Evaluation
3V0700.02 Knives and spoons: learning the word “fork”; called initially a spoon; when I named the object as fork, she called it a “foon”; counting incident. (12/23/79) When the dishwasher cycle ended, I asked Miriam to put away the dishes. Helpful Peggy was easily recruited. She started selecting silverware from the dishwasher and carried it …
3V0700.01 [apples…all gone] (12/23/79) Peggy has been sick the last few days — running nose, cough and excessive vomiting. We decided to regularize her diet by removing the large bag of apple I recent bought from Bishop’s Orchard. Peggy has been eating enormous quantities of apples (for one her size). I removed that bag in …
3V0699.02 [hat…water…drop]; [li-len run…puppy running too] (comments on book pictures). (ca. 12/22/79 ) Looking at another picture in London Bridge, Peggy said, “hat…water…drop.” (a man is leaning over the balustrade of new London Bridge, looking down at the hat he has dropped.” Looking at the Brittanica book “words.” “li-len (lion)” “run… puppy running too.” (to …
3V0699.01 Peggy’s first arch. (12/22/79) During many experiments, Peggy has played with the blocks shown in this picture, has even been shown an arch (in P??) — but she exhibited little interest in the blocks except as objects to pile and kick over. At the end of P99, Peggy took these blocks and piled them …
3V0697.01 [nice bear]: feeling is first ! good example for raising issues in the further-specification model. (12/20/79) Peggy has been using the term “nice” very frequently both as an expression of her feeling about something and her request for concurrence. For example, in P99 or P98, after drawing on a piece of paper, she asked …
3V0696.01 [run…running]: effect of variant form in parent expression; interpreted by Peggy as correction. (12/19/79) Peter Spier’s “London Bridge is Falling Down” is one of Peggy’s favorite books. She really likes the page on which is “Iron and steel will bend and bow.” Inevitably she points to the figure in the middle. “Run.” (Gretchen responds:) …
3V0695.01 Non-standard nouns [all+/i/] (12/18/79) 12/18 truck…truckie. 12/20 sock… sockie (previously “soxie”) Gretchen.
3V0690.01 Harp and Guitar: naming shows assimilation of a new object to a familiar schema with spontaneous naming, social differentiation of relations, and her locking in the relationship. (12/13/79) We were all watching the Marx Brothers movie “Monkey Business.” (Note also that bob Despain recently gave Miriam an old Guitar of his.) At one point, …
3V0687.01 [gone…room] answers “what happened to your pants?” progressive specification example. (12/13/79) Peggy came into my ken in a short [shirt?] and diaper. “Peggy, what happened to your pants ?” “Gone…room,” she responded. Here the meaning of “gone” is clearly applied beyond the scenario of her game — but the pattern of her response is …
3V0689.02 Singing. Play [morny dew]; ride [boton…lynn] (12/12/79) About this time, Peggy began referring to “Morning Dew” to indicate she wanted to hear some Irish Music (One of our newest records is Makem and Clancey’s “Two for the Morning Dew” with two songs referring repeatedly to “early in the morning dew” and “two for the …
3V0689.01 Conversation: adverbial phrase sans pause assembled from fragments of Gretchen’s phrases. (12/12/79) Today Peggy inquired of me “Daddy ?” G: “Daddy’s coming home… probably tonight.” P: Back ?” G: “Yes, Daddy’s coming back.” “Soon.” Later on, I said something about Daddy, and Peggy responded, “Back soon.” In one of our conversations, Peggy said something …
3V0688.01 Directions and conversation: [there…up]; [throw… down] (12/4/79) As I was sitting in the big recliner, Peggy came over to me and requested, “Book.” confused, I replied, “Book…Where ?” Peggy waved her hand in the general direction behind me and said, “There…up.” following her instructions, I located the Sesame Street record, whose built in “book” …
3V0686.01 [gone…bird] Formulation: pre-sentences as further verbal specification of a well worked out scenario of action (along with infant’s gradually increasing sense of what else it might have meant). (12/4/79) Peggy has been playing her “gone” joke or game (cf. ???) for sometime. Frequently when she says gone, I ask “What’s gone?” Today, while [playing …
3V0683.02 Kicking and hurt feelings. (12/6/79 and earlier) Peggy’s control over her supports, her legs, has been of apparent and considerable interest to her, I recall her joy at being able to jump with both feet when first she could and, most recently (12/20 ff.), her tapping with one foot to music while standing [this …
3V0683.01 CHIN: word learning and private review in play. (12/6-7/79) Peggy found an old doll of Gretchen’s in the basement. She brought it to Miriam (who was sitting in my lap) and me and began pointing to and naming what struck her — the dress, the hair, face parts — eyes, nose. I realized that …
3V0679.01 OKAY: communication ending with acknowledgment (12/2/79) While I prepared a lecture, Peggy brought a toy to me and named (it) in her way of imploring me to play with her — Peggy: Train. Train. Bob: Take it out to Robby. Peggy: ‘Kay. (takes the toy to Robby. They play.) This very simple conversation show …
3V0674.01 COUNTING (carrying two cookies) [one, two, seven] ONE, TWO, SEVEN (11/27/79) Peggy came into the study (living room) with cookies in hand (one each) and said to me “two”. She continued beyond me, saying, “One, two, seven”. [FOOTNOTE: Later note on date written up: 12/6 This evening, I asked Miriam is she had been …
