The Pointing-Vocal Coupling Progression in the First Half of the Second Year of Life

The current article proposes a new theory of infant pointing involving multiple layers of intentionality and shared intentionality. In the context of this theory, evidence is presented for a rich interpretation of prelinguistic communication, that is, one that posits that when 12-month-old infants point for an adult they are in some sense trying to influence her mental states. Moreover, evidence is also presented for a deeply social view in which infant pointing is best understood--on many levels and in many ways--as depending on uniquely human skills and motivations for cooperation and shared intentionality (e.g., joint intentions and attention with others). Children's early linguistic skills are built on this already existing platform of prelinguistic communication.

The production of pointing and other gestures (e.g. reaching or indicative gestures) by 47 infants aged 1;0 to 1;6 was investigated in two experiments contrasting declarative-referential vs. imperative-instrumental conditions of communication. A further group of seven infants aged 0;10 was examined in order to highlight pre-pointing transitional phenomena. Data analyses concerned gestures and associated vocalizations and visual checking with a social partner. Results show that gestures are produced differentially in the experimental conditions: while reaching is only produced in imperative-instrumental contexts, pointing is characteristic of declarative-referential contexts. The pattern of visual checking with the social partner also differentiates gestures; moreover, it shows developmental changes in the case of pointing. Results suggest that pointing relies on some awareness of 'psychological' processes (e.g. attention and sharing) in the other and the self, and that it is this which may account for the specific relevance of pointing for language development.

Children produce their first gestures before their first words, and their first gesture+word sentences before their first word+word sentences. These gestural accomplishments have been found not only to predate linguistic milestones, but also to predict them. Findings of this sort suggest that gesture itself might be playing a role in the language-learning process. But what role does it play? Children's gestures could elicit from their mothers the kinds of words and sentences that the children need to hear in order to take their next linguistic step. We examined maternal responses to the gestures and speech that 10 children produced during the one-word period. We found that all 10 mothers 'translated' their children's gestures into words, providing timely models for how one- and two-word ideas can be expressed in English. Gesture thus offers a mechanism by which children can point out their thoughts to mothers, who then calibrate their speech to those thoughts, and potentially facilitate language-learning.