Research showing that young children use language for both referential and social purposes raises questions concerning how parents promote toddlers' acquisition and discrimination of different language functions. Analyses of mothers' input to twenty-nine 20-month-old children revealed that mothers supported the acquisition of different types of language through differential use of language teaching strategies. When focusing on referential language, mothers predominantly employed labelling, thus emphasizing naming skills. When focusing on social- regulative language, mothers used strategies such as assuming the child's role, thus emphasizing turn-taking and other social skills. Mothers also used more language teaching routines when they were in the presence of an observer than when they were alone with their children.
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