Cultural context in communicative interaction of inuit children

Abstract

This thesis reports on an ethnographic study of communicative interaction between young Inuit children and their caregivers. Data were derived from three sources: 80 hours of videotape of four children (aged 1,0-1,8 years at the outset) and their families, 20 ethnographic interviews of mothers, and participant observation notes. Themes emerged about the specific accommodations that Inuit caregivers made in their communication with young children. Child-centered accommodations included: (a) two special registers of affectionate talk, (b) specialized vocabulary, (c) making language more understandable to children, and (d) excluding children from adult conversations. Situation-centered accommodations instructed children through teasing and repetition routines. Finally, silence played an important role in communicative interaction. Inuit children were socialized to learn by listening and to communicate without talk. Stated cultural values, the status and role of the Inuit child, and the structure of caregiving influenced these patterns of communicative interaction