3V0670.01 UP & DOWN: symmetrical relations; very IMPORTANT DATA on word-thing relations: she relates words and their structures of meaning through reversibility as actions. (11/23/79) Peggy wandered into the living room today with her “Bear Hug” in hand. She held it high “Up” and put it on the ground “Down.” She repeated this exercise several …
3V0668.01 Answering questions: she interprets query as request for more information but does not interpret specific elements, for example “who” or “what”. (11/21/79) Peggy interprets questions as requests for information — more specificity — in what she has said. but she does not distinguish roles of elements in a sentence as related to the specific …
3V0666.01 [bear come Peggy]: near sentence example. (11/9/79) She got away from us — up the stairs where the older children were while Gretchen and I were in the living room. When I realized she was gone, I raced to the stairwell and found Peggy at the top, coming down one step at a time, …
3V0664.01 Important observation and speculation: hiatus in holophrastic period as structure transition indicator; its disappearance indicates a new level of organization (11/17/79) [following write-up of [bear come peggy] incident — This last incident contrasts with what has been Peggy’s normal usage in situations of accompaniment. It has been typical that when Peggy saw some action …
3V0660.01 [with daddy]: answer to question “where’s Mimi ?” (11/13/79) Reported by LaRene Despain: Waiting for me in the car, LaRene talked with Peggy. Peggy mentioned “Daddy.” LaRene, “He’s in Boston. What about Mimi ? [Miriam]. where is Mimi ?” (Peg replied) “With Daddy.” Gretchen.
3V0650.01 Diminutive “y”; is it a personal relation indicator, nominal date inserted: 11/3/79 from “Early November” Peggy has been appending the “y” suffix to a number of words, e.g. “dog” has become (on occasion) “doggy.” She exhibits the typical extension in using any new feature. For example, not only has the dog become “doggy” an …
3V0647.01 Baby becomes a toddler on getting shoes. (10/27/79 & 11/1/79) Peggy just got her first pair of shoes (blue sneakers) and appears very pleased. I remarked to her that she is a big girl now and had her very own shoes, so she would not have to use other peoples’, and Peggy in reply …
3V0644.01 [/pinsh/ (punches doll)…shame] (10/28/79) Peggy had her doll completely undressed. At one point, she punched it on the chest, remarking as she did [pinsh…s’em]. Gretchen.
3V0643.01 Verbal imitation + action:[Shame (on scurry; kicks her)] (10/27/79) Today Scurry committed some minor fault against Peggy (such as eating her cookie) and I scolded her. “Shame on you, Scurry,” Peggy repeated [s’em] then kicked the dog neatly under the chin (She was wearing shoes.) Gretchen.
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.
3V0639.01 /gae/mr/ = grandmother (visiting); /teh/teh/=tickle. 10/23/79 Peggy’s grandmother has been visiting for the past several days. Today Peggy names her /graemm’r/. Gretchen.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 ...
30V633.01 Spontaneous identification of toy whirling-disk as a fan ? 10/17/79 Pointing to a part of her crib toy, a circular multi-colored piece that spins in either direction when you twirl the knob in the middle, Peggy identified it (without being asked) as a /faen/. Peggy sometimes sucks on her middle fingers until they are …
3V0632.01 [/teh/boin/?]: speculation about remote activity-telephone [sae/vi]=sorry after poking with a pen. 10/16/79 Upstairs with Peggy when the telephone rang. I went downstairs, answered it, and returned to Peggy upstairs after a short conversation. She looked at me and commented /teh/boin/, i.e. “telephone.” Peggy poked me with a pen. I said “Ouch!” and she replied …
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 …
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, …
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 …
3V0625.01 Spontaneous [wet]: G: are you wet? P: /shen/.=”change”. 10/9/79 Peggy came over to me, pulling at her diaper and exclaiming /weht/. “Are you wet ?” Peggy replied: /shen/. Gretchen.
3V0622.02 [bag…culdae gone]: extremely non-standard order. Peggy was roving about with a plastic, opaque bag in one hand. She picked up the toy Scotty we bought in Boston and stuffed it in the bag. Peggy saw me looking at her and explained, [bag culdae gone]. Importance: locative (into the bag) Agent (culdah) Activity (playing game …
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, …
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.
3V0614.02 [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 …
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 …
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.
3V0612.03 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 …
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.
3V0610.01 [diaper…shit]: proto-sentence. 9/24/79 Peggy is taking a more active role in indicating a need for diaper change. Frequently she will come over and pick at her plastic pants. Today she included a verbal reference to /dai/puh/ (sometimes she will remark [wet] and after a pause added [shit]. (she was right.) Gretchen.
3V0609.02 [pass]: desired food at table. [bark] replacing /vae/vae’/ 9/23/79 At lunch today Peggy coveted our sandwiches. I don’t recall whether the offer to give her some was direct or indirect; but Peggy reached out her hand, waving and calling impatiently and imperiously, [pass, pass] “Bark” is replacing “vava” as the word indicating what dogs …
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 …
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.