Language related
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 …
3V0579.02 Door shut on foot : 08/24/79; Yesterday Peggy, Miriam, and I drove downtown. We stopped at Gordy’s and I left the two of them in the car. When I returned, Peggy was crying lustily and Miriam explained that she (Miriam) had opened the door and closed it again on Peg’s foot. Today I said …
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.)
3V0578.02 “On” : 08/23/79; Peggy [sat] on the bed today, playing with her feet. Examining the soles at one point, she caught my eye and pointing to the considerable patina of dirt (she goes barefoot), said very precisely “on” as she touched the sole.
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 …
3V0576.01 Up: [up] two examples of spontaneous use.: 08/21/79; Today Peggy came to me, held up her arms, and said, “Up.” I picked her up. 08/28 — As I wrote the above, Peggy came over to the bed, sketched a climbing motion, and said, “Up.” Gretchen.
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 …
3V0574.02 “One” : 08/19/79; Peggy has begun using the sound “one” to indicate that she wants some particular thing. The use may have come from my giving her one cookie for one hand and one cookie for the other (cf. VT P82 for her counting 3 bean bags as one…one…SZBTFG[?]). Today, requesting a cookie, she …
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 …
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 …
3V0569.03 Cup: [cup, cup…thaets (=thanks)] : 08/14/79; As I carried Peggy, protesting, up to bed, we passed the dining table and Peggy cried, “Cup, cup.” (Well articulated, with both ‘c’ and ‘p’ distinct.) Her weighted cup was on the table, with some milk in it. I gave it her and she said, “Dats [thanks]” and …
3V0569.02 Putting On : 08/14/79; Peggy removed the plastic cover from a package of latchhook yarn. She has played with these before over the past two months. The cover is a cylindrical piece of plastic about 2 in. high and 2 in. in diameter as a circle, just right for Peggy to use as a …
3V0569.01 Gone : 08/14/79; Peggy has been using the word ‘gone’ since the VT of August 6. By it she means finished, empty, nothing left. Today I helped her get the last of a container of yogurt. Then I put the cap back on, preparatory to throwing it out. Peggy watched and remarked, “Gone?”
3V0568.01 A Verbal Confusion: 08/13/79; During the videotape session P81, Robby read THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY to Peggy. At that time, or later in the evening, Peggy pointed to a picture of a lizard (on the page with no other animals). “Lizard,” I said. Peggy imitated my naming by saying /***/, possibly /***/. (This heard …
3V0567.01 A Complex Sentence; Comprehension of complex sentences (?) : 08/12/79; After release from her high chair, Peggy will come begging food at the table. This is especially true where Gretchen and I stay long after the meal is past. This evening Peggy came asking for a wheat thin ([that! that!]). I gave her a …
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 …
3V0562.01 Where dada : 08/07/79; Bob went up to Boston yesterday morning. This afternoon Peggy came into our bedroom and looked around, especially at his chair, and said, “Where Dada’.” Today (8/11) Bob has gone again, and Peggy has been wandering around off and on calling Dada, sometimes imperiously, sometimes inquiringly.
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” …
3V0558.03 Mama! : 08/03/79; As Gretchen noted earlier [6/26], Peggy would call “Mama,” using that word when she wanted Gretchen. What is noteworthy now is more the frequency of Peggy’s use than its early appearances. NOW, any time she wants anything of Gretchen, Peggy calls “Mama!”
3V0558.02 Hi and waving : 08/03/79; Over the past several weeks, Peggy had delighted in waving good-bye to another who approaches our main door. She also waves (at me, I know) when I enter the house and say, “Hi, Peggy, I’m glad to see you.” She also waves good-bye when going up to bed or …
3V0558.01 Cookie: 08/03/79; Peggy’s way of expressing her want of a cookie has been for months to come to the base of a cabinet where they are usually found or known to be then to point (often rising on tip toe) and repeat /aenh/aenh/aenh/ with a tone of desperation in her voice. She has, of …
3V0555.01 [Car, car, go, go]: (07/31/79) I was taking Peggy and Scurry for a walk. I carried Peggy out to the garage and seated her in the stroller. Peggy waved her hand around and cried, “Ca’, ca’, go ca’,” indicating she wanted to go for a ride. She has often said “Ca’” under those circumstances, …
3V0552.01 [up stairs] : (07/28/79) Downstairs: “Peggy, where are you going ?” [up – stairs] Gretchen.
