3V0620.2

3V0620.02 [memi]: calling Miriam by name. Peggy was inquiring for her father, “Dada ?” I told her he was in Boston. Peggy then said /meh/mi/ which I interpreted as “Miriam.” Gretchen.

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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3V0611.1

3V0611.01 Counting cookie request [one…two…two ?] 9/25/79 This morning, Peggy asked for a cookie. As I gave it to her, she said “One,… two…. two ?” She waited until I gave her a second cookie. Gretchen.

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.

3V0597.1

3V0597.01 [sharp]: diaper pins This morning as I was changing her diaper, Peggy handed me a diaper pin with the observation [sha] (sharp). She has often been told about pins, but not recently.

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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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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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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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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3V0579.2

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 …

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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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3V0574.2

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 …

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3V0569.2

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 …

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3V0569.1

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?”

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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3V0562.1

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.

3V0558.2

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 …

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3V0555.1

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, …

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3V0550.2

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.

3V0550.1

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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3V0545.1

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” ? …

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3V0541.3

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 …

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3V0541.2

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 …

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3V0541.1

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 …

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3V0527.1

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.

3V0524.1

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, …

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3V0520.1

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. …

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3V0518.1

3V0518.01 Naming with pointing [car] (6/24/79) Driving in her car seat, Peggy named a car [ka] with pointing simultaneously. Gretchen.

3V0516.1

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 …

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3V0509.1

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 …

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3V0503.1

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 …

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3V0502.2

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 …

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3V0502.1

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 …

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3V0493.1

3V0493.01 Fragmentary sound knowledge contrast to prosodics (5/30/79) Diaper = /dai/ — Peggy needed changing this morning — so I believed — and Gretchen upstairs agreed to do it. Peggy was complaining loudly, toddling around and smacking her plastic pants. To make certain, I asked, “What do you want, Peggy?” She replied [die] (/dai/) and …

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3V0485.2

3V0485.02 Game-agent flexibility precursor to language (5/22/79) Toe grabbing — We grownups tickle Peggy (so do the older children) and she enjoys it. She has begun to try tickling us in return. Her attempts are good imitations although not very effective. (She holds her hand over a patch of skin and scratches [with] all her …

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3V0483.1

3V0483.01 [That’s a pup] (5/20/79) Robby’s National Geographic World subscription brings other materials beside the magazine into the house. Beside the vixen and pup poster (and others) occasionally a small set of ‘cards’ arrives. one recent set was of various types of dogs. Peggy looked at one with two basset hounds. “What’s that?” I asked. …

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3V0434.1

3V0434.01 Non-standard use of name ‘bird’ (04/01/79) We have a “make-it/bake-it” cardinal hanging high on the dining room window. Peggy is much interested in it, and Gretchen often informs her that it is a bird. Peggy’s verbal imitations are pretty good. Sometimes sound turns out more like /b/\p/ or /b/\d/, but it’s quite easy to …

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3V0432.1

3V0432.01 First example of symbolic thought: “doll-up” for herself (3/30/79) Miriam has been making fantastic figures by cutting out paper. She displays them by taping them up below my mantle motto at the second story fireplace. Peggy caught sight of them and wanted to ‘see’ them. She indicates this by a high pitched noise of …

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3V0403.1

3V0403.01 “dog” used as a verbal label for Scurry (3/01/79) Peggy was downstairs in the kitchen with Gretchen. I sought a book from our shelves on the balcony of the living room. Peggy entered downstairs and crawled over to the sliding glass doors. (These are a window on the world at her level. For several …

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Vn12701

Vignette 127.1 of The Intimate Study source materials. Unpublished. Robert W. Lawler.

Vn11101

Vignette 111.1 of The Intimate Study source materials. Unpublished. Robert W. Lawler.

Vn05701

Vignette 57.1 of The Intimate Study source materials. Unpublished. Robert W. Lawler.

Vn05101

Vignette 51.1 of The Intimate Study source materials. Unpublished. Robert W. Lawler.

Vn04101

Vignette 41.1 of The Intimate Study source materials. Unpublished. Robert W. Lawler.

3V0398.3

3V0398.03 First introduction to pictures of herself. (3/01/79) Late February – Pictures and Names (a reconstruction) Carrying Peggy back from the balcony, when she pointed to some pictures and requested them, I turned Peggy to pictures of her hanging above the balcony entry. I was trying to distract her attention to pictures beyond her easy …

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3V0398.2

3V0398.02 Identifying toys and pictures of foxes; classification possible insight; (nominal date 2/28/79 added) Late February – Foxes: (a reconstruction) Before videotape session P57 (a day or two before) Gretchen sat with Peggy on the couch in the living room. Gretchen was ‘reading’ Baby Animals. Peggy pointed at the Fox on the cover and said …

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3V0387.1

3V0387.01 Peggy varying elements of a transient game; like phrases 2/13/79 Wooba wooba — Peggy hates to have her face washed or her nose wiped. But she does like to take things out of my shirt pockets. Her usual pocket-picking targets are pens or pipe stems. Today, with my having two shirt pockets, she discovered …

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3V0385.1

3V0385.01 Peggy’s nose; two element phrase from idiom variation 2/11/79 Peggy sat on my lap, and Miriam, feeling left out, demanded the same privilege. Gretchen has been naming face parts with Peggy for months and Peggy cooperates by reaching out to touch her nose when Gretchen asks, “Where’s my nose?” Miriam asked, “Peggy, where’s my …

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3V0384.1

3V0384.01 More verbal specificity; productive uses of signifiers 2/10/79 Returning from a three day trip to Boston, I have Peggy in my lap more than usual. At one point, she indicated she wanted Miriam’s belt which lay near by on the floor: /zIt//zIt/. I gave it to her. Peggy chewed it over, and because I …

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