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Pragmatic development describes how children learn to use language appropriately in social contexts — not just what to say, but when, where, how, and to whom to say it. While phonological, lexical, and grammatical development concern the structure of language, pragmatics concerns its function and use. This is a crucial area for AQA A-Level English Language, as it links language to social interaction and meaning.
Key Definition: Pragmatics — the study of how language is used in context to achieve communicative goals. Pragmatic competence involves understanding implied meaning, conversational rules, social appropriateness, and the functions that language serves.
Pragmatic competence includes:
Michael Halliday (1975) studied his son Nigel's early language development and identified seven functions that children use language to perform. These functions emerge in roughly the following order:
| Function | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Instrumental | Using language to get something — to fulfil needs and wants | "Want milk" / "Give me teddy" |
| Regulatory | Using language to control the behaviour of others | "Go away" / "Don't do that" |
| Interactional | Using language to interact with others — to form and maintain relationships | "Hello" / "Love you" / "Play with me" |
| Personal | Using language to express feelings, opinions, and individual identity | "I like chocolate" / "Me cross" |
| Heuristic | Using language to explore and learn about the world | "What's that?" / "Why?" |
| Imaginative | Using language to create imaginary worlds — in play, stories, and jokes | "Let's pretend..." / "Once upon a time..." |
| Representational | Using language to convey information and communicate facts to others | "It's raining" / "My cat is called Whiskers" |
Key Definition: Halliday's functions of language — seven functions identified by Halliday (1975) that describe the purposes for which children use language. These range from basic instrumental use (getting what you want) to more complex representational use (conveying information).
Halliday argued that the first four functions (instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal) emerge first, from around 9–18 months, while the later functions (heuristic, imaginative, representational) develop from around 18 months onwards as children's cognitive and linguistic abilities grow.
John Dore (1975) offered an alternative classification of children's early communicative functions, focusing on the concept of speech acts — the actions performed through speech:
| Speech Act | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Labelling | Identifying or naming an object or event | "Doggy!" (pointing at a dog) |
| Repeating | Reproducing an utterance heard from another speaker | Adult: "Say bye-bye." Child: "Bye-bye." |
| Answering | Responding to a question or utterance from another speaker | Adult: "What's that?" Child: "Ball." |
| Requesting action | Asking someone to do something | "Up!" (wanting to be picked up) |
| Requesting answer | Asking a question | "What dat?" |
| Calling | Getting someone's attention by using their name or a greeting | "Mummy!" |
| Greeting | Producing a conventional social expression | "Hello!" / "Bye-bye!" |
| Protesting | Objecting to something | "No!" |
| Practising | Producing language when no audience is present — talking to oneself | Babbling or monologuing in the cot |
Turn-taking is a fundamental feature of conversation. Children develop turn-taking skills gradually:
| Age (approx.) | Turn-Taking Development |
|---|---|
| 0–6 months | Proto-conversations — caregiver and baby take turns with vocalisations and gestures; the baby responds to the caregiver's voice with cooing, and the caregiver treats these as conversational turns |
| 6–12 months | More deliberate turn-taking in babbling; babies begin to vocalise in response to pauses in the caregiver's speech |
| 12–24 months | Children begin to respond to questions and comments, though they may not always stay on topic |
| 2–3 years | Children can sustain short exchanges on a topic but may abruptly change subject |
| 3–5 years | Increasing ability to sustain longer conversations; beginning to use conversational repair and feedback |
| 5+ years | More sophisticated turn-taking, including knowing when to speak, when to listen, and how to manage overlaps |
Snow (1977) emphasised that caregivers play a crucial role in teaching turn-taking by treating the child's early vocalisations as meaningful turns in a conversation — responding to babbling as if the baby were speaking, asking questions and leaving pauses for the baby to respond.
Children gradually learn the politeness conventions and social rules that govern language use in their culture:
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