Four-year-old Lacy asks her mother, "What's that?" Her mother replies, "It's an ice-cream maker." Lacy says, "No, you're the ice-cream maker and that's an ice-cream make." Lacy's remarks illustrate
A) illocutionary intent.
B) referential communication skills.
C) categorical speech perception.
D) metalinguistic awareness.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Lacy's statement shows that she is aware of the relationship between words and their meanings, which is known as metalinguistic awareness. She is correcting her mother's use of the label for the object, showing that she understands that words refer to specific things in the world. This is an important development in language acquisition.

Four-Year-Old Lacy Asks Her Mother, "What's That?" Her Mother Replies