Conversations

Intent

 * How soon can we be sure children are intent not just on achieving some goal but on making sure their addressees have understood them? (Clark, Eve 2003:53)
 * Some say they do, some say they don’t but others argue it’s to change someone’s behaviour rather than a want to be understood

Confirmation

 * Establishment of a conversational topic, kids often pause and wait for adult confirmation before continuing. (Keenan & Schieffeln, 1976) (Stilwell-Peccei, 2006. 27 (e40)
 * Initially, adults seeks clarification from the kid, but as they grow older, kids increasingly initiate their own repairs when they perceive their utterance has been unsuccessful.
 * 2;9 – they show a greater precision of articulation their self-repairs, increased volume, and use of contrastive stress (it was UNDER the chair, not on it).
 * Rely heavily on contextual cues, gestures and naming
 * Before 3;0 – tend to have difficulty with non-situated discourse topics