Moore, Richard Thomas (2009) Learning to do things with words. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Around the age of fourteen months, infants start to use and understand others' uses of
words in communicative interaction. What cognitive abilities must one attribute to them in
order to explain this?
In this thesis, I set out a variety of features – including knowledge of reference, of (Gricelike)
communicative intentions, and of (Lewis-like) linguistic conventions - of which one
would need some grasp in order to be able to use and understand words in communicative
interaction. I develop an account of the cognitive abilities that grasping such features would
require, and defend the plausibility of attributing such abilities to infants around the
beginning of their second year of life. I argue that prior to their first uses of words, infants
already have some grasp of others' minds – in particular, of when others are trying to
communicate with them, and of what it is that they are trying to communicate. On the
account that I sketch, infants learn how to use and understand words because they grasp
the ends to which those words can be used as means, and because they are able to imitate
the purposive communicative actions of their caregivers, and thereby produce utterances of
their own.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Language acquisition -- Research, Linguistics -- Philosophy, Interpersonal communication in children
Official Date:	September 2009
Dates:	Date Event September 2009 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Philosophy
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Luntley, Michael, 1953- ; Hurley, S. L. (Susan L.) ; Butterfill, Stephen A. (Stephen Andrew)
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	195 leaves
Language:	eng

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