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Articulate baby! There are, to be sure, some psycholinguists who dabble in the theory of “reduction grammar”, that is, that long before babies or toddlers can articulate well-formed utterances, they are able to frame full predications mentally. So, the claim is that when a toddler says, “All gone cookie”, this is possibly a reduction from any number of underlying fully-formed predications—"the cookie fell behind the sofa, I ate the cookie, Fred ate the cookie, the dog stole the cookie, I threw the cookie away by accident, I can’t find the cookie, where is the cookie", and so on. (Other linguists think that “All gone cookie” means exactly that. When analyzing language, there’s much to be said in favor of sticking to what the speaker said, rather than what he might have said instead . . . which might be said to be like building a fire in a wooden stove.)
Ivy Valory Premium Member about 1 month ago
Hah! Thatamama’s preemptive strike!
Durak Premium Member about 1 month ago
Come to think of it, he’s more like Thatatoddler. Until he gets himself swaddled, anyway.
vorlon42 about 1 month ago
How to get out? Blork on demand!
Steverino Premium Member about 1 month ago
Caught in the act. Saved by the bell.
raybarb44 about 1 month ago
Happened to Jesus too. You are in good company….
Doug K about 1 month ago
Kind of like: “Curses, Foiled Again.”
AndrewSihler about 1 month ago
Articulate baby! There are, to be sure, some psycholinguists who dabble in the theory of “reduction grammar”, that is, that long before babies or toddlers can articulate well-formed utterances, they are able to frame full predications mentally. So, the claim is that when a toddler says, “All gone cookie”, this is possibly a reduction from any number of underlying fully-formed predications—"the cookie fell behind the sofa, I ate the cookie, Fred ate the cookie, the dog stole the cookie, I threw the cookie away by accident, I can’t find the cookie, where is the cookie", and so on. (Other linguists think that “All gone cookie” means exactly that. When analyzing language, there’s much to be said in favor of sticking to what the speaker said, rather than what he might have said instead . . . which might be said to be like building a fire in a wooden stove.)