I didn’t realize it was so early! February 5! I had meant to go back. Next year, next year.

I’ve been talking about “chunking” in children’s speech lately. By chunking, I mean when a child misparses a sentence such that multiple word that occur together frequently (i.e., collocations) become sort of glued together. Just like in collocations in adults (like throw up, a lot, went out), the group of words together take on a meaning that is beyond just the sum of the individual components. For example, white wine means something different than wine that is white.

When I’m explaining children’s use of chunks to someone for the first time, I’m always prompted to provide an example, and for weeks, I’ve been blanking. But today, when I flipped open the Erika Hoff Language Development textbook being used in BCS 259, I happened to open to the dedication page… a page I hadn’t read before. And there, on the page, was the following transcribed interaction between the author and her daughter:

At the dinner table–

Kirsten (aged 7 years): Are we having for dessert ice cream?

Author: Kirsten, Are we having for dessert ice cream? What kind of a sentence is that?

(A reflective pause)

Kirsten: You should write it down for your book.

A perfect example of a chunk! Having for dessert! Thank you Erika Hoff, and thank you Kirsten! I’ll blank no more.

I know because they weighed them at the grocery store. That’s a solid 1,200 calories of grape. Mikeh Love: “At 100 pounds, you’re literally two percent grape.” That’s right. I’m two percent grape. Try not to be jealous.