Argument realization in Hindi caregiver-child discourse

An influential claim in the child language literature posits that children use structural cues in the input language to acquire verb meaning (Gleitman, 1990). One such cue is the number of arguments co-occurring with the verb, which provides an indication as to the event type associated with the verb (Fisher, 1995). In some languages however (e.g. Hindi), verb arguments are ellipted relatively freely, subject to certain discourse-pragmatic constraints. In this paper, we address three questions: Is the pervasive argument ellipsis characteristic of adult Hindi also found in Hindi-speaking caregivers’ input ? If so, do children consequently make errors in verb transitivity? How early do children learning a split-ergative language, such as Hindi, exhibit sensitivity to discourse-pragmatic influences on argument realization? We show that there is massive argument ellipsis in caregivers’ input to 3–4 year-olds. However, children acquiring Hindi do not make transitivity errors in their own speech. Nor do they elide arguments randomly. Rather, even at this early age, children appear to be sensitive to discourse-pragmatics in their own spontaneous speech production. These findings in a split-ergative language parallel patterns of argument realization found in children acquiring both nominative-accusative languages (e.g. Korean) and ergative-absolutive languages (e.g. Tzeltal, Inuktitut)

The conduit metaphor: Language and informed consent

Explores the role of language in informed consent (IFC) discussions. N. Budwig argues that folk notions of language, as reflected in current IFC practices, have not kept pace with theoretical discussions of language functioning. The conduit metaphor provides an entry into understanding current folk theorizing in language. Budwig considers an alternative view of language that emphasizes its dynamic qualities. Budwig illustrates the advantages of working with this alternative view of language by microanalyzing how information about patient choices is linguistically presented to a patient in F. Wiseman\u27s (1989) film Near Death. The importance of having linguistic and ethnographic data to work with when examining IFC issues is discussed. Budwig also considers the richness of the data source in showing the ways that medical experts can give information about treatment

Use of pronouns: formal and functional aspects in the early phases of language development

This article presents findings from empirical studies of the development of the use of pronouns in early child language. This presentation includes discussion of 1) when personal, reflexive, possessive, and indefinite pronominal forms appear in child-initiated contexts, 2) which errors emerge, and 3) which communicative functions utterances with pronouns have in dialogue. A first comparison of German-speaking and (American-)English-speaking children\u27s usage is offered, focussing in particular on the use of the pronominal forms I/ich, you/du, and my/mein. This crosslinguistic comparison reveals differences in the age of first use, but simultaneously suggests similarities in functional characteristics of such usage. The findings are discussed in connection with the question of the development of children\u27s communicative competence

Informed consent and systems consultation: A description of the process and a prescription for change

Informed consent for medical decisions has been a topic of discussion in both the medical and legal fields. The matter was recently highlighted for the family therapy community when Family Systems Medicine (Vol. 9, 1991) published five articles, which concluded that more study on that topic was needed. This article proposes a model for a systemic consultation of the difficult informed consent process discussed in that issue of the journal. The model uses family therapists as consultants and proposes the use of context-clarifying questions that will help individuals, their families, and health care teams in their struggles to clarify, understand, and implement the informed consent process