This chapter reviews recent developments that reflect a convergence of work in various branches of linguistics and psycholinguistics around the implications of the incremental sequencing of speech units for understanding grammar and the cognitive processing that underlies the production, comprehension, and interpretation of utterances. Notions from Functional Discourse Grammar are used to present a view of syntactic structure as arising from the incremental extension of holophrases, i.e., minimal utterances. By prioritizing the timecourse of language processing, the chapter interprets syntactic hierarchy as arising from chunk-and-pass operations supported by predictive processing. Spoken dialogue is identified as the primary arena for these processes, with grammaticality subordinated to situational appropriateness. Linguistic data are seen as protocols of joint action aimed at the incremental co-creation of meaning. All of these notions make essential reference to context as constantly active, prior to and during the utterance of the linguistic signal, and as a crucial component of the operations and processes that take place in verbal interaction.

Chapter 12 focuses on the development of language among infants and children. It follows the infant’s productions from first cries to the development of the complete phonology of native language(s). The chapter examines the acquisition of words and their meaning and shows how, across languages, certain content words are acquired before others. Children’s morphological development is amply illustrated. Overgeneralizations are shown to be part of the acquisition of a rule-based morphology, as shown in the classic “wug test.” Syntactic development is considered in depth, from the one word and two-word stages to the production of adult-like negatives and interrogatives. Differences between languages, particularly in the area of functional categories such as inflection, are shown to affect variations in the rate of acquisition. The reader is guided through the development of conversational and pragmatic skills. The chapter explores the role of different factors in acquisition, both internal, such as innate principles and general cognition, and external, such as input and experience. The chapter ends with a presentation of atypical language development and bilingualism.