3V0639.2

3V0639.02 [hold dog]:assembled command. 10/23/79 Going upstairs, Peggy paused at the bottom, then handed me her “snoopy” pull toy and ordered [hold dog]. Gretchen.

3V0638.3

3V0638.03 Naming: metalinguistic note: changes in the name of Scurry; Naming Miriam and LaRene /nehm/. 10/22/79 Over the past week or two, Peggy’s name for Scurry has shifted somewhat from /kuhl/dah/ or /kuhl/dae/ or /kar/di/ (roughly). She has shown a tendency also to call other dogs /dawg/ rather than /kuhl/dae/. I have told her that …

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3V0638.2

3V0638.02 Everything’s a pen if it comes out of my pocket. 10/22/79 Recently I’ve done some electrical work. I usually keep small tools in my pockets — a screwdriver, for instance. when Peggy sat in my lap this afternoon, she found in my shirt pockets a pen knife (she had seen it before and knew …

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3V0638.1

3V0638.01 Holophrase sequences: [goody…scurry…food…treat] see note below: # 289 10/22/79 Peggy knows where Scurry’s goodies are kept, and often asks to give her one (frequently giving it a nibble herself in transit). She has always called it /fu/ (“food”). Today, as I got Scurry’s heartworm pill from the shelf above, Peggy pointed up and said …

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3V0636.1

3V0636.01 /cup…au.ehl/: adjective < further specification of idiom "owl-cup"; idiom degenerates and is reconstructed from more successfully competitive /kup/ in pre-standard order MAJOR EXAMPLE Pointing to my own coffee cup, Peggy remarked /kuhp/, then after a pause said /au ehl/ (owl). I have always identified this cup for Peggy as my owl cup, and pointed ...

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3V0630.1

3V0630.01 [gotcha]: verbal accompaniment of micro-script. Peggy sat in my lap as I warmed me toes before the fire. At her request, the toy Scotty was in her lap. She remarked [fire… hot], repeating our frequent warning to her. I said “toes warm” and taking her legs, held up her toes parallel to mine. The …

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3V0628.1

3V0628.01 [hurt…ham(mer?)]: instrumental case in presyntactic form 10/12/79 Working at completing the partition in Robby’s room, I set a chair across the doorway to keep Peggy away from the tools and paint. Having removed my shoes (paint on the bottom of one), I came out of the room carrying a hammer. Stepping over the obstacles, …

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3V0626.1

3V0626.01 [mama hurt. mama hurt. hurt head] Context permits 10/10/79 This morning was a bad one for me. Rearranging the fire in the upstairs fireplace, I banged the back of my head on the lintel. Peggy could see and hear that I was upset. Less than five minutes later, I passed through the partially completed …

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3V0623.1

3V0623.01 [my daddy]: first recorded use of possessive modifier without hiatus and inverted order (see note #242) 10/7/79 With the picnic table newly set up in the kitchen, Peggy came walking more or less cautiously down the bench to run to my arms. She put her arms about my neck as I caught her and …

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3V0622.1

3V0622.01 [mama got eye]: MAJOR NOTE on cognitive structures behind speech; topic and comment at “discourse” level, not a word level. 10/6/79 Gretchen long ago began instructing Peggy in the names of body parts, especially of the face. Recently, Peggy has surprised me by making comments about the commonality of the body parts. For example, …

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3V0619.2

3V0619.02 [/cul/du/eat]: sentence. 10/3/79 Peggy left a partially eaten hot dog on the low hearth. Later I saw Scurry prowling about, and asked Peggy, “Where is your hot dog?” She replied [/cul/duh/ eat] Gretchen.

3V0614.2

3V0614.02 [Da…door…go]: pre-sentence 9/28/79 Upstairs with Peggy in our bedroom. The door shut to keep her from going downstairs, since we are here only a short time and I don’t want to bother with the gate. Peggy was a little restless, wanting to leave. She went to the door and pushed, saying [door…door]. Then (knowing …

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3V0614.1

3V0614.01 [gone]: first explicit verbal joke. 9/28/79 Peggy still enjoys putting things in my pockets and taking them out. Not only does she ask for a pen (/pehn/) but she explains that she is putting in or taking out of the pocket (pae/taet/) by saying [in there] (as she stuffs a pen in) or [put …

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3V0612.5

3V0615.05 More word practice and an inference: “sleepy” is a signifier appropriate to an observed yawn. 9/26/79 I yawned. Peggy looked at me and immediately inquired /S’ipi ?/ The following morning a similar incident occurred with Miriam. For a day or so, every time any one yawned, Peggy would as /s’ipi?/ This is another word …

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3V0612.4

3V0612.04 Word practice: (“terrible” = /teh/bu/) 9/26/79 This morning, changing Peggy’s diaper, I remarked to her “Poor Peggy. You are wet and soggy. That’s terrible.” Later on in the day, I heard Peggy repeating something to herself. Listening, I heard /teh/buh/. She repeated the word a number of times, as if practicing. Gretchen.

