This special issue examines gender construction by children in some of its rich cultural and contextual complexity and in some of its interactions with power. The first two articles are about preschool children's language. One examines preschoolers' socialization into Japanese--a language in which gender marking is inescapable, and the other compares Mandarin-speaking preschoolers' language in Mainland China with that of English-speaking preschoolers in the United States. Dealing with middle-school aged children, the next two articles deal with the influence of expertise and examine talk within a mixed-sex group of Latino children doing groupwork. The issue concludes with an epilogue commenting on the special issue and critically examining the problem of gender indexing.

This collection of essays is a representative sample of the current research and researchers in the fields of language and social interactions and social context. The opening chapter, entitled "Context in Language," is written by Susan Ervin-Tripp, whose diverse and innovative research inspired the editors to dedicate this book to her honor. Ervin-Tripp is known for her work in the fields of linguistics, psychology, child development, sociology, anthropology, rhetoric, and women's studies. She has played a central role in the definition and establishment of psycholinguistics, child language development, and sociolinguistics, and has been an innovator in terms of approaches and methods of study.
This book covers a wide range of research interests in the field, from linguistically oriented approaches to social and ethnography oriented approaches. The issue of the relationships between forms and structures of language and social interactions is examined in studies of both adult and child speech. It is a useful anthology for graduate students studying language and social interaction, as well as for researchers in this field.

This collection of essays is a representative sample of the current research and researchers in the fields of language and social interactions and social context. The opening chapter, entitled "Context in Language," is written by Susan Ervin-Tripp, whose diverse and innovative research inspired the editors to dedicate this book to her honor. Ervin-Tripp is known for her work in the fields of linguistics, psychology, child development, sociology, anthropology, rhetoric, and women's studies. She has played a central role in the definition and establishment of psycholinguistics, child language development, and sociolinguistics, and has been an innovator in terms of approaches and methods of study.
This book covers a wide range of research interests in the field, from linguistically oriented approaches to social and ethnography oriented approaches. The issue of the relationships between forms and structures of language and social interactions is examined in studies of both adult and child speech. It is a useful anthology for graduate students studying language and social interaction, as well as for researchers in this field.

This special issue examines gender construction by children in some of its rich cultural and contextual complexity and in some of its interactions with power. The first two articles are about preschool children's language. One examines preschoolers' socialization into Japanese--a language in which gender marking is inescapable, and the other compares Mandarin-speaking preschoolers' language in Mainland China with that of English-speaking preschoolers in the United States. Dealing with middle-school aged children, the next two articles deal with the influence of expertise and examine talk within a mixed-sex group of Latino children doing groupwork. The issue concludes with an epilogue commenting on the special issue and critically examining the problem of gender indexing.