Bridging the gap between prosody and pragmatics : the acquisition of pragmatic prosody in the preschool years and its relation with Theory of Mind

While it is well known that prosodic features are central in the conveyance of pragmatic meaning across languages, developmental research has assessed a narrow set of pragmatic functions of prosody. Research on prosodic development has focused on early infancy, with the subsequent preschool ages and beyond having received less attention. This study sets out to explore how young preschoolers develop the ability to use prosody to express pragmatic meanings while taking into account children's Theory of Mind (ToM) development. Though ToM has been suggested to be linked to the development of receptive prosody, little is known about its relationship with expressive prosodic skills. A total of 102 3- to 4-year-old Catalan-speaking children were assessed for their pragmatic prosody skills using 35 picture-supported prompts revolving around a variety of social scenarios, as well as for their ToM skills. The responses were analyzed for prosodic appropriateness. The analyses revealed that 3- to 4-year-olds successfully produced prosody to encode basic expressive acts and unbiased speech acts such as information-seeking questions. Yet they had more trouble with complex expressive acts and biased speech acts such as the ones that convey speakers' beliefs. Further analyses showed that ToM alone is not sufficient to explain children's prosodic score, but the prosodic performance in some pragmatic areas (unbiased pragmatic meanings) was predicted by the interaction between ToM and age. Overall, this evidence for the acquisition of pragmatic prosody by young preschoolers demonstrates the importance of bridging the gap between prosody and pragmatics when accounting for prosodic developmental profiles, as well as taking into account the potential influence of ToM and other socio-cognitive and language skills in this development

