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Pragmatics, theory of mind and later language
Pragmatics — using language in context — keeps developing long after grammar: adapting to the listener, conversational repair, indirect speech acts, understanding false belief around age 4, and in school years narratives with clear reference, complex expository text and figurative language.
Why it matters in the exam
Questions present a child's behaviour and ask what it shows: a 4-year-old who talks to her little brother in shorter sentences shows listener adaptation; a 7-year-old who rephrases when asked "what?", rather than just repeating, shows development of conversational repair; and a question such as "Do you know what time it is?" tests understanding of an indirect speech act. Definiteness is asked too: a new object is first mentioned without the definite article and later with it.
Theory of mind is tested with a false-belief task: the child has to understand that a person will look for an object where he thinks it is, even if the child knows it was moved. This understanding usually appears at age 4, and according to de Villiers it is linked to mastery of complement clauses of verbs such as "think" and "say". In the school years tracking several characters in a story, expository text that is more complex than a personal narrative, understanding transparent idioms before opaque ones, and interpreting words such as "some" all develop.
Key points
- Pragmatics = using language in context.
- Listener adaptation at 4; conversational repair matures into school age.
- False belief around age 4, linked to complement clauses.
- Definiteness: new without the article, known with it.
- School age: character tracking, expository text, idioms.
Summary table
| Skill | What develops | Exam example | Approximate age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listener adaptation | Changing style by conversation partner | Short sentences to a two-year-old brother | Age 4 |
| Conversational repair | From exact repetition to rephrasing and adding information | A 7-year-old rephrases after "what?" | Age 2 to 7 and beyond |
| Indirect speech act | Understanding the intent beyond the words | "Do you know what time it is?" | Preschool and school age |
| False belief | Understanding that another person can hold a wrong belief | Where will the gardener look for the moved tools | About age 4 |
| Narrative and reference | Story structure and clear tracking of characters | "He" without saying which character — still developing at 6 | School age |
| Expository text and figurative language | More complex syntax in expository text; transparent before opaque idioms | A 15-year-old: expository text more complex than a personal narrative | School age and adolescence |
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Sources
- Nippold, Later Language Development: School-Age Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults, 4th edition (2016) — Figurative language, narrative and expository discourse
- Wellman, Cross & Watson, Child Development, 2001 — Meta-analysis of theory-of-mind development: the truth about false belief
- de Villiers, Lingua, 2007 — The interface of language and theory of mind
Sources are given for further reading; the text is written afresh and not copied from them.
Reviewed by the Examqo AI Professor · 2026-11-02. The text may contain errors; when in doubt, check the source.