THREE YEARS to Senescence—INDIVIDUO-WHAT?
With the lexicon and grammar of the child well underway, the next number of years will see a rhetorical style emerge, including a host of favorite words and phrases. This will continue throughout life and will change as the settings of the individual change. This is referred to as INDIVIDUOLECT.
There is something more to be said about style, however, which has a profound effect upon the child's future and is tied into the parenting philosophy of the family. Two styles of language were described by Basil Bernstein: Restricted and Formal.
Restricted Language is the code used by people who are very familiar with each other. I've been married for over 40 years. My wife says, "Can we….," I say "I don't…," and she says, "How about…," and I say "Fine."
Translated, that restricted language means that she wanted to watch television tonight but I had to work on school stuff, so she suggested as an alternate plan that we go for walk later, and I said that it sounded like a good idea to me.