Cover not available

Article published In: Pragmatics
Vol. 3:3 (1993) ► pp.259–282

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF

The pragmatics of play

Interactional strategies during children’s pretend play

Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
Published online: 1 September 1993
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.3.3.01saw
References (52)
Auwarter, M. (1986) Development of communicative skills: The construction of fictional reality in children’s play. In J. Cook-Gumperz, W.A. Corsaro, & J. Streeck (eds.), Children’s worlds and children’s language. New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 205-230. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bakhtin, M.M. (1981) Discourse in the novel. In M.M. Bakhtin, The Dialogic Imagination. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 259-422.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1986) The problem of speech genres. In M.M. Bakhtin, Speech genres and other late essays. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 60-102.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bateson, G. (1955) A theory of play and fantasy. In G. Bateson, Steps to an ecology of mind. New York: Chandler, 1972: 177-193. (Reprinted from American Psychiatric Association Research Reports, 1955. 11: 39-51.)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1956) The message “This is play”. In R.E. Herron & B. Sutton-Smith (eds.), Child’s play. New York: Wiley 1971, 261-266. (Reprinted from B. Schaffner (ed.), Group processes: Transactions of the second conference. New York: Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, 1956, 145-151.)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bretherton, I. (1984) Representing the social world in symbolic play: reality and fantasy. In I. Bretherton (ed.), Symbolic play: the development of social understanding. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, 1-41. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cicourel, A.V. (1974) Cognitive sociology: Language and meaning in social interaction. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clark, H., & S.E. Haviland (1977) Comprehension and the given-new contract. In R. Freedle (ed.), Discourse production and comprehension. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1-40.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Corsaro, W.A. (1985) Friendship and peer culture in the early years. Ablex Publishing Corp., Norwood, NJ.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fein, G.G. (1985) The affective psychology of play. In C.C. Brown & A.W. Gottfried (eds.), Play interactions: the role of toys and parental involvement in children’s development. Johnson & Johnson Baby Products Company, 19-28.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Friedrich, P. (1971) Structural implications of Russian pronominal usage. In W. Bright (eu.), Proceedings of the UCLA sociolinguistics conference, 1964. Los Angeles: Center for Research in Languages and Linguistics, 214-259.
Garvey, C. (1982) Communication and the development of social role play. In D. Forbes & M.T. Greenberg (eds.), Children’s planning strategies. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 81-101.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Garvey, C, & R. Berndt (1977) The organization of pretend play. JSAS Catalogue of Selected Documents in Psychology, 19771, Vol. I1, page 107, No. 15891. (Originally presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, August 1975.)
Giffin, H. (1984) The coordination of meaning in the creation of a shared make-believe reality. In I. Bretherton (ed.), Symbolic play: the development of social understanding. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, 73-100. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goffman, E. (1974) Frame analysis: an essay on the organization of experience. Chicago: Northeastern University Press edition, 1986 (original Harper and Row, 1974).  BoPGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grice, H.P. (1967) Logic and conversation. The William James Lectures, Harvard University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gumperz, John J. (1982) Discourse strategies. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.  BoPGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Halliday, M.A.K. (1984) Language as code and language as behavior: A systemic-functional interpretation of the nature and ontogenesis of dialogue. In R.P. Fawcett, M.A.K. Halliday, S.M. Lamb, & A. Makkai (eds.), The semiotics of culture and language, Vol 1: Language as a social semiotic. London: Frances Pinter, 3-35.  BoPGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hasan, R. (1984) Ways of saying: Ways of meaning. In R.P. Fawcett, M.A.K. Halliday, S.M. Lamb, & A. Makkai (eds.), The semiotics of culture and language, Vol 1: Language as a social semiotic. London: Frances Pinter, 105-162.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hymes, D. (1967) Models of the interaction of language and social setting. Journal of social issues, 23(2): 8-28.  BoPGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jakobson, R. (1960) Closing statement: Linguistics and poetics. In T.A. Sebeok (ed.), Style and Language, 350-377.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1971) Shifters, verbal categories, and the Russian verb. In Selected writings, vol. 2, Word and language. The Hague-Paris: Mouton, 130-147.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keenan, E.O. (1974) Conversational competence in children. Journal of child language, 1(2): 163-183. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keenan, E.O., & B.B. Schieffelin (1976) Topic as a discourse notion: A study of topic in the conversations of children and adults. In C. Li (ed.), Subject and topic.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kirschenblatt-Gimblett, B. (1979) Speech play and verbal art. In B. Sutton-Smith (ed.), Play and learning. New York: Gardner Press, 219-238.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Krampen, M. (1981) A bouquet for Roman Jakobson. Semiotica, 33(3/4): 261-299.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levinson, S.C. (1983) Deixis. Chapter 2 in Pragmatics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 54-96. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mandier, J. H. (1979) Categorical and schematic organization in memory. In CK. Puff (ed.), Memory Organization and structure. New York: Academic Press, 259-299.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McTear, M. (1985) Children’s conversation. London: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mead, G.H. (1934) Mind, self, and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nelson, K., & J. Gruendel (1979) At morning it’s lunchtime: a scriptal view of children’s dialogues. Discourse processes, 21: 73-94. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nelson, K., & S. Seidman (1984) Playing with scripts. In I. Bretherton (ed.), Symbolic play: the development of social understanding. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, 45-71. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ochs, E. (1979) Planned and unplanned discourse. In T. Givon (ed.), Discourse and syntax. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ochs, E., & B.B. Shieffelin (1983) Acquiring conversational competence. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.  BoPGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peirce, CS. (1931) Collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. Vol. 2. Eds. C Hartshorne, P. Weiss, and A. Burks. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peters, AM., & S.T. Boggs (1985) Interactional routines as cultural influences upon language acquisition. In B.B. Schieffelin & E. Ochs (eds.), Language socialization across cultures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Philips, S.U. (1972) Participant structures and communicative competence: Warm Springs children in community and classroom. In C.B. Cazden, V.P. John, & D. Hymes (eds.), Functions of language in the classroom. New York: Columbia University Teacher’s College Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Piaget, J. (1926/1955) The language and thought of the child. New York: Harcourt Brace.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1962) Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schank, R.C, & R.P. Abelson (1977) Scripts, plans, and knowledge. In P.N. Johnson-Laird & P.C. Wason (eds.), Thinking: readings in cognitive science. New York: Cambridge University Press, 421-432. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schegloff, E.A (1990) On the organization of sequences as a source of “coherence” in talk-in-interaction. In B. Dorval (ed.), Conversational organization and its development. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corp, 51-77.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schegloff, E.A., and H. Sacks (1973) Opening up closings. Semiotica, 81: 289-327.  BoPGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Senderovich, S. (1982) Rhythm, trope, myth: The early poetics of Roman Jakobson. Semiotica, 40(3/4): 347-370.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Silverstein, M. (1976) Shifters, linguistic categories, and cultural description. In K. Basso & H. Selby (eds.), Meaning in anthropology. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 11-55.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1979) Language structure and linguistic ideology. In P.R. Clyne (ed.), The elements: A parasession on linguistic units and levels. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society, 193-247.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1981) On the pragmatic ‘poetry’ of prose: Parallelism, repetition, and cohesive structure in the time course of dyadic conversation. In D. Schiffrin (ed.), Meaning, form, and use in context: Linguistic applications, 181-198.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Smilansky, S. (1968) The effects of sociodramatic play on disadvantaged preschool children. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sperber, D., & D. Wilson (1986) Relevance: communication and cognition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.  BoPGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stankiewicz, E. (1983) Commemorative essay: Roman Jakobson. Semiotica, 44(1/2): 1-20. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stryker, S., & A. Statham (1985) Symbolic interaction and role theory. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (eds.), The handbook of social psychology, 3rd edition. New York: Random House, 311-378.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sutton-Smith, B. (1979) Epilogue: Play as performance. In B. Sutton-Smith (ed.), Play and learning. New York: Gardner Press, 295-322.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vygotsky, L.S. (1982) Thought and language. (Translated by E. Hanfmann & G. Vakar). Cambridge: The MIT Press (original publication in Russian, 1934).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (15)

