adultomorphic (adj.)

A label sometimes used in language ACQUISITION studies, especially in the 1970s, to characterize an analysis of children’s speech in terms which were originally devised for the study of the adult language; also called adultomorphic. Examples include referring to allgone as an ELLIPTICAL SENTENCE, or describing babbling using the INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET. It is, of course, difficult to devise a terminology or NOTATION for child speech which is largely or totally free of adult values, but, it is argued, caution is none the less needed to avoid introducing too many adult assumptions, and as a consequence attributing to children a knowledge of language which they do not possess.