Transcript: February 21, 1990

1:Kate: How did you get the, the words they said on this tape?

2:Mother: Well, it's with this machine that records words. I don't know how it works on the inside but when you talk into the microphone it copies your words.

3:Kate: This is the microphone?

4:Mother: No

5:Kate: Where is it?

6:Mother: Right there.

7:Kate: ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. (sings)

8:Mother: You're too close to it.

9:Kate: ohhhhhhhhhh. (sings)

10:Mother: You're still too close to it.

11:Kate: You don't even have to lean into it? Oh yea yea lalelaaaaaaaa. (sings)

12:Mother: I want to ask you something.

13:Kate: What?

14:Mother: Maybe you know.

15:Kate: What is it?

16:Mother: Remember when we used to go to the supermarket and you didn't know how to read?

17:Kate: Oh yea.

18:Mother: Do you remember?

19:Kate: Ah Huh.

20:Mother: How did you know the different things I was buying?

21:Kate: Like Coca Cola?

22:Mother: Yea. How did you know I was buying Pepsi instead of Coca Cola?

23:Kate: Ahhh...(giggles) I don't know. I couldn't read, like I couldn't read the thing, then how could I know I, it Pepsi? But I could know? 24:Mother: How did you know?

25:Kate: Ahumm. I guess the colors and you say, and you give William "You want some Pepsi? You want some Pepsi?"

26:Mother: Ahhuh.

27:Kate: And when you said and when you, I went "Eh, pe." reached over for that. (child leans and reaches as if in a shopping cart) I think when you said "You want Pepsi?" and I said "yes". I think that's when you, like, how I knew but didn't read it myself.

28:Mother: You didn't read it yourself?

29:Kate: Ut uh. (no)

30:Mother: How come, how about when we got to, like the cookie aisle? How did you know which cookies you wanted?

31:Kate: Like chocolate chip?

32:Mother: Ahhum.

33:Kate: You know sometimes when you buy the chocolate chip cookies, when you buy them I think, uhmmm, I just knew, cause, ahhh, when you use to buy them without me saying, when you said, "Cookies? Do we need cookies or not?"

34:Mother: Ahhum.

35:Kate: Think that's how I knew.

36:Mother: Yea, but how did, if I,... all I would say is "Do we need cookies?" and then you would pick cookies out. But how did you know which ones to pick?

37:Kate: Because I knew, I saw the chocolate chips on the bag and I know that they were chocolate chips.

38:Mother: Oh. Uhmm. Well, how about when we bought meat? How did you know what was chicken, or what was steak, or what was ham or what was good or what was yucky?

39:Kate: I don't know.

40:Mother: Oh.

41:Kate: I forget that one.

42:Mother: Can you read now?

43:Kate: Yea.

44:Mother: Yea?...So when we go to buy chocolate chip cookies what do you look at?

45:Kate: The word!

46:Mother: Really!? How do you spell chocolate?

47:Kate: Cha Cha Ga Ga Jayyyyyyy.

48:Mother: Ahhum.

49:Kate: Eeeeeee.

50:Mother: Ahhum

51:Kate: L.

52:Mother: Ahhum.

53:Kate: E. (child sounds out word using letters jele.)

54:Mother: Oh. How do you spell chip?

55:Kate: Cha Cha Ga Cha Cha Ga Geeeeee.

56:Mother: Ahhum.

57:Kate: Ohhhhhh. Peeeeee. Veeeee. Ce.! (child sounds out word using letters gopvc.)

58:Mother: Hmmmmm. And how do you spell cookies? (pause) Ca.

59:Kate: Kaaaaaa.

60:Mother: Ahhum.

61:Kate: Ohhhh.

62:Mother: Ahhum.

63:Kate: Teee.

64:Mother: Ahhum.

65:Kate: Teee. Ohhhh.

66:Mother: Ahhum.

67:Kate: Y.

68:Mother: Ahhum.

69:Kate: Ze.

70:Mother: Ze?

71:Kate: Yea. (child sounds out word using
letters kottoyz.)

72:Mother: Cookiez. Great! Ho! I guess you do know how to read? I mean if you can spell it you must know how to read it?

73:Kate: Ahhuh.

74:Mother: Right? Right?

75:Kate: Ahhuh.

76:Mother: So, if I gave you a grocery list, could you go to the supermarket for me now?

77:Kate: Oh I can't drive.