Homology in the development of triadic interaction and language.
Conceiving of development with reference to homology can help identify developmental continuity where surface form shows considerable variation across age. I argue that there is a homology of structure between the object-centred, or triadic, interactions that emerge in infancy and later language. The structure of triadic interaction in infancy is first described as involving joint attention and joint engagement about a shared topic, and then a case is made that this structure is maintained through three levels of complexity in language-single word utterances, multiword utterances, and finally complex constructions. A focus on the homological relation between these social interactive structures may be useful in revealing developmental continuities where these may be obscured by quite different surface forms.
Dalhousie University, 1459 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. moorec@dal.ca
Chris
C
Moore
D001288:Attention; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D012919:Social Behavior