Reviews two guides on the Child Language Data Exchange (CHILDES) project, both of which provide tools for analyzing talk. (Author/VWL)

Reviews book on the current state of psychological semantics for researchers in language development. Notes points of agreement among contributors, including: study of semantics has been too oriented toward substance nouns; assigning novel words to real objects or events is more difficult using verbs than nouns; and syntax is more integrally…

Considers Boysson-Bardies' book a thorough and thought-provoking description of early language development and the research related to how infants learn to talk and respond to speech. Notes the value of the book's discussion of cross-cultural variation in vocabulary development and individual differences related to special education. (JPB)

Reviews "The Transition from Infancy to Language: Acquiring the Power of Expression" (L. Bloom). Underscores that Bloom's account of word learning represents an ethnographic, theoretic, and research approach that explores development by starting with the child, and looks at the many behaviors of the child and views these in relation to…

Reviews research on "homesign" systems, i.e., the gestural communication of deaf individuals who do not learn a spoken language and who are not exposed to a signed language. The article touches on how iconicity affects language structure and use, the role of input in language development, and the nature of the critical period for…

Argues that Bartsch and Wellman are successful in analyzing natural language to understand the emergence and development of a theory of mind in everyday social interaction. Discusses their delineation of the transition from a focus on desire to a concept of belief, and describes their views on contextual and cultural variables in theory of mind…

Looks at the dreams, anxieties, confusions, satisfactions, and aspirations of the many worlds of childhood and at the professional materials that can help teachers to reach those worlds. Reviews six resources for professional materials and four resources for instructional materials. (MG)

Examines three issues from study by Jaffe et al.: predictive nature of face-to-face play, the psychological present moment for infants, and the representation of the pragmatics of dialogue. Emphasizes value of the study for future work in social interaction. (DLH)

Suggests that children construe the world as they develop relationships with other individuals. Offers considerations regarding developmental changes marking the first year of life and argues that cognition is framed in public social exchanges and private dialogical thinking. (DLH)