Other issue
3V0956.01 Meaning more than she can say (9/4/80) This note documents an incident more remarkable for what Peggy failed to say that for what she did say: While I was off in Boston, Miriam had been sitting in my arm chair (one from which I shoo the children whenever I want to sit there.) It …
3V0940.01 GSB : letters as symbols for people: “This say Mommy, Scurry, Daddy” ( 8/19/80) We have a key ring about the house from the Guilford Savings Bank. Peggy brought it to me today and explained to me, “This says Mommy, Scurry, Daddy.” She has been told that this first letter begins the name Gretchen, …
3V0938.01 My-best-friend: early phrases as unstructured idioms; early variations: (8/17/80) How many words is this utterance ? How fluid or viscous are the relations of parts and the whole ? Playing down at Jacob’s Beach, Peggy used this phrase to refer to ANY child she met there of her size. (She has originally used it …
3V0935.02 Time: “Tomorrow went BOOP; Mimi did it.” (8/14/80) With my irregular schedule, days are much like one another. There is no daily grinds for me and no unusual weekend for Peggy; unusual in Daddy’s being home. Today and yesterday are not words I’ve heard her use. She does know that “tomorrow” is a time …
3V0933.03 Nouns and adjectives: non-standard usage (8/12/80) Peggy has long resisted our attributing any character to her where of this form, “You’re a X.” (Or “Are you an X ?”) Bob: Are you a sweet Peggy ? Peggy: Yes. Bob: Are you a sweety ? Peggy: No ! I’m a Peggy ! It appears to …
3V0933.02 Fixity of Part Relations: idioms are central (8/12/80) As we set out the supper on the table, Peggy in her high chair already was delighted to see the food. “It’s macaroni and cheese,” she exclaimed, “Peg,” I said, “It’s cheese and macaroni.” “Not cheese and macaroni,” she argued adamantly, “It’s macaroni and cheese.” What …
3V0933.01 Describing actions: fluid script application (8/12/80) Over this past week, Peggy has often played with her Fischer-Price dolls. This has joined with her new interest in Legos so she has made (with Miriam’s help and mine) in making couches and houses for her dolls. Most striking about Peggy’s play with dolls is her language …
3V0924.02 Watching Videotapes: single letters as name symbols (8/3/80) Last night Gretchen and I reviewed four videotapes (weeks 26, 52, 78, and 104). Peggy was in and out during this two hours of viewing (she was alternately watching an hour long Disney show on the basement TV). One question of interest to me was what …
3V0924.01 Meta-linguistic reflection: “I sorry.” (8/3/80) We have an old clock whose face plate falls off with a distressing regularity. Peggy just bumped the clock, the face plate fell off, and she walked away. Sitting down in the middle of the floor, she called it to my attention. Peggy: I sorry break the clock. Bob: …
3V0917.01 Egocentricity and agent expression: very non-standard usage (7/27/80) At the beach: On their return, Peggy informed me of an event that was important to her(She has referred to it several times since, in nearly the same verbal formulation): “Go to the beach the beach and fall in the water, then somebody pick me up, …
3V0910.02 Possessive pronouns: non-standard forms [he lives in he’s house.] (7/20-24/80) Peggy was reading that Britanica book which begins with a picture of several animals and asks where they live. There are pictured on one page a horse, dog, spider, turtle, and others (?) and on the facing page a barn, pond, dog house, and …
3V0852.01 Verbal aspect: self correction I do -> I did (5/23/80) Peggy has been to the beach with Gretchen. Returning from Boston, I heard of Peggy falling down in the water and began to talk about it with her: Bob: You fell ? Peggy: I fall in water. Bob: You do ? Peggy: (correcting me!): …
3V0851.02 Lonely discovery: another micro-script {This little piggy…] (5/22/80) Upon awakening late this morning, I could hear Peggy through the partition separating our rooms, talking to herself. She said, “This little piggy…wee wee home.” We have recited this game for Peggy for some while (and Gretchen did so when Putting Peggy to bed last night). …
3V0846.01 Third person for intense emphasis: commands to Scurry (5/17/80) Peggy played with Scurry, trying to get her to SIT (a command which Scurry will obey when she chooses). With the dog on a leash, Peggy pulled her around for a while and in the course said “sit.” Scurry did not obey. Intensifying her command, …
3V0819.01 Progressive Verbs (4/20/80) Peggy has used present participles as progressive verb forms in a descriptive mode (as on last page). In two incidents, the context makes clear her richer semantic framework served by those forms. Yesterday I sat on the front stoop. Peggy came up the path and before reaching the stairs said to …
3V0817.01 No function words (4/18/80) Peggy and I walked down the drive way toward the house. She held her “Bear Hug” by its arm. Holding the bear at ground level and bouncing it, she said, “Bear walking me.” Playing inside with an ovoid on four wheels, painted as a lady-bug, Peggy remarked, “Playing Lady Bug.” …
3V0813.01 Why because! (4/14/80) Peggy has been driving us crazy with her “why?” queries (I am much more aware of this than I was with the two earlier children). Her use of the question is at least twofold (see also 4/12/80 entry), as conversation continuer and as argument. By continuer, I mean Peggy uses “why” …
3V0811.04 Surprising syngnosticity (4/12/80) Peggy’s toy elephant she names “Arroot.” Miriam received as a birthday present a pig hand-puppet which Peggy very much admires. She asked the name and Miriam called it “Alfred,” since which Peggy has been chasing and pestering her for “My arroot.” The resolution a half hour later: Peggy came in the …
3V0804.01 Directed speech (4/5/80) I consider the appearance of this phenomenon one of the most striking evidences of the elevation of control. Several days ago, Peggy approached me with her favorite toy, “Bear Hug.” She said to me, “Say ‘Hi bear’.” I did as she asked. This was repeated a few times, with Scurry as …
3V0781.01 “Peggy Lawler” – what symbols mean to her (3/13/80) Ever since Miriam’s gift of the Grover Book (wherein she wrote PEGGY LAWLER on the inside cover to show ownership), Peggy has interpreted any group of letters as meaning “Peggy Lawler.” She distinguishes (more or less) between four things: letters, seen as individuals; pictures in …
3V0780.03 Shoe Daddy off: clear example of non-standard syntax (3/12/80) Peggy said this as I removed my shoes. It is perfectly clear she was describing what I did and it is also clear what she meant, “Daddy is taking off his shoe.” the syntax appears quite non-standard.
