Pragmatic Domains

Communicative functions
Intents
Frequency
Discourse management
Turns
topics
Register variation
Politeness
Social roles
Presupposition
Grices maxim of Quantity
mind-reading
Communication Development:
Preverbal Use
Perlocutionary: 0-8 mo.
No intentions
Intentions attributed
Illocutionary: 8-12 mo.
Early intents expressed:
Proto-imperative
Proto-imperative
Expressed with
Gaze
Gestures
vocalizations
Locutionary: 12-18 mo.
Same intents expressed
Words and jargon co-exist

Pragmatic Development: 18-24 mo.
New discourse-related communicative functions:
Answer
Acknowledge
Add new information
Discourse management
Turns: increasing awareness of
conversational obligation
Topics: 1-2 turns/topic
Register variation
Politeness: please, whining
Talk differently to mom than dad
Presupposition
Very little
Communication Development: 24-
36 mo. Use
Child is more reliable at responding to
conversational obligations
New discourse intents include
pretending, narrating,
More flexible forms are used to
achieve politeness, indirect requests
Topics can be maintained for longer
Turn-taking and topic shifting become
more independent
Beginning ability to repair
conversations

Pragmatic Development: School Age
Communicative functions
Increase in range of functions
Narration
Persuasion/negotiation
Increase in decontextualized talk
Discourse management
Requires less support from adults; still needs
some
Longer turns; more turns/topic
Increased topic maintenance, fewer unrelated
utterances
Smooth transitions
Decline in abrupt shifts
Greater coherence

Pragmatic Development: School
Age, cont.
Register variation
New polite forms:
permission requests, permission directives, some
indirect requests
4-7: hints
Ability to use motherese
Language of power, social negotiation
Presupposition
attending to listener needs
informativeness

Pragmatic Development in Later
Childhood and Adolescence
Discourse Genres
Narration
Persuasion/negotiation
Exposition
Ambiguity/sarcasm
Register variation
Slang
Figurative language
Presupposition
Cohesive devices


Pragmatic Development in
Adolescence: Discourse Management
Stay on topic longer
Has extended dialogues
Makes greater number of relevant, factual,
new contributions to topic
Shifts gracefully from one topic to another
Adjusts the content and
style of speech to thoughts
and feelings of others.
Pragmatic Development in
Adolescence: Persuasion
Adjusts to listener characteristics (e.g., social
status, familiarity
States advantages to the listener as a reason to
comply
Anticipates and replies to counterarguments
Uses positive strategies such as politeness and
bargaining
Gives up negative strategies such as whining
and begging
Generates a number and variety of arguments
Controls discourse assertively