7. Children’s Multimodal Language Development

Abstract

Through constant exposure to adult input, in dialogue, children's language gradually develops into rich linguistic constructions that contain multiple cross-modal elements subtly used together for coherent communicative functions. In this chapter, we retrace children's pathways into multimodal language acquisition in a scaffolding interactional environment. We begin with the first multimodal buds children produce that contain both gestural and vocal elements and how adults' input, including reformulations and recasts, provide children with embedded model utterances they can internalize. We then show how these buds blossom into more complex constructions, focusing on the importance of creative non standard forms. Children's productions finally bloom into full multimodal intricate productions. In our last part, we focus on argument structure, Tense, Mood and Aspect and the complexification of co-verbal gestures as they are coordinated with speech.

Indicating verbs as typologically unique constructions: Reconsidering verb ‘agreement’ in sign languages

“…For example, Mayberry and Nicoladis (2000) followed five French-English bilingual children from ages 2;0 to 3;6 and found that the use of iconic and beat gestures correlated with speech development, whereas pointing gestures did not. Morgenstern (2014) also reports this, with a relatively unchanging rate of pointing gesture use in child language data (around 5-10% of all utterances at this age are accompanied by pointing gestures, which is similar to the adults in her study). The use of pointing gestures changes during development, however.…”

Introduction to gesture in language.

“…Kendon (2004) also examined processing and, in these analyses, showed how gestures are integrated in the vocal utterance and used like words by making detailed analyses of conversational data and its "mixed syntax" (see Slama-Cazacu, 1976, who coined the term). These multimodal structures have been referred to as "multimodal grammatical integration" (Fricke, 2013), "composite signals" (Clark, 1996), "composite utterance" (Enfield, 2009), or, when referring to child language, "multimodal constructions" (Andrén, 2010;Morgenstern, 2014).…”

“Of thee I sing”: An opening to Dominique Boutet’s kinesiological approach to gesture

“…"Languaging" or "multimodal languaging", is thus not only related to the languages and cultures to which we belong, but also to the available and coordinated semiotic resources we can use, which, of course, allow our mental constructions to be embodied but which reciprocally and continuously inform them, construct them, give them meaning. Multimodal analyses of language (Morgenstern 2014) as it is practiced in a situation and as it is informed by moving bodies might in turn transform our linguistic theories and bring about profound changes.…”