Preschoolers' pragmatic development: how prosody and gesture lend a helping hand

While previous research on language development has highlighted the facilitating role of gesture (mainly deictic gesture) in children’s early access to meaning, little is known about the possible facilitating role of prosody and also of co-speech gestures in children’s pragmatic development in the preschool years. Previous work on developmental pragmatics has focused on the acquisition of morphosyntactic and lexical forms, and there is a need to adopt a more integrative multimodal perspective. The overarching aim of this thesis is to experimentally investigate, through a set of cross-sectional studies with preschool children (3- to 5-year-olds), whether prosodic and gestural cues serve as pragmatic precursors in the development of two key pragmatic phenomena, namely knowledge state (i.e., commitment to the status of information) and politeness (e.g., broadly speaking, adjusting one’s language). The first study uses a forced-choice paradigm to investigate preschool children’s understanding of another speaker’s knowledge state, presented in audio only, video only and audio-visual formats. Results show that overall children perform significantly better in detecting a speaker’s uncertainty when they have gestural cues present, and, importantly, the younger children were significantly better in detecting a speaker’s uncertainty when listening to a speaker’s intonation contour as compared to uncertainty expressed through a lexical epistemic adverb. The second study analyzes children’s (and adults’) multimodal expression of their knowledge state through an object guessing game by evaluating their production of prosodic, gestural and lexical cues and additionally assessing their self-assessment of their knowledge state. Results show that while preschool children are not yet able to self-report on their knowledge state, in the younger group, children encode their knowledge state through prosodic and gestural means only. And only in the older age group do children start to use a few lexical markers to signal their uncertainty. The third study uses a forced-choice paradigm to assess children’s understanding of a speaker’s politeness presented in audio only, video only and audio-visual formats. Results show that 3-year-old children detect a speaker’s polite stance significantly more through facial cues and intonation, highlighting children’s early ability to extract meaning from intonation when lexical cues are kept the same. Finally, the fourth study explores children’s multimodal production of politeness in semi-spontaneous requests in different sociopragmatic situations. Results show that regardless of the age group, children marked politeness through fine-grained gestural and prosodic means when producing requests to an adult with high social distance as compared to a classmate with low social distance, and this also depends on the cost of the request. Altogether the results of these studies demonstrate that children’s early pragmatic comprehension and expressive abilities rely strongly on prosodic and gestural marking, developing well before children master lexical and morphosyntactic markers. More specifically, the four studies presented in this thesis bring forth evidence that both prosody and co-speech gestures play a precursor role in children’s pragmatic development of knowledge state and politeness. Ultimately, the thesis highlights the importance of approaching the study of children’s pragmatic development from a multimodal perspective.Tot i que les investigacions prèvies sobre el desenvolupament del llenguatge han destacat el paper facilitador del gest (principalment, del gest díctic o d’assenyalament) en l'accés primerenc dels nens al significat del llenguatge, se sap poc sobre els beneficis de la prosòdia i dels gestos de la parla en el desenvolupament pragmàtic dels nens en els anys preescolars. La recerca que s’ha fet sobre el desenvolupament de la pragmàtica s'ha centrat en l'adquisició de formes morfosintàctiques i lèxiques, però és important adoptar una perspectiva multimodal més integradora. L'objectiu general d'aquesta tesi consisteix a investigar experimentalment, a través de quatre estudis transversals amb nens d’edat preescolar (de 3 a 5 anys d'edat), si els senyals prosòdics i gestuals actuen com a precursors pragmàtics en el desenvolupament de dos fenòmens pragmàtics, concretament el posicionament epistèmic (i.e., el grau de certesa del parlant sobre la informació expressada) i la cortesia. El primer estudi utilitza un paradigma d'elecció forçada per investigar la comprensió dels nens en edat preescolar sobre el posicionament epistèmic d'un altre parlant, presentat en tres condicions (només en àudio, només en vídeo i en format audiovisual). Els resultats mostren que els nens detecten millor la incertesa d'un parlant quan estan exposats a indicis gestuals. Crucialment, els nens de tres anys detecten millor la la incertesa d'un parlant quan la incertesa s'expressa a través de la prosòdia que quan s'expressa a través d’adverbis epistèmics. El segon estudi analitza l'expressió multimodal de l’estat epistèmic dels nens (i dels adults) a través d’un joc d’endevinar objectes. L'anàlisi dels senyals prosòdics, gestuals i lèxics mostren que, mentre els nens d’edat preescolar encara no poden valorar el seu posicionament epistèmic en canvi sí que codifiquen el seu grau de certesa a través de senyals prosòdics i gestuals. Només en el grup d'edat més gran els nens comencen a utilitzar alguns marcadors lèxics. El tercer estudi