3V0550.03 Lily Pads (7/26/79) Peggy and I went down to the lake with the older children. They swim and Peggy potters and patters about. At one point Peggy pointed in the direction of the lily pads just to the left of the beach area and said, [what is that]. I repeated the question and told …
3V0550.02 /va/va’/ (7/26/79) out walking with Peggy, we heard (but did not see) a dog bark. Peggy pointed in the general direction of the sound and said /va/va’/. Gretchen.
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 …
3V0545.02 /va/va’/ : 07/21/79; Today (Saturday) Miriam got an allergy shot. Peggy came along for the ride. When we returned to our car, a station wagon with a large white dog (Samoyed?) had parked next to us. I pointed the animal out – “See Peggy, see the nice dog.” Peggy looked and replied /va/va’/. The …
3V0545.01 VERBAL LABELS: 07/21/79; Peggy frequently points to or touches things saying “that” with an intonation not signifying interrogation. I would say she uses the standard declarative intonation except that it might imply an intention — but that is precisely what we don’t know. Does she mean “Look at that” ? “I recognize that” ? …
3V0541.04 Vocabulary at 18 months Spoken spontaneously: mama cah [car] ve [wet] hot dada cae [cat] su [shoe] dau [down] dat [that] vava’ [dog] b/\ [bug] how zat Repeated after someone: da [doll] scissors cookie tree cold water Understood (not exhaustive) and/or recognized: Peggy (of course), change diaper, up, yogurt, have Peggy, bread, out, egg, …
3V0541.03 [right!] Comprehension issue (7/17/79) Peggy and I had a fight today. I was charging about the house, all concerned with th beam-raising project or its clean up. Peggy was toddling about with the yardstick, probably looking to chase Scurry with it. We collided. The yardstick and my left shin. Peggy was knocked [over]. I …
3V0541.02 Comprehension evidence for “what’s that?” — Infant explanation Importance — I consider this exceptionally clear evidence that Peggy understands the meaning of the question “What’s that?” I judge it important because it is a general request for information sufficient to meet another’s criterion. Her first attempted answer, pointing to the scar, is a sort …
3V0541.01 Scars: scrape on floor analogous to scar on her own body. Comprehension evidence for “what’s that?” Explaining. (7/17/79) Raising beams for the living room ceiling led to a lot of furniture moving. At one point, a pebble caught under the couch, scraped across the floor and left a wide (1/4″) and long (14″) scar …
3V0538.01 [read the story]: real importance of communication; (7/14/79) The little golden book version of Madeline was brought out today. Miriam attempted to read it to Peggy. Peggy’s attention soon wandered [she perhaps did not feel great either, being sick with roseola; the fever had gone and the rash was come] and she fussed at …
3V0536.01 More words and situations: “Give this to dada” vs. “dada have that”; language role in microworld selection: role genetically prior to terminal specification though it recedes to discourse level feature (CENTRAL IDEA) (7/12/79) Miriam sat across the dining room table unable to bring me something I wanted (a magazine, perhaps). She directed Peggy, “Give …
3V0535.01 Ant versus bug: preferred name for a shared referent (7/11/79) Today at the beach I surprised Peggy by a sudden leap — I had caught sight of a plant near my foot and thought at first it was a wasp. I explained that I thought I had seen a bug, but it was only …
3V0534.01 Words and situations: trash can-words, like things seen can be unconsidered (cf. notes # for problem solving analogy) (7/10/79) A little exploration following Chomsky’s advice that you can probe language understanding (only) by examining the interpretation of nonsense — Gretchen’s “snuggle gruggle” shows how easy it is to over interpret language understanding on the …
3V0528.01 Naming [shoe]#3. Silly instruction? “Right, that’s a shoe and you put it on your head” [foot]…[but = clasp] (7/4/79) This morning Peggy played in the bedroom as I sat in my chair. Peggy picked up one of Gretchen’s white sandals and said [shoe]. Gretchen asked if I heard. I said so and then to …
3V0527.01 Spontaneous naming [shoe] (2 different examples) (7/3/79) This morning before breakfast Peggy was playing in our room. She picked up one of Bob’s moccasins and said, “Shoe.” Shortly thereafter she picked up one of his deck shoes and repeated, “Shoe.” Gretchen.
