Tom – 2 years 7 months

As Tom is in the garden with both parents, I would expect them to interact with Tom which, according to Vygotsky, should help develop his language acquisition through social conditioning.  As the conversation is being recorded, this may mark a memorable occasion or that his mother simply wants to record his language development for the purposes of nostalgia.  Whilst this may affect the mother’s language through Observers’ Paradox, Tom clearly has no awareness of being recorded and is easily distracted by the interrogative, ‘are you going for a ride?’  In addition, as Tom is 2 years 7 months, I would expect both parents to use elements of Child Directed Speech in order to sustain Tom’s interest.  The introductory paragraph uses the information of the exam question and data but, rather than simply repeat the information, it is developed in order to inform the wider context (you will need this level of perception for AO3).

Then, you need to discuss the data through each relevant linguistic method (this will ensure a systematic response necessary for AO1).  Remember, your analysis MUST be data-led.  You discuss the data and then draw on relevant concepts and ideas from language study (AO2).  You discuss AO2 in light of the data – not the other way round.

In terms of grammar, it is evident that Tom is firmly established in the Telegraphic Stage moving into the Multi-word Stage as Tom’s utterances have clear grammatical complexity: ‘Yeah (.) can you get the bits out?’; within this interrogative it is clear that Tom has sound syntactical accuracy.  However, it is necessary to be tentative when discussing stage theory as children’s move from one stage to the next is a gradual process although, according to Crystal, Tom should be within the Telegraphic stage at 2 years and 7 months.  His development may be partly attributed to social conditioning as both parents are keen to develop his language through interaction. As well as having a sound syntactical competence, his utterances not only include, subject, verb, object, as in, ‘I am on dad’s bike’, but he has clear spatial awareness evident through prepositional phrases such as, ‘in the bucket’.  Whilst the relationship to subject and verb is generally accurate, there is some inconsistency with the use of inflections: ‘it make noises’.  However, through his mother’s use of expansion, ‘it makes noises’, Tom will no doubt develop the correct subject/verb correlation in the future.  Research has shown that children, at this age, can be resistant to correction, and therefore, the use of expansion subtly conveys the correct grammatical form.  However, within the data, it seems that Tom is open to correction by his mother’s expansion of ‘dad’s bike’; it is evident that Tom has a moment of revelation as he exclaims the possessive form, conveyed through repetition and prosodic emphasis: ‘dad’s bike’.   In addition to highlighting the effect of social interaction, this example may support Piaget who suggests that children acquire language concepts when they are cognitively ready and shows that Tom is now able to grasp the possessive form as he is at the right age to do so.  However, Tom has not grasped all word classes as he omits the primary verb ‘am’ from the sentence, ‘I sitting on the bike’.  Whilst the use of the participle verb form ‘sitting’ shows evidence of linguistic development, the inconsistent use of ‘am’ suggests this grammatical structure has not been consolidated.  According to Brown and Fraser, children, at the Telegraphic Stage, do not use Function words, such as primary verbs and pronouns, accurately all the time but, in terms of pronouns, it seems that Tom has a secure understanding with the exception on line 23 when he says, ‘me (.) I need to fix dad’s bike’; the use of self-correction, in terms of the first person singular pronoun, may reflect his ability to recognise his own error or he may have initially used the incorrect pronoun because he was concentrating on his task.

In terms of lexis, Tom’s language reflects his own realm of experience.  The predominant semantic field is associated with bikes, such as, ‘handlebar’ and ‘screwdriver’; this reflects Tom’s interest in subjects which may be deemed ‘typically male’ and reflects that, through social conditioning, he is absorbing the social expectations of the male gender.  Whilst his mother speaks to him with greater regularity, I would argue that his father wields the majority of the power as Tom clearly respects his expertise when fixing a bike: ‘I trying to get the bits out dad’; through the use of ‘dad’ Tom is keen to attract the attention of his father and gain his approval. 

Due to the minimal use of the phonetic alphabet in the transcript, we may assume that Tom’s pronunciation is sound.  However, on line 14, Tom mispronounces the word ‘please’ omitting the elongated vowel sound ‘ea’ whilst emphasising the sibilant element of the word.  The fact that his mother mimics the mispronounced form may indicate shared understanding and suggest that Tom has deliberately reverted back to an earlier pronunciation in order to get his own way.  As words associated with CDS are often established through imitating children, it seems that both Tom and his mother use a ‘word’ that is reminiscent of Tom’s earlier years.  This may reflect the amount of time she spends with Tom in contrast to his father, fulfilling the role of primary care-giver normally associated with women.  The role of primary care-giver may be further explored through the use of CDS.

I would have expected both parents to use elements of CDS but Tom’s father does not speak to Tom in the same way as Tom’s mother.  He may not spend as much time with Tom and therefore does not draw upon the features associated with CDS.  Indeed, on line 34, Tom’s father speaks about Tom in the third person: ‘he has to get the bits out’, perhaps sharing some implicit humour with Tom’s mother, reflecting the fact that he may not feel so comfortable when dealing with Tom on an individual level.  Tom’s mother, on the other hand, uses many features associated with CDS.  The regular use of interrogatives encourages Tom to communicate, however, through the act of recording the conversation, she may want Tom to speak as much as possible.  In addition, she uses praise to encourage Tom: ‘excellent, you’re working very hard’; this supports Skinner who claims children acquire language through positive reinforcement and, in this case, his mother is encouraging the imaginative function of language acquisition.  Halliday proposed that children progress through seven language functions and, as Tom pretending that he is fixing dad’s bike and providing a running commentary, it shows he has progressed to the Heuritic/Imaginative functions of Halliday’s child language development revealing sound language development. 

To conclude, through close analysis of the data and by drawing on language concepts, I am able to reveal how Tom’s language acquisition supports relevant ideas from language study.

 Do avoid the first and second person when writing an academic essay.  Although it is acceptable to voice your views in your concluding paragraph.