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Stages and transitions in children’s semiotic development

Zlatev, Jordan LU and Andrén, Mats LU (2009) p.380-401
Abstract
Stage models were prevalent in developmental psychology in

the past, but have recently been subjected to much criticism. We propose

“rehabilitation”, defining semiotic stage as a (not necessarily stable) period

characterized by the clear establishment of a novel semiotic capacity,

which may “dominate” the communication of the child at this stage, but

does not replace capacities from previous stages. This is spelled out by

adopting one particular model of semiotic development – the Mimesis

Hierarchy (Zlatev 2008a, 2008b) – and presenting comparative and

developmental data from 6 children in Sweden and Thailand, between 18

and 27 months of age,... (More)
Stage models were prevalent in developmental psychology in

the past, but have recently been subjected to much criticism. We propose

“rehabilitation”, defining semiotic stage as a (not necessarily stable) period

characterized by the clear establishment of a novel semiotic capacity,

which may “dominate” the communication of the child at this stage, but

does not replace capacities from previous stages. This is spelled out by

adopting one particular model of semiotic development – the Mimesis

Hierarchy (Zlatev 2008a, 2008b) – and presenting comparative and

developmental data from 6 children in Sweden and Thailand, between 18

and 27 months of age, analyzing their acts of bodily communication

(ABCs) in relation to their emerging linguistic capacities. The results show

evidence for a transition around 20 months, when children display the use

of (stable) signs, shared with their community, in both the linguistic and

gestural modalities, but do not yet systematically combine them. Only

towards the end of the period under study does this begin to occur on a

more routine basis. Implications are drawn for the continuous debate “insight” vs. gradual development in ontogeny, suggesting a compromise. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
gesture, children, development, cognition, semiotics
host publication
Studies in Language and Cognition
editor
Zlatev, Jordan ; Andrén, Mats ; Lundmark, Carita and Johansson, Marlene
pages
380 - 401
publisher
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3b3b0438-823a-4334-b194-2f48d41d5513 (old id 1467993)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:54:22
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:55:36
@inbook{3b3b0438-823a-4334-b194-2f48d41d5513,
  abstract     = {{Stage models were prevalent in developmental psychology in <br/><br>
the past, but have recently been subjected to much criticism. We propose <br/><br>
“rehabilitation”, defining semiotic stage as a (not necessarily stable) period <br/><br>
characterized by the clear establishment of a novel semiotic capacity, <br/><br>
which may “dominate” the communication of the child at this stage, but <br/><br>
does not replace capacities from previous stages. This is spelled out by <br/><br>
adopting one particular model of semiotic development – the Mimesis <br/><br>
Hierarchy (Zlatev 2008a, 2008b) – and presenting comparative and <br/><br>
developmental data from 6 children in Sweden and Thailand, between 18 <br/><br>
and 27 months of age, analyzing their acts of bodily communication <br/><br>
(ABCs) in relation to their emerging linguistic capacities. The results show <br/><br>
evidence for a transition around 20 months, when children display the use <br/><br>
of (stable) signs, shared with their community, in both the linguistic and <br/><br>
gestural modalities, but do not yet systematically combine them. Only <br/><br>
towards the end of the period under study does this begin to occur on a <br/><br>
more routine basis. Implications are drawn for the continuous debate “insight” vs. gradual development in ontogeny, suggesting a compromise.}},
  author       = {{Zlatev, Jordan and Andrén, Mats}},
  booktitle    = {{Studies in Language and Cognition}},
  editor       = {{Zlatev, Jordan and Andrén, Mats and Lundmark, Carita and Johansson, Marlene}},
  keywords     = {{gesture; children; development; cognition; semiotics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{380--401}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge Scholars Publishing}},
  title        = {{Stages and transitions in children’s semiotic development}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}