3V0612.3

3V0612.03 Getting a name wrong: [pooh pooh]: Tiger in Madeline (=> a new word = last phrase in discourse) 9/26/79 [Pooh pooh] (with falling intonation). Reading Madeline today. As we turned the page which shows the little girls skating (left) and at the zoo (right), Peggy immediately pointed to the tiger in the right hand …

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3V0612.2

3V0612.02 [help…zzzzz]: ie. please wind up my toy car. 9/26/79 Conversation: Peggy “He’p” Gretchen: Help? do you want some help ? What do you want help with ?” Peggy: [Zzzz…] She wanted me to wind up a little spring driven car. Gretchen.

3V0609.1

3V0609.01 [light off]: complex situation represented by order free catenation of words. 9/23/79 Peggy and I have played with a flash light recently, which I switched on and off and gave to her to play with. I named it for her as a “light” which she reproduced as /lait/. Peggy has since found lights everywhere …

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3V0605.1

3V0605.01 [kiss]: kisses doll spontaneously; verbal self-direction 9/19/79 While I was working in the kitchen, Peggy walked by holding a doll. She held it up , said “kiss” and kissed the doll. A week later (9/26) Peggy repeated this with me, saying spontaneously [kiss] and leaning over to kiss me. (text repeated in 3V0611.1). Gretchen.

3V0603.1

3V0603.01 [cup…mama]: word catenation used to express an instantaneous relation that later becomes syntactically expressed. 9/17/79 Peggy sat in my lap while I sipped at my morning coffee. She has lately been naming the containers from which I drink things, e.g. /kaen/ for a beer can and /kuhp/ for such a one as she pointed …

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3V0597.2

3V0597.02 Gotcha: a game – shows fluidity of actions and control over them at the complete and partial changes of rules (see also P.85) Peggy has long played a game with me where she would come between my knees and I would give her a gentle squeeze, saying “gotcha”. Her control of the game was …

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3V0594.4

3V0594.04 [mommy, get door]: vocative action sentence. 9/8/79 Running the dishwasher. The last thing to go in was Peggy’s cup. she called after it [cup, cup, cup…]. Then she scrabbled at the closed door of the machine, finally turning to me and saying “Mommy” (not momma) “get door.”

3V0594.3

3V0594.03 /cul’/dae/gen’/: elaboration of verbal portion of script for exploration beyond simple pragmatic requirements. 9/8/79 Peggy enjoys playing with Scurry in different ways, but most of them share the element of her getting Scurry to move where she wants her. The usual form involves tugging the dog’s tail or ear. Tonight, Peggy found Scurry with …

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3V0594.2

3V0594.02 ONE, TWO: [one, two]: note on standardization of Peggy’s counting 09/08/79; You can’t avoid counting, and it’s hard to avoid instructing those who don’t know what you know — but we’ve been trying to avoid instructing Peggy. The children are persistent, at odd moments that we can’t witness. So Peggy’s idiosyncratic counting [one, one, …

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3V0594.1

3V0594.01 /wae/thaet/: issues: discussion of what a word is. 9/8/79 Peggy has enjoyed playing with my belt as a baby but has not done so for quite a while. Today, she sat in my lap and, pointing at my belt buckle, said, “/wae/thaet/?” I told her it was a belt buckle, which answer seemed to …

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3V0593.1

3V0593.01 [maemae take bath]: CENTRAL NOTE: first complex follow up to /cul’/du/vae/vae’/ 9/7/79 This morning, as Peggy and I played on the bed, Gretchen asked if I were going to take a bath, and we agreed she should do so first. Peggy played with her bear, picked up a book, called out “Mama !” and …

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3V0591.1

3V0591.01 [on]: draw a heart on my arm. 9/5/79 Another case of “on” meaning “put something on my arm” — Peggy and Miriam both sat on my lap. I drew a heart on the back of Miriam’s hand. Peggy held up her hand crying [on… on… on… ] so that I should also draw a …

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3V0588.3

3V0588.03 /wae/thaet/: interpretation question “what’s that? ” or “wash that” (cf. note # 3V593.1) 9/2/79 While Peggy was playing in the kitchen, Gretchen washed out a large old diaper pail we use for trash. It was not on the floor and vertical, in which place and position Peggy knew it well, so I interpreted her …

