Early metalinguistic competence: speech monitoring and repair behavior.

Abstract

This article examines 2-3-year-olds' responses to specific (e.g., "Where did he go?") and neutral (e.g., "What?") requests for clarification. The focus is on children's ability to locate the linguistic errors that provoked neutral questions of clarification and their success in providing appropriate repair. It is argued that this behavior provides evidence for a speech monitor that detects errors and enables repair. Contrary to A. Karmiloff-Smith's (1992) claim, control over the production and comprehension of specific structures does not necessarily precede monitoring. Rather, metalinguistic abilities that are implicated in speech monitoring develop simultaneously with the acquisition of primary linguistic behavior and do not require awareness. It is claimed that such metaprocesses are fundamental to the use of language as a vehicle for the expression of intentional content.