Learning Through Language (in Early Childhood) (Open Linguistics Series)

Through everyday conversations and interactions, children utilize language to learn about the world and how to reason within it. In this book, Clare Painter presents a case study of one child's use of language from age 2-1/2 to 5. She examines the role of language development in interpreting the key domains of experience: the world of things, the world of events, the world of semiosis, and the construal of cause and effect. By tapping into systemic functional theories, Painter constructs a convincing argument that cognitive development is a linguistic process and that new linguistic possibilities can prepare a child for later learning in school.