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3V0588.1

3V0588.01 [mine…box]: “sentences” with pauses; precursors to standard structures. 9/2/79 Playing in the living room, Peggy recognized a large card board box in which I kept blocks et alia for our experiments. Robby has just picked up all the junk left scattered about by Peggy the day before. She struggled to pull the box off …

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3V0587.2

3V0587.02 [I threw it]: Before the incident described above (in Vignette V0586A), Peggy, Gretchen and I sat in the living room, Peggy playing with Gretchen’s wallet. She picked it up and threw it across the room, under a chair. I censured her “No, Peggy, no. Don’t do that.” She responded, talking to herself it seems …

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3V0587.1

3V0587.01 /cul’/du/vae/vae’/: CENTRAL INCIDENT;major insight ascribed on basis of incident. 9/1/79 Over the past several weeks, our house has suffered a greater than usual density and flux of Tintin cartoon books. As do the older kids, Peggy enjoys them. She brings a magazine, says /aen//aen/ and convinces one to hold her in his lap while …

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3V0586.2

3V0586.02 /bae/bae/: general purpose word (noun) where /thaet/ was the general word of imperious force. 8/31/79 Over the past week or two, this sound pattern has taken over Peggy’s speech. It seems to have replaced /thaet/ in the latter’s application as the general pronoun, i.e. “baba” may refer to Peggy’s Teddy Bear, my pillow, a …

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3V0581.2

3V0581.01 On: [on]: three different applications of “on” similar to concurrent discriminating uses of [up].: 8/26/79; This morning Peggy clambered into my bed where I waked from a nap. She sat beside me, pointing with her right hand at her left upper arm. She said /”on”/ at least four times in succession. I was much …

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3V0581.1

3V0581.01 Increased Specificity: 8/26/79; By now it is clear that Peggy is trying to communicate (orally) on a wider scale. “Dat, dat, dat” lacked any specificity and soon outran its usefulness. She then developed a remarkable range by merely varying the pitch on a neutral syllable [***], repeated several times. Now she seems to be …

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3V0579.1

3V0579.01 “On, on on” : 08/24/79; Later the next day, while Gretchen rubbed some lotion on herself after a bath, Peggy, sitting on the bed, pointed repeatedly at her own thighs and said repeatedly “on, on, on.” (The tone and gesture made this imperious rather than declarative.)

3V0578.1

3V0578.01 Up: [up] different use; spontaneous on sitting up: 08/23/79; Playing with me on my bed, Peggy, after lying on her back at one point, rose with her normal difficulty to sitting and said to herself, “Up.” 08/27 — Playing with a matchbox racer, Peggy pushed the little car along the floor, up the vertical …

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3V0575.1

3V0575.01 “Duff”: 08/20/79; Peggy has been imitating words we speak (usually the last one of an utterance) for quite some time. If I note anything special about this imitation now, it is its becoming so pervasive as to be the norm in her response now. When offered some cake this evening, Peggy responded /***/ to …

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3V0573.2

3V0573.02 Enriched Phrases : 08/18/79; Peggy has long said [have that] meaning either [(you) have that] or [(I want to) have that] as the pragmatic context makes sufficiently clear. In a typical scenario today, Peggy was unnecessarily specific in her utterance, thus. Peggy frequently plunks some object (a book or toy) in one’s lap, says …

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3V0573.1

3V0573.01 See and That: 08/18/79; Scurry looms large in Peggy’s life, and it should be no surprise that she was much delighted to find among our other books one on “Caring for Your Scotch Terrier.” After bringing the book to me, Peggy turned pages and pointed. [That…that…see]. In this usage, I see prefigured a functional …

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3V0563.1

3V0563.01 Scissors : 08/08/79; Prospecting for playthings one place or another, Peggy came up with a pair of children’s safety scissors. Even though they have rounded ends, I feared Peggy could hurt herself by pinching her fingers and bade her put them on my writing table. After putting them down, Peggy pointed at them decisively …

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3V0559.1

3V0559.01 “Daddy Hug Peggy” : 08/04/79; Comforting the baby, it was our custom to hold her close and pat her gently on the back. Amusingly, when she was so comforted, even though crying, Peggy would return this gentle patting on the back. Recently, she has begun responding to my statement or question “Daddy hug Peggy” …

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3V0550.1

3V0550.01 [is a stairs] (7/26/79) Recently Peggy has been using the phrase “Is a X”. This use has been in a context we would interpret as declaring the identification of a thing. It may not mean that to Peggy. It may mean that and other things as well, as this observation suggests. I recently refinished …

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