The language of early childhood / M.A.K. Halliday ; edited by Jonathan Webster.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pt. 1. Infancy and protolanguage -- 1. Representing the child as a semiotic being (one who means) -- 2. Learning how to mean -- 3. Early language learning : a sociolinguistic approach -- 4. A sociosemiotic perspective on language development -- 5. The meaning and the construction of reality in early childhood -- 6. The ontogenesis of dialogue -- Pt. 2. Transition from child tongue to mother tongue -- 7. Into the adult language -- 8. The contribution of developmental linguistics to the interpretation of language as a system -- 9. On the transition from child tongue to mother tongue -- 10. A systemic-functional interpretation of the nature and ontogenesis of dialogue -- 11. The place of dialogue in children's construction of meaning -- Pt. 3. Early language and learning -- 12. Relevant models of language -- 13. The social context of language development -- 14. Three aspects of children's language development : learning language, learning through language, learning about language -- 15. Towards a language-based theory of learning -- 16. Grammar and the construction of educational knowledge.