utilitza un paradigma d'elecció forçada per avaluar la comprensió dels nens sobre la cortesia d'un parlant, presentada també en tres condicions (només en àudio, només en vídeo i en format audiovisual). Els resultats mostren que els nens de 3 anys poden detectar una actitud educada a través de senyals facials i entonatius quan es mantenen constants les marques lèxiques. Els resultats mostren la capacitat inicial dels nens per extreure el significat de l'entonació, de forma paral·lela al que passa amb la gestualitat. Finalment, el quart estudi explora l'expressió multimodal de la cortesia en peticions emprades en diferents situacions sociopragmàtiques. Els resultats mostren que, independentment del grup d'edat, els nens marquen la cortesia a través de senyals gestuals i prosòdics detallats quan es fan peticions a un adult amb més distància social, en comparació amb un company amb qui presenten una distància social menor. L'ús d'aquestes marques també depèn del cost de la petició. En resum, els resultats dels quatre estudis de la tesi demostren que les habilitats primerenques de comprensió i d’expressió pragmàtica es basen en el marcatge prosòdic i gestual. i que aquestes es desenvolupen molt abans que els nens controlin els marcadors lèxics i morfosintàctics. Així, els quatre estudis presentats en aquesta tesi posen de manifest que tant la prosòdia com els gestos de la parla actuen com a precursors en el desenvolupament pragmàtic dels llenguatge. En definitiva, la tesi posa de relleu la importància d’aproximar-se a l'estudi del desenvolupament pragmàtic infantil des d'una perspectiva multimodal.A pesar de que las investigaciones previas sobre el desarrollo del lenguaje hayan destacado el papel facilitador del gesto (principalmente, del gesto deíctico o de señalamiento) en el acceso temprano de los niños al significado del lenguaje, poco se sabe aún sobre los beneficios de la prosodia y de los gestos del habla en el desarrollo pragmático de los niños en etapa preescolar. Hasta ahora, las investigaciones sobre el desarrollo de la pragmática se han centrado en la adquisición de formas morfosintácticas y léxicas, haciéndose necesario adoptar una perspectiva multimodal más integradora. El objetivo general de esta tesis consiste en investigar experimentalmente —a través de cuatro estudios transversales con niños de edad preescolar (de 3 a 5 años de edad)— si las señales prosódicas y gestuales actúan como precursores en el desarrollo de dos fenómenos pragmáticos, concretamente del posicionamiento epistémico (i.e., del grado de certeza del hablante sobre la información expresada) y de la cortesía. El primer estudio utiliza un paradigma de elección forzada para investigar cómo los niños en edad preescolar comprenden el posicionamiento epistémico de otro hablante, presentado los estímulos en tres condiciones (solo en audio, solo en vídeo y en formato audiovisual). Los resultados muestran que los niños detectan mejor la incertidumbre de un hablante cuando están expuestos a indicios gestuales. Crucialmente, los resultados también muestran que los niños de tres años detectan mejor la incertidumbre de un hablante cuando esta viene expresada a través de la prosodia que cuando lo hace a través de adverbios epistémicos. El segundo estudio analiza la expresión multimodal del estado epistémico de los niños (y de los adultos) a través de un juego de adivinar objetos. El análisis de las señales prosódicas, gestuales y léxicas muestra que, aunque los niños en edad preescolar todavía no pueden valorar su posicionamiento epistémico, los del grupo de menor edad ya son capaces de codificar su grado de certeza a través de señales prosódicas y gestuales, mientras que solo los niños del grupo de mayor edad empiezan a utilizar algunos marcadores léxicos. El tercer estudio utiliza también un paradigma de elección forzada para evaluar la comprensión de los niños sobre la cortesía de un hablante, presentado también los estímulos en tres condiciones (solo en audio, solo en vídeo y en formato audiovisual). Los resultados muestran que los niños de 3 años son capaces de detectar una actitud cortés significativamente mejor a través de señales faciales y entonativas, destacando además la capacidad temprana de los niños para extraer el significado de la entonación cuando las marcas léxicas se mantienen constantes. Finalmente, el cuarto estudio investiga la expresión multimodal de la cortesía en peticiones realizadas en diferentes situaciones socio-pragmáticas. Los resultados muestran, por un lado, que, independientemente del grupo de edad, los niños marcan la cortesía a través de señales gestuales y prosódicas diferenciadas en función de si las peticiones van dirigidas hacia un adulto con el que mantienen una mayor distancia social, o bien hacia un compañero con quien la distancia social es menor. Además, los resultados también muestran que el uso de estas marcas también depende del coste de la petición. En resumen, los resultados de los cuatro estudios de esta tesis demuestran que las habilidades tempranas de la comprensión y expresión de significados pragmáticos se basan en el marcaje prosódico y gestual, y que, además, estas habilidades se desarrollan mucho antes de que los niños dominen los marcadores léxicos y morfosintácticos. De este modo, los cuatro estudios presentados en esta tesis ponen de manifiesto que tanto la prosodia como los gestos del habla actúan como precursores en el desarrollo pragmático del lenguaje, subrayando así la necesidad de aproximarse al estudio del desarrollo pragmático infantil desde una perspectiva multimodal

The development of polite stance in preschoolers: how prosody, gesture and body cues pave the way

Gesture and prosody are considered to be important precursors in early language development. In the present study, we ask whether those cues play a similar role later in children's acquisition of more complex pragmatic skills, such as politeness. 64 three- to five-year-old Catalan-dominant children participated in a request production task in four different conditions. They were prompted to request an object from either a classmate or an unfamiliar adult experimenter, with the implied cost of the request to the receiver's face thus being either high or low. Results showed that these preschool-age children used mitigating prosodic and gestural strategies to encode politeness earlier and more often than they used lexical or morphosyntactic markers, and that those cues develop incrementally during the preschool years. These findings suggest that prosody, gesture, and other body signals are an essential first step in the development of children's socio-pragmatic competence

Distance and closeness : the im/politeness of space in communication

Space has been integral to the way that im/politeness has been theorized, most notably in the concept of “social distance” (Brown and Levinson 1987) and also Arundale’s (2006) “connection/separation face” dialectic. In this chapter, we show how previous research has positioned what we refer to as “socio-proxemic space” not merely as a theoretical concept, but as interactionally relevant in the ways that speakers understand and perform im/politeness across multiple languages. Speakers invoke the metaphor of space when talking about human relationships (“close”/”distant” relationships) and the language used within them (speaking in a “close”/“distant” way; speaking “up/down” to someone). In order to index various degrees of proximity and separation, research shows that speakers manipulate deictic expressions related not just to interpersonal distance but also to physical distance. Furthermore, speakers manipulate the spatial organization of communication in relation to im/politeness factors. When im/politeness is called for, research shows that physical proximity is modulated, along with bodily alignment and the use of large gestures that may threaten personal space. To illustrate how interaction is spatially organized in relation to im/politeness factors, we employ a case study of speakers of Catalan performing a map task in two contrasting social situations: (1) with an intimate and (2) with an unfamiliar status superior. Our analysis shows that speakers make subtle adjustments to the form of deictic gestures according to the relative socio-proxemic distance with the interlocutor. In sum, this chapter demonstrates the importance of space in the way that im/politeness has been conceptualized in im/politeness research

Children’s Signaling of Their Uncertain Knowledge State: Prosody, Face, and Body Cues Come First

Children achieve their first language milestones initially in gesture and prosody before they do so in speech. However, little is known about the potential precursor role of those features later in development when children start using more complex linguistic skills. In this study, we explore how children’s ability to reflect on their degree of uncertainty develops. A total of 40 Catalan preschool children (and 10 adults) took part in a game in which they had to guess the identity of ten objects which they could touch but not see and then state how certain they were about each guess. An analysis of the children’s reflections on their own uncertainty showed that (a) when preschoolers take a stance, they start to use multimodal uncertainty signals accurately before they are able to self-report their own level of (un)certainty; (b) they use epistemic prosodic and gestural markers before they start using lexical cues; and (c) multimodal cues signaling knowledge state become increasingly more complex over time. These findings suggest that preschoolers’ expression of knowledge states through gestures and prosody reflects an early epistemic sensitivity which develops as they get older

Multimodal im/politeness : signed, spoken, written

Politeness and impoliteness are not just expressed by words. People communicate polite and impolite attitudes towards each other through their intonation, tone of voice, their facial expressions, their gestures, the positioning of their bodies towards each other, and so on. This volume brings together eleven empirical studies that investigate these various modalities of im/politeness across signed, spoken and written languages, plus a detailed introductory chapter that establishes a framework for the multimodal investigation of im/politeness. The papers cover a range of languages and cultures, including Swiss German Sign Language, Catalan Sign Language, English (as a native language and as a lingua franca), Korean, Catalan, Persian, Japanese and Spanish. Using a range of data sources and state-of-the art methodologies, the papers reveal that these multimodal features are essential aspects of im/politeness across different languages, cultures and modes of interaction. Put together, the findings from these studies lay the groundwork for a new understanding of im/politeness which is fundamentally multimodal

Three-year-olds infer polite stance from intonation and facial cues

Despite the evidence that infants are sensitive to facial cues and prosody for the detection of emotion, we have contradictory evidence regarding the use of these cues by older preschool and school children when inferring both emotional and politeness stance. This study assessed preschool aged children’s sensitivity to intonational and facial cues signalling a speaker’s polite stance in requestive speech acts with controlled lexical and contextual materials. Thirty-six 3-yearold American English-speaking children performed a forced-choice decision task which investigated whether children at this age use pitch and/or facial cues to infer a speaker’s affective stance in either audio-only, visual-only or audio-visual presentation modalities, when lexical cues are controlled for. Results showed that (a) children at three years can infer a speaker’s polite stance equally well in all three conditions (audio-only, visual-only and audio-visual) and thereby (b) unlike previous research, in the present task both intonation and facial cues are equally strong cues in children’s understanding of a speaker’s polite stance in requestive speech acts. The authors discuss especially the implications of this early use of intonation to detect politeness, relating it to other previous research on children’s ability to infer meaning from pitch