JANET MAYBIN is a Senior Lecturer in Language and Communication at the Open University, UK. She has written extensively for Open University courses on language, literacy and learning, and also researches and writes on children's and adults' informal language and literacy practices. She originally trained as a social anthropologist.

Fills an important gap in the literature - a unique account of spontaneous conversation of children pre-adolescence

Approached from a sociolinguistic/discourse analysis perspective but the content re. identity building is also highly relevant to child psychology and the sociology of children and the family

Language and identity is one of the most productive research areas in applied linguistics and is also one of the main teaching areas

The transcribed conversation would be a rich resource for linguistics, psychology, sociology and teacher education students

Acknowledgements Transcription Conventions INTRODUCTION Focussing on the Margins Conceptualising Voice and Meaning-making Outline of the Chapters PART 1: SETTING THE SCENE Shifting the Lens The Researcher in the Data From Context to Contextualisation From Dialogue to Dialogicality Evaluation, Socialisation and Identity Towards a More Dynamic Language of Description PART 2: CONTEXT, GENRE AND FRAMES Switching Contexts The Generic Production of Meaning The Intertextual Construction of the Present Microcontexts: Manipulating Frames Conclusion PART 3: DIALOGUE AND COLLABORATION: GIRLS AND BOYS The Duet of Friendship Producing Unformalised Knowledge in Group Talk Gender, Communicative Style and Identity Conclusion PART 4: REPORTED VOICES AND EVALUATION Representing Voices: Grammatical and other Cues Invoking and Evaluating People Recreating Events Evaluation in Projected Speech and Reported Thought Conclusion PART 5: ARTICULATING DIALOGUE: AGENCY AND GENDER IN CHILDREN'S ANECDOTES Representing Experience and Exploring the Self Three Levels of Narrative Meaning Indexicalisation and Dialogic Relationships Conclusion PART 6:NARRATIVE REFLECTIONS AND MORAL COMPLEXITIES Articulating Moral Stances Beleaguered Positions Divided Loyalties Conclusion PART 7: SCHOOLED VOICES A Framework for Understanding Reproduced Voices Repetition and Appropriation in Teacher-Pupil Dialogue Reproducing Authoritative Voices: Appropriation and Styling Framing Work and Play Conclusion PART 8: OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL LITERACIES Official Literacy: Power, Procedure and Product Hybrid Practices Unofficial Literacy Personal Writing: Identity and Regulation Conclusion CONCLUSION Notes References Index