Child directed speech

During the nappy change routine (Bruner, L.A.S.S), the mother continually refers to herself in third person ‘mummy’ to reflect the child's language and perhaps to reiterate her powerful position (despite the child being in control of the content of speech – egocentric) with the use of imperatives ‘do some talking’.

Closed questions ‘are you hungry’ and scaffolding (Jerome Bruner) ‘ that's that's his’ are used to encourage the child to speak in turn (turn-taking pragmatics) and to respond when spoken to. The window for the child to speak is highlighted by the pause shown by the number indicated in the brackets ‘(2.0)’.

The powerful participant – the mother – uses recasting to subtlety alter and improve the child's language range - Briony: PP Mother: Please – however the ‘p’ may be difficult for the child to pronounce due to the difficulty in phonology.