Parsing Pragmatics

According to Müller, Guendoui, and Wilson (2008), "... the development of intentions and their expression is a cornerstone of cognitive and linguistic maturation. . ." and classification schemes vary in trying to capture speech act development (both typical and impaired). Given the crucial role of speech acts in pragmatic behavior, it is important to consider that African American children, particularly children who speak AAE, may express communicative intentions in ways that differ from the styles expected in a school classroom, increasing the likelihood of being overidentified (or under-identified) as having communication difficulties (Hwa-Froelich, Kasambira, & Molesky, 2007). [...]it is imperative for SLPs to understand typical pragmatic language produced by African American children.\n, 2007; Kasambira, 2008;Wyatt, 1995).