Young children using language to negotiate their social worlds

Within the early years, the importance of children's language is diminished when it is understood only as speaking and listening skills. This oversight ignores the central role that language plays in the social worlds of children. This chapter examines transcripts of children's naturally occurring talk from home, early childhood and primary settings. In demonstrating how children routinely use language to organise their social and literacy activities, we show that they contribute competently to their social worlds.