Cited by 15 other publications

Kim, Soomin, Deborah Norris & Jennifer Francois
2025. Preschoolers’ Leadership-Followership Communication in Outdoor Pretend Play. Journal of Research in Childhood Education 39:1 ► pp. 61 ff. DOI logo
de Rijk, Lynn E. M. & Leonie Cornips
2024. Studying the detailed work of play using conversation analysis. Interaction Studies. Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems 25:2 ► pp. 190 ff. DOI logo
Mukherjee, Sarah Jane
2024. Using genre to explain how children linguistically co-construct make-believe social scenarios in classroom role-play. Text & Talk 44:5 ► pp. 649 ff. DOI logo
Duranti, Alessandro
2023. If it is language that speaks, what do speakers do? Confronting Heidegger's language ontology. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 33:3 ► pp. 285 ff. DOI logo
Schmidt, Axel & Arnulf Deppermann
2023. Showing and telling—How directors combine embodied demonstrations and verbal descriptions to instruct in theater rehearsals. Frontiers in Communication 7 DOI logo
Keates, Nathan & Julie Beadle-Brown
2022. The benefits of participating in improvisational comedy: a global confirmatory survey study. Comedy Studies 13:2 ► pp. 161 ff. DOI logo
de Haan, Dorian, Anne-Greth Vriens-van Hoogdalem, Kirti Zeijlmans & Jan Boom
2021. Metacommunication in social pretend play: two dimensions. International Journal of Early Years Education 29:4 ► pp. 405 ff. DOI logo
Karniol, Rachel
2016. A language-based, three-stage, social-interactional model of social pretend play: Acquiring pretend as an epistemic operator, pretending that, and pretending with (the P–PT–PW model). Developmental Review 41 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Douglas, Susan & Lesley Stirling
2012. Metacommunication, Social Pretend Play and Children with Autism. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood 37:4 ► pp. 34 ff. DOI logo
Duranti, Alessandro & Steven P. Black
2011. Language Socialization and Verbal Improvisation. In The Handbook of Language Socialization, ► pp. 443 ff. DOI logo
Deunk, Marjolein, Jan Berenst & Kees De Glopper
2008. The development of early sociodramatic play. Discourse Studies 10:5 ► pp. 615 ff. DOI logo
Rakoczy, Hannes
2006. Pretend play and the development of collective intentionality. Cognitive Systems Research 7:2-3 ► pp. 113 ff. DOI logo
Guss, Faith
2005. Reconceptualizing Play: Aesthetic Self-Definitions. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 6:3 ► pp. 233 ff. DOI logo
Sawyer, R. Keith
1996. Role voicing, gender, and age in preschool play discourse. Discourse Processes 22:3 ► pp. 289 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2015. L'ergonomie orientée enfants. In L'ergonomie orientée enfants, ► pp. 349 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue