Review by Choice Review
Using his own child as a subject and bringing together modern psychoanalytic practices and pragmatic language analysis, Forrester (psychology, Univ. of Kent, UK) developed a novel approach to examining a child's entrance into the social world. Those not familiar with the fields Forrester uses will find the book not only introduces those fields but also demonstrates through one case study how they can be integrated. For those more experienced with the methodologies, the author's integration and application of these approaches to the examination of early child language will be new territory. The chapters move smoothly, offering introductions to each approach and outlining the methods involved. Examples from transcripts of the child's speech, coded for the methods, are introduced as appropriate for illustration. (The appendix for discourse coding is both helpful and interesting.) Some may find that the terminology is a bit overwhelming in places, especially in the earlier chapters, making the argument difficult to follow. Those established in the field will appreciate the historical review of the field's development; younger scholars may not yet have the perspective to appreciate the various criticisms Forrester levels when he discusses the limitations of other approaches to social development. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. --Julia F. Heberle, Albright College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