3V0777.01 Analogies — their incomprehension; deep role in cognition. (3/9/80) Peggy woke me at midnight, she had a stuffy nose and was crying for her Mommy. we played in the sitting room, she in my lap. Pointing to a foxy, she said ‘Get foxy.’ I replied ‘Too far away.’ She continued ‘Like a fader.’ Surprised, …
3V0775.03 Who’s that? — syngnostic use (3/7780) Peggy does not distinguish Who and What. consequently, when requesting the name of an object she asks, ‘Who’s that?’ Today she held up a toy, plastic doll and asked “Who’s that?” “You mean your dolly?’ I responded. She then became more specific, pointing with her finger on the …
3V0775.02 Repetition and further specification (3/7/80) Gretchen mentioned hearing Peggy do a most interesting thing : she first said, ‘ Lookit table.’ then immediately ‘repeated’ the phrase more precisely as ‘Look at the table.’ This is an example of the incremental standardization of speech production under her own direction (this may be well compared to …
3V0769.01 Miriam’s Pillow; idea: function words as pause fillers (3/1/80) Because in the worst periods of her allergies, Miriam slept better sitting up, we bought her a king sized pillow. It is longer than Peggy is tall and wider. Thus Peggy finds it perfect for falling on. Miriam tried to take it away while Peggy …
3V0749.01 Words and Numbers; primary roots of discrimination (2/10/80) Miriam and Peggy play with my yardstick a lot (a free one from a local hardware store, it has the measure and advertisements on it). Miriam marches around with it on her shoulder: “hup, two, three, four; hup…” Peggy marches too, “hup, two, three; hup, two, …
3V0733.01 [chin hurts] Variation anchor, abetted by questioning. (1/25/80) Peggy somehow hurt herself, and when asked what was the matter, replied, ‘Chin hurts.’ A few days previously, as I was changing her diaper, I became aware that she was talking away. P : ‘…neck….hurt (or hurts, I could not notice)…’ G : ‘Your neck hurts, …
3V0729.01 [bye, X] -> [bye chair]…[bye table]…[by stairs]…(as bedroom entered) [bye bed] [bye culdy]…bye Robby… bye Mimi…(bob, from afar, “what about daddy?”) bye daddy] [bye house…bye car…bye trees…bye house (a neighbor, the car now moving) Going upstairs to have her diapers changed, Peggy recited a litany as we passed.
3V0728.04 [to-me]: another bound preposition (1/20/80) Asking for a xxxttle (candy) Peggy held out her hand and commanded, ‘to me.’ Gretchen.
3V0728.01 CAUSE – toilet training; cause, agent, effect (1/20/80) We have tried to interest Peggy in using a small toilet. She plays with it, pushing around the house, chasing the dog with it, and so forth – investigating the removable pot and peering at it every which way. Now she knows the clothes come off …
3V0720.01 [fork…hurts…arm…me]: Peggy’s most complex phrase construction before the upsurge of pause deletion and appearance of anchoring with variation in her verbal productions (1/12/80) Peggy stabbed herself with the tines of a fork. I can’t recall whether she was in her high chair or helping unload the dishwasher, but her words and pauses are certain. …
3V0718.01 Who’s there ? (Original notes on homely binding and lonely discovery) (1/10/80) Peggy’s use of the knock-knock joke script has been monolithic — ie. she would not respond in the victim’s role, nor would she continue in any way no matter what response her victim made. This morning, when I brought some coffee to …
3V0714.01 [own stool… on it] Example of two loosely joined tight substructures: needed descriptions of cross level tightness of binding. (1/6/80) Miriam cooked soup at the stove and Peggy wanted to see. Miriam offered the use of her small red stool, one of two. Peggy chose to get the second, put it next to Miriam, …
3V0709.02 [Mimi did it…Peggy’s] Good example; issues important; developing a vocabulary to describe observed phenomena. (1/1/80) The situation to which the locution applies was Miriam’s making a wrapped package, a present, and giving it to Peg. Peggy brought it to me to show. what is significant here is the pause/connected structure of the phrasing. There …
3V0707.01 Color names: beginning of a long story. (12/30/79) Peggy wears plastic pants over her diapers. Most are transparent. One pair is pink and she prefers that pair. While changing her recently, Gretchen began putting on a pair of transparent pants. Peggy cried plaintively, “Black, black” while pointing in the direction of the pink pants …
3V0706.03 [fork!…for-me]: example of bound preposition (12/29/79) Peggy sat in her high chair. Miriam had made an open faced cheese sandwich and given two pieces to Peggy. It is our custom to eat such fare with our fingers. Peggy had put her fork on the table beyond immediate reach. Other of us ate food with …
3V0706.01 Knock knock jokes: story used in ACR chapter of CECD. (12/29/79) Jokes have been much in the air lately. I’ve worked on OCL: Inventing Jokes. Miriam made me a joke book as a Christmas present. Peggy has begun telling knock-knock jokes, apparently in imitation (without instruction): Peggy: knock-knock ? Victim: Who’s there ? Peggy: …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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, …