006, at 3:38 AM, Alison Crutchley wrote:

> Tina highlights part of the difficulty in establishing what a  
> 'first word' is. In the first few months we made up stories for our  
> son involving elk, igloo(s) and legs, as these were all 'words'  
> that he produced on a fairly regular basis. Of course there was no  
> reason to think he was 'using' these 'words'. (Not many igloos in  
> Yorkshire, although I did jump when I was carrying him down the  
> road in the sling at about 4 months and he shouted 'Bears!').
>
> So it's not just the children who may be relying on a convergence  
> of linguistic and non-linguistic cues to establish meanings...
>
> Incidentally, I think our son's first 'real' word was 'hiya' - only  
> said when clamping a phone (or phone-shaped object) to his ear.
>
> Alison
>
>
> ...................................................................... 
> ......
> Dr Alison Crutchley
> Course Leader, English Language
> School of Music, Humanities and Media
> University of Huddersfield
> Queensgate
> Huddersfield, UK. HD1 3DH
>
> a.crutchley at hud.ac.uk
> http://www.hud.ac.uk/mh/english/research/ac.htm
> ...................................................................... 
> ......
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: info-childes at mail.talkbank.org on behalf of tina.bennett
> Sent: Tue 12/09/2006 10:17 PM
> To: info-childes at mail.talkbank.org
> Subject:
>
>
>
> One of my daughters used, as her first word (at
> about 6 months) /da/, meaning "that", with rising intonation,
> accompanied by pointing to objects she wanted us to name.
>
> She also produced a very credible "hi" when just
> two weeks old and we were ignoring her in favor
> of a football game on television. Even my father,
> a speech pathologist, heard it and his mouth dropped open.
> It was the first thing we used to say to her every time we
> initiated interactions. But of course
> it is impossible for a newborn to have done such a thing.
>
> -Tina Bennett-Kastor
>
>
>
>
>
>
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