Pragmatic Language Analysis: Examining a Child's Speech and Language

This assignment presents a pragmatic language analysis of a 7-year-old child named Tony. The analysis utilizes a specific template adapted from McLean & McLean (1978) and Westby (2014) to categorize and understand the child's language use. The template focuses on various aspects of communication, including requests, giving information, labeling, and social interactions. The assignment documents specific utterances, behaviors, and vocalizations, noting whether they serve functions like protesting, imitating, requesting, or providing information. The analysis includes observations across multiple instances, such as the child's responses to questions, his ability to label objects, and his initiations of social interactions, providing a detailed overview of the child's pragmatic language skills. The analysis is designed to identify patterns and characteristics of the child's language use, contributing to the understanding of his communication abilities.

Template for identifying and tabulating how language is being used (pragmatics)
Name of Child_________Tony___________________________ Age______7 years__________
Pragmatic language (Use/Function) Template: Adapted from McLean & McLean (1978) A Transactional Approach to Early Language Training.
Charles E. Merrill: Columbus Ohio. P. 262; Westby, C. (2014). Social-Emotional Bases of Pragmatics and Communication Development. In
Singleton, N. & Shulman, B. (Eds.,) Language Development (pp.119-146). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Sentence/
utterance
/behaviour
and
vocalisation
with intent
Protest
/
argues
Imitatio
n
Request
for
actions or
objects
Gives
information
Labelling
things/objects
Asks for
things/acti
ons/inform
ation
Answering
questions
Social
initiate /
terminate
Other
(Joking,
commenting,
changing
topic, etc.,)
Hi Yes but
after the
second
attempt
Five Answers
wrongly(fiv
e instead of
seven)
Seven yes
Dante yes
Tony yes
Tony has a
Star Liner
yes
Do you want
your(mumbles)
car back
yes yes
promise not to
throw it.
yes
Thank you. yes
1

The car's
broken.
Yes
Sentence/
utterance
/behaviour
and
vocalisation
with intent
Protest
/
argues
Imitatio
n
Request
for
actions or
objects
Gives
information
Labelling
things/objects
Asks for
things/acti
ons/inform
ation
Answering
questions
Social
initiate /
terminate
Other
(Joking,
commenting,
changing
topic, etc.,)
Take the wheel
off.
yes
Look
(mumbles this
quickly)
yes
It’s fixed
The car’s
broken
Do you like
going to
school?
yes
Is it sand? yes
Sand Yes
Go walk yes
Alfo
(mumbling, not
clear) has a
Lexus
yes
Do you like
Mummy's new
camera?
yes
Pink yes
Black yes
It’s brown Yes
2

Black yes
One yes
Green
Do you wanna
do a brown?
yes
Sentence/
utterance
/behaviour
and
vocalisation
with intent
Protest
/
argues
Imitatio
n
Request
for
actions or
objects
Gives
information
Labelling
things/objects
Asks for
things/acti
ons/inform
ation
Answering
questions
Social
initiate /
terminate
Other
(Joking,
commenting,
changing
topic, etc.,)
Bye-bye to the
camera
yes
Bye-bye to the
camera
yes
3