Transcript of interview between mother and child: 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 knowbr 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.