3V0453.01 A question: [What that is ?] interior dialogue: (4/20/79)

Peggy toddles around the bedroom-study while Gretchen and I work on
the thesis. Today, she sat by the fireplace in a pile of dried leaves and
wood chips, she spoke to herself [what that is ?] as she patted a “dust
mop” then gave her own answer [broom].
Importance: a number of points revolve around this performance.
1. the non-standard word order is a puzzle. when we ask Peggy the
names of things, we ask “what’s that ?” It is striking that she
introduces a copula in place of recognizing its contraction in “what’s”
If she hears “what that from us. why should she add “is” ?

2. She could have said something else, which I mistook for [what that
is?] Yes. She could have said [what that it.] – a construction similar to
[that’s scurry. That’s it.] Perhaps something else.

3. Here we have an example surfacing of interior monologue in a query
format — perhaps interior dialogue would be a better term.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email