The development of oral and written language in social contexts Ed. by Anthony Pellegrini and Thomas Yawkey (review)

BOOK NOTICES 227 Thomas G. Bever, John M. Carroll , and Lance A. Miller. Cambridge , MA: MIT Press, 1984. Pp. 283. $19.95. This collection of articles represents a series of 'Distinguished lectures on language' given at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in 1979-80. It attempts to determine the place of linguistic research in the broader area ofcognitive study—an area of increasing interest to many linguists. In a well-conceived introductory chapter, the editors explain that they have invited researchers from various fields to discuss their work in Ught of the following questions : (a) To what extent can a theory of language behavior be developed without a theory of linguistic structure? (b) To what extent can there be a linguistic theory without a theory ofcognitive functioning? and (c) To what extent can there be a cognitive theory without a theory of language behavior? Before these questions can be evaluated, current underlying assumptions about cognition must be made explicit. To this end, the editors present a brief but lucid discussion of some general issues—e.g. the question ofhow knowledge is acquired, the possible range and type of psychological operations , and the nature of explanation in scientific theories. The remainder of the book is divided into three sections. Section I, 'Philosophy and Unguistics ', includes articles by Jerrold Katz, Ray Jackendoff, and Charles Fillmore. Section II, 'Psychology', contains papers by Walter Kintsch, Charles Osgood, and David Premack. The final section, 'Computational models', consists of articles by Roger Schank & Lawrence Birnbaum and by Mitchell Marcus. Unfortunately, the body ofthis work does not Uve up to the promise of the introduction. Several of the papers are simply rehashes of previously pubUshed work, only very loosely related to the questions outlined above. Some of the papers, however, do represent innovative approaches to the study of language and cognition ; one example is Jackendoffs article on a psychologically-based semantics. Although this book contains few concrete proposals, it is, on the whole, an appropriate starting point for anyone who wishes to begin investigating the relationship oflanguage to general cognition. [Rosemarie Whitney, University ofIowa.] The development of oral and written language in social contexts. Ed. by Anthony Pellegrini and Thomas Yawkey. (Advances in discourse processes, 13.) Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1984. Pp. xiv, 273. Cloth $34.50, paper $19.95. The Ablex series on discourse is deservedly weU-known; the general editor of the series, Roy Freedle, has put together numerous volumes ofexciting material on text and discourse. The present book is another example of solid work; it consists of sixteen papers on language development, grouped into four sections (with fourpapers each) according to the social context (e.g. school, play ...) Because of limited space, I wUl consider only some of those sixteen papers. In Part I, 'Language development in a social context', two papers stand out. A. Pellegrini, 'The development of the functions of private speech: A review of the Piaget-Vygotsky debate ' , is a critical study of the predictions about private speech from a Vygotskyan standpoint; and P's major finding is that, contrary to Vygotsky , chüdren do not use private speech prior to action (for planning), but rather to encode ongoing action. This is an interesting finding, but perhaps a bit premature—since it is unclear which actions are being encoded, and not necessarily true that private speech simultaneous with action does not have a regulatory and planning function. I. Sigel & A. McGillicuddyDelisi , 'Parents as teachers oftheir children: A distancing behavior model', is Ukewise interesting in that it demonstrates the positive correlation between cognitive distance through language and task performance; the important finding is that the cognitive demands of specific tasks must be investigated, especiaUy insofar as these demands require variable, linguistic/cognitive strategies. Part II, 'The context of social play', contains two especiaUy noteworthy papers. L. Galda, 'Narrative competence: Play, storytelling, and story comprehension', shows not only that play is critical to the development ofcreative abilities (a well-known finding), but also that certain kinds of play do not necessarily predict narrative abilities: e.g., dramatic play does not clearly predict narrative competence. A. Pellegrini , 'The effects of classroom ecology on preschoolers' functional uses of language', 228 LANGUAGE, VOLUME 62, NUMBER 1...