3V0524.01 Pragmatics and names [bring me the snuggle gruggle] (6/30/79) Peggy was playing with a large ball. At one point, when it was not in her possession and she had been distracted by something, I said to her, “Peggy, bring me the snuggle gruggle.” Without hesitation she went over to the ball, picked it up, …
3V0522.01 Tirades disappeared; “comments” instead (6/28/79) What happened to the ‘tirades’ and recording of them? The attempt at recording failed because they dropped out of Peggy’s behavior — rather, they took a reduced form which is more appropriate to call “comments.” The characteristic of a comment is its length — typically two or three sentences …
3V0520.01 Naming with pointing at pictures; alternating car, dog (6/26/79) Miriam and Peggy were looking at a book by Richard Scary. Peggy pointed to a picture of a dog driving a car. Miriam said, “Car.” Peggy pointed again. “Car.” And again. “Car.” About the fourth or fifth repetition, Miriam was bored and tired of repetition. …
3V0518.01 Naming with pointing [car] (6/24/79) Driving in her car seat, Peggy named a car [ka] with pointing simultaneously. Gretchen.
3V0517.01 Feeding the dog [Scurry…he eaten’] spontaneous production (6/23/79) Food is one thing Scurry and Peggy have in common. Scurry follows Peg about picking up crumbs, claiming whatever falls and is neglected, and even receiving an occasional handout. Peggy, however, takes food from Scurry as well as gives it to her. Thus, it is no …
3V0516.01 Naming cars; relation of teaching and exploration (6/22/79) Riding Back from graduation at MIT, Peggy frequently pointed at trucks passing in the opposite direction with her squeals of delight. We named them for [her] “truck,” “van.” We all over subsequent days continued this on local trips where the distinction was often made between trucks …
3V0513.01 Sentence completion (6/19/79) “Peggy, do you want to get…?” This question I addressed to her while she stood in her high chair. Peggy responded /dau/. No big surprise. The point is raising this question to salience. What minor changes of our speech patterns can we introduce that will permit us to better probe Peggy’s …
3V0509.01 Writing on a paper bag (6/15/79) Peggy was running around our bedroom with an open pen. I told her not to write on her clothes and suggested that she could draw on a paper bag that lay on the floor. Pointing to it, I said [something like] “You can use that paper bag there …
3V0503.01 [Who have that?] role of pragmatics; example for analysis (6/9/79) Miriam, sitting at the table, had left a pair of shoes across the kitchen despite my asking her to pick them up. When I called them to her attention and we talked about the shoes, Peggy picked up one and carried it over to …
3V0502.02 Pure verbal interpretation overwhelms context: 6/08/79 Pick up Foxy The older children have a bad habit (likely picked up from me) of dropping wherever they are whatever they have no further need of. when I try to get them to pick up after themselves they complain “I didn’t have that” or “Shouldn’t (the other …
3V0502.01 Trash can: comprehension and generalization Peggy comes to pick at the contents of my writing table whenever she is in my bedroom. (Just now she took a box of chalk and complained vociferously when I retrieved it from her). Today she found the cap of a beer bottle and picked it up. I asked …
3V0498.01 In Boston for MIT graduation (6/04-5/79) This was our trip to Boston for Bob’s graduation from MIT. We all got up at 5 am, to drive to Boston by 9. Peggy was left at the child care service in McCormack Hall while the rest of us went to Killian Court. She behaved very well, …