The Verbal Games of Pre-school Children

Originally published in 1980 The Verbal Games of Pre-school Children  states that in the course of acquiring language, every child recognizes  that verbal interaction is a powerful tool which can be used to  interpret and manipulate the world.

During the last previous two  decades developments in the study of both language acquisition and  linguistic theory had begun to illustrate that the acquisition of a  first language involves considerably more than the mere learning of  grammatical structure. This view of learning had led researchers  gradually to see children as more than grammarians devising grammatical  constructs. The tendency at the time was to see the child as an active  partner in what are essentially games of communication and invention  during which the rules of usage as well as the rules of grammar are  discovered.

This study is based on extensive and detailed  observation of the verbal interaction of two pre-school children, and as  such offers far-reaching ideas and conclusions concerning the manner in  which all children determine the role of language in their lives,  whilst simultaneously learning how to piece it together.