Talking to Adults

Shoshana Blum-Kulka, Catherine E. Snow

"Readable, well edited, and relevant, the papers demonstrate what can be learned about children's language acquisition by investigating the mixed-age, multiparty linguistic environments that play a large role in linguistic and social development. This informative and exciting collection is highly recommended for institutions with graduate programs in child language acquisition."—CHOICE"...Talking to Adults represents an important contribution to the field of language development. The range of cultures and contexts for interaction discussed sheds light on study of input to children. The dialogues presented throughout the book provide colourful examples of the topics considered."—Child Language Teaching and Therapy"...this volume achieves its aim to increase awareness among readers of the importance of rethinking and broadening the 'social context' employed until now by most empirical research in the field of language socialization. It is thought-provoking and interesting reading for all people working in the area of language and social development in the child, but also for novices in the field."—Language in Society"...it provides a strong descriptive basis for further, more focused study of effects on children. Another contribution of the volume is its very rich variety of language vignettes, which are a wealth of resouces for students of child language."—Contemporary Psychology APA REVIEW OF BOOKS

• Contents: Editors' Introduction. Part I: Issues in the Development of Extended Discourse: Narratives and Explanations.D.E. Beals, C.E. Snow, Deciding What to Tell: Selecting and Elaborating Narrative Topics in Family Interaction and Children's Elicited Personal Experience Stories. A. Georgakopoulou, Greek Children and Familiar Narratives in Family Contexts: En Route to Cultural Performances. V.G. Aukrust, "What Did You Do in School Today?" Speech Genres and Tellability in Multiparty Family Mealtime Conversations in Two Cultures. S. Blum-Kulka, "Do You Believe That Lot's Wife Is Blocking the Road (to Jericho)?" Co-Constructing Theories About the World With Adults. A. Nicopoulou, Peer-Group Culture and Narrative Development. Part II: The Language of Affect and Humor: Pragmatic Developmental Perspectives.C. Hérot, Socialization of Affect During Mealtime Interactions. R. Nevat-Gal, Cognitive Expressions and Humorous Phrases in Family Discourse as Reflectors and Cultivators of Cognition. A. Fasulo, V. Liberati, C. Pontecorvo, Language Games in the Strict Sense of the Term: Children's Poetics and Conversation. Part III: Issues of Context and Culture in Pragmatic Development.P. Brown, Everyone Has to Lie in Tzeltal. K. Aronsson, M. Thorell, Voice and Collusion in Adult-Child Talk: Toward an Architecture of Intersubjectivity. H. Kasuya, Bilingual Context for Language Development. C.E. Snow, S. Blum-Kulka, From Home to School: School-Age Children